If a marriage breaks down, the house in which father, mother and child(s) have lived under the same roof up to now usually also comes under fire. If the couple is joint property owners, a solution must be found. If both ex-partners want the property to remain “in the family”, it may make sense to transfer the house or apartment to the children they share.

Transferring the former family property to the children can be a good solution in many divorce constellations, as it is often difficult to separate from the shared home. A donation to the offspring makes sense above all if there is only one child in the family. However, among siblings, disputes about the use of the property can easily arise. The problem is not solved, but passed on to the next generation.

A transfer to the offspring is uncomplicatedly feasible if the child has already grown up and is at work, i.e. is able to use the flat or the house himself and can pay for the maintenance, such as the duties for garbage collection, insurance, property tax, etc., financially. However, if the child is still a minor, a guardianship court must approve the transfer.

It is also legally regulated that during the divorce phase no partner may sell or give away ownership shares in the common property over the head of the other – not even to the offspring. In the context of a joint gain, the home of one’s own is an essential building block, the whereabouts of which both have to decide together.

The tax issues involved in a donation must also be taken into account in advance. Parents can give away house or flat tax-free to their child only if the value does not exceed 400,000 euros per parent. If the property is not used by the child itself, gifts with a higher value must be taxed.

If all family members agree that a transfer of the home to one or even several children is desired, a corresponding contract is drawn up by the notary. The transfer agreement usually not only states that the ownership is transferred from the parents to the child, but can also be agreed, for example, a housing right for one parent or possibly a right of reclaim.

Are you considering transferring the family property to your children in the divorce situation? Please contact us. We will be happy to advise you.

Photo: © AndreyPopov

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How much is my house actually worth today? Most owners can name a number here after a moment of reflection – but it rarely corresponds to the actual value. Studies show time and again that the majority of property owners overestimate the value of their homes. What is the reason for this and what can sellers do about it?

Who lives happily in its real estate and does not intend to move out all too soon, makes itself only few thoughts around the value of the home of one’s own. But if there is a sale on the horizon at some point, too high an asking price will ensure a long sales process.

Anyone who owns a house associates many memories with it. This alone gives the property a high emotional value. But handprints of children in concrete are for potential buyers rather a lack than an additional value. The emotional connection to the home of one’s own is only one factor that leads to an overestimation of value.

Those who have lived in their own home for a long time will certainly have invested a lot of money in maintenance. A new roof, a new façade or heating: all this has its price. However, this cannot simply be added to the price originally paid. Because for prospective buyers these things are a basic requirement and not a bonus.

Besides in the media is again and again spoken of rising real estate prices. The conclusion that the own real estate must have increased in value since the purchase is therefore obvious. How high the increase in value is, however, most owners do not know. It can help to orient itself at the real estate prices in the neighbourhood. However, these do not represent an exact measure, because year of construction, equipment, location and many other factors play into the price.

As a private seller it is difficult to get an exact idea of the value of the house. It helps to think rationally and not to be influenced by emotional memories. It is also important to get to grips with the local real estate market – online evaluation tools provide a clue here. However, they do not provide accurate data. If you want an accurate assessment, you can’t avoid an evaluation by a local real estate expert.

You want to sell your property and are unsure how much it is worth? We will be happy to advise you and take over the assessment for you. Contact us now.

Foto: © sirichai_ec2

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How would you like to live? How many square meters and rooms do you need to feel comfortable? And how much can the whole thing cost? Immobilienscout24 has evaluated 40,000 advertisements for rental apartments that were placed on immobilienscout24.de last year.

The apartment, which was most frequently sought throughout Germany, had an average of 150 enquiries. It has 2.5 rooms and 66 square meters. The cold rent for this amounts to 446 euro. However it showed up that a dwelling of this category is hardly to be found in the cities. Depending on the city, up to 1,700 potential tenants apply for such an apartment via Immobilienscout24 alone. This shows how starkly the demand exceeds the supply. And in the future this will probably hardly change in Germany.

Likewise the study of Immobilienscout24 resulted in, how strongly the rents rose in Germany in the past five years. In southern Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, prices rose by 23 percent. However, this is nothing compared to Berlin, where prices rose by 36 percent in the same period. But this was closely followed by Stuttgart with 35 percent and Munich with 32 percent. In the remaining old federal states and in Brandenburg, price increases are between 15 and 18 percent. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony, prices rose by only nine percent. In Thuringia, price increases still reach 10 percent. The increased prices lead to the fact that smaller dwellings are looked for. At Immobilienscout, these were apartments with 2 or 2.5 rooms and between 45 and 55 square metres.

The study also showed, however, that prices in smaller towns and rural regions have risen sharply. In the district of Lörrach on the Swiss border, prices rose by a whopping 37 percent. In Heilbronn (city), Würzburg (district) and Augsburg (city) there were price increases of 32 to 34 percent.

Immobilienscout points out that already two years ago, not enough living space was taken into account. According to the German Statistical Office, building permits for a total of 316,550 new apartments were issued in 2016. If a building permit is not implemented within four years, it must be applied for and paid for again. Experience shows that about ten percent of building permits are not implemented. If all approved projects are completed four years later, this means that 316,550 apartments will be ready for occupancy by 2020. However, in order to effectively combat the housing shortage, 350,000 to 400,000 apartments must be built annually by 2020. This was the result of a recent study by KfW-Förderbank. In two years’ time, 83,450 apartments will be lacking. However, the study did not take into account the fact that there is a shortage of building land and that building permits have already declined.

Do you want to sell your house in the future or are you looking for a smaller property? Please contact us. We will be happy to advise you.

Photo: © vicnt

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I simply upload my property to an online portal, but at the current demand it sells itself – many private sellers think so. But often they are annoyed afterwards, because they have missed money or the property is for sale for too long without a serious interested party. However, typical mistakes can be avoided by knowing the basics.

1. I know exactly how much my property is worth.

Most owners think they know exactly what their property is worth. However, the price depends on many constantly changing factors. Because many owners are also emotionally bound to their “little house”, they often set too high a price that the market may not follow. Often they remain sitting on their property because they cannot find a buyer. However, anyone who consults an independent and expert real estate professional avoids these problems. Because a real estate professional knows what a real estate is worth and helps to get the optimal price for it. 2.

2. what one must prepare already largely for the sales

Too often, private sellers still underestimate the effort required to sell a property optimally. They do not worry about many questions:

When is the best time to sell?
How do I redeem a possibly existing real estate loan?
How do I get the best sale price?
What questions will prospective buyers ask?
What legal pitfalls do I have to watch out for?
Experts recommend that sufficient time be taken for preparation and that sales targets and steps be defined. In most cases this has a positive effect on the sales price and the sales duration.

3. I can still submit the following documents

Prospective buyers are often deterred by missing documents, because they fear that something should be concealed from them. Apart from that it can have also legal consequences. The energy performance certificate, for example, must be available at the latest by the inspection date, otherwise a fine of up to 15,000 euros is imminent.

4 I do not talk much – who wants to have my object takes it

Owners who offer their property on all the popular online portals and newspapers in the region, whose telephone is no longer at a standstill and their e-mail inbox is overflowing with enquiries. This costs a lot of time. Who doesn’t take enough time, his sale can drag itself unnecessarily into the length. 5.

5. I don’t need that much time for the viewing appointments.

In the hustle and bustle of everyday professional life, it is not always easy for both sellers and buyers to find an appointment to visit. Often only the weekends remain. But who likes to sacrifice their spare time? In addition, prospective buyers have questions for which many sellers are often not prepared: Questions about deficiencies, energy efficiency, structural changes. Anyone who is well prepared for the questions from interested parties has come a good deal closer to the rapid sale of their property at the price presented.

Do you have any questions about the private sale of your property? Please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to advise you.

Foto: © gorbachlena

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The wallpapers are yellowed, the colours of the sofa faded and the tiles in the bathroom have cracks and actually have to be renewed a long time ago. So three questions arise: 1. What should my home look like after the renovation? 2. what new furniture do I want? And 3. where can I find an expert to take care of the renovation or give me tips? At the Houzz.de portal you will find living ideas, products such as furniture or accessories as well as real estate experts.

The online platform Houzz brings together real estate-related service providers and owners. At Houzz.de, users are inspired by living, design and interior decoration as well as gardens. From the classic rustic country house style to modern urban living, users can collect and store their living ideas here. Owners can either browse freely through the suggestions and let themselves be guided from idea to idea or search specifically for what they need using categories such as “room” or “style”.

The same possibilities are available in the product area. Here, too, users can search or simply browse for furniture or accessories that match their home design. Once the user has found what he is looking for, he can buy his favourite piece of furniture or find out where he can buy it.

For the content – texts and photos – Houzz relies on the expertise of professionals. To maintain quality, real estate-related service providers must register as experts on the platform. Only commercial providers can provide content here. Thus Houzz manages to keep private snapshots away from the platform and to offer a good quality standard in terms of content. After all, it is in the best interests of the service providers to present themselves at their best. Behind this principle is also the revenue model of the portal. Because the experts pay for being able to publish content on Houzz. They can then publish blog posts via the community. Thus, craftsmen, interior designers or property developers post their works as references in small stories. Users can also contact the experts directly in the community and get advice from them.

The portal from the USA has been online in Germany for four years. Since then it has grown rapidly. Meanwhile about 100 employees work for Houzz in Germany. According to Houzz, over 40 million users worldwide use the platform every month. 90 percent of these are to be real estate owners who use the platform as companions during conversion or renovation work. In addition, more than 1.5 million experts are active on the platform worldwide. The expert directory allows you to quickly find the right professional for any real estate problem.

If you are looking for inspiration to renew your own four walls, you will find the latest design trends on Houzz. And if you are looking for support in renovating your home, you can first get an idea of the professionalism of the experts before deciding on someone to help you with words and deeds.

Would you like to know whether it is worth upgrading your property? Please contact us, we will be happy to advise you.

Fotos: © houzz

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Do you also dream of a bathtub in the bedroom to look outsitde through the large panorama windows into the garden? Or from the 14th floor over your city? Is the living room of your condominium that is currently being built too small and you want to change the floor plan? More and more often, customers of property developers have special luxury wishes. And they often have it in them.

Although property prices are rising, many buyers of luxury properties want to implement their own ideas in their new condominiums. Most of them are also willing to spend more money on it. Although some special requests are complex and not cheap, they are increasingly in demand. And so often that many companies have created a new position for it: the Special Request Manager. Meanwhile more and more companies employ more and more special request managers. These are the link between buyer and construction site. They carry out feasibility studies and sampling for special requests and accompany the planning and implementation.

The list of special requests is long and occasionally so unusual that it takes property developers to the limits of what is feasible. For example, buyers often want a private elevator. In an object with several units, a private elevator is logically difficult for everyone to accommodate.

Also an open bedroom with integrated bathroom is almost as often desired as a living and dining area with open kitchen. More and more people find it pleasing to get from the bed directly into the tub or into the shower on the ground floor without a shower cubicle. The property developer wonders how he can prevent the bedroom from being flooded. Façade elements have already been installed between the rooms. There are even customers who want their bathtub in the living room.

Björn Bergs, special requests manager at Drees & Sommer, also knows the following case: buyers of apartments in an existing building wanted a whirlpool. But the question was whether the old building could withstand such loads. For this purpose, pipe connections must be changed and an electrical connection must be made. It may also be necessary to change floor plans and move partitions to provide sufficient space for the whirlpool.

Special hygiene rinses, which regularly flush the water pipes automatically, are also a popular wish. For example, if buyers only want to stay at home for a few months of the year.

A special request is already everything that deviates from the standard. This is already the case if the customer would rather have natural stone than tiles. A special request does not necessarily have to be expensive.

Would you like to know whether a conversion or an adjustment of your property is worthwhile? Please contact us! We will be happy to advise you.

Fotos: © piovesempre / ondatra-m / rilueda

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