Mortgage for German Property

Jdlr

Hi,

Could anyone suggest the best way to get a mortgage for a German property.

Or any other info that might be helpful, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

herbiesjp

Do you have a property in the UK against which you can raise the equity?

UK007BullDog

Are you German or UK National or another nationality.

Are you Forces based in Germany?

Do you have a regular income? Are you paid in Euros or Sterling?

The Sterling is quite strong however will it stay like that if you count in exchange rates fluxes and interest rate changes the investment could bomb or get too expensive.

Is it as an investment?

Some lenders do not request you have property in the UK. You would be looking more at the international banking arms of certain lenders like Barclays for instance or HSBC (both offshore).

If it is for investment purposes I would give a big warning. German property market is just now starting to recover but it is no where going to be like the UK market as Germans think completely different regarding property. Also if you want to be the person renting out you better read up on the laws and regulations. The laws in Germany are in favour of the person renting/tennants. And it will cost you as a landlord if you ignore the tennants whims and requests.

Jdlr

Hi,

I don't have a property in the UK, this will be my first property.

I'm a UK national earning sterling. I work (not the forces) 1-2 weeks and then have 1-2 weeks off. So I intend to live in the property on my time off.

It's partly an investment, but also a home and I don't intend to rent it out. Though there is the possibility I will sell in the future.

Thanks.

UK007BullDog

OK. Are you actually physically in Germany and working there? Or are you working here and commuting over on the time off? I need to have a bit more information to help.

If you are resident over there then visit a local bank but going by memory (long time ago) one needs to have at least a 20% to 25% deposit to get a mortgage and it is repayment only, no interest only deals. But if you do live over there then walk into a bank to have a chat with them to get all the info. If you get paid in Sterling and into an account here you might not be able to get a mortgage in Germany from a German bank, but you could get one from an International banking arm like Barclays, HSBC or CitiBank. Visit their websites and have a look and call them to find out.

Jdlr

Working here and commuting to Germany on my time off, being paid sterling into a British bank.

I'll contact the international banks, thanks for the help.

undercoat11

I own a house in Germany which I bought for my mum a few years ago. The value of the house now is probably less than it was when I bought it despite having spent quite a bit of money on it - may be the addition of a bathroom could have pushed up its value by about £5000 euros, who knows. You won't be able to sell for 10 years otherwise you will have to pay tax on the sale. It was very cheap, but it still is - so much for an investment! (but my mum's happy)

Why not just rent? You can rent so cheaply and it gives you so much more mobility. I think that if I tried to sell the house it would take me a couple of years and I sometimes wish I had rented somewhere for her - I think it would have been cheaper. There are quite a lot of taxes to pay in Germany.

Just my thoughts. Owning property can be a bit of a millstone sometimes because you are so tied into it. If you rent you can just up and off when the fancy takes you!