Stages of concluding a real estate purchase and a sale transaction in Austria

The process of buying / selling real estate in Austria begins with the selection of suitable residence options. From the initial request, our specialists find out the search criteria and preferences of the client.
We need to know the purpose of the purchase (using it as a private residence, as an investment or opening a company), budget, area, location features and other client specifics in order to choose the most suitable real estate objects. A preliminary conversation with the client can be conducted both in person and online or by phone.

The further purchase/sale procedure includes the following steps:

1.Obtaining the client's personal data

This data is necessary for the registration of the client with the developer / owner. The information provided by you falls under the company's privacy policy and we are not subject to disclose to third parties, except for the conditions stipulated in the contract.

2.Analysis of the request and selection of preferred property options

Our highly-experienced agents of Luxury Immobilien GmbH will make a presentation with the best selection of real estate based on the personal criteria of the client and the Austrian market. All materials will be sent to the client's email address. Before viewing the presentation, the client must consent to the confidentiality of the data and confirm the obligation to pay the commission to the agent in case of the successful completion of a real estate transaction.

At the same time, all preparatory stages, including preliminary consulting and negotiating with the seller, are completely free.

3.View real estate

After the buyer determines the most preferred property options for him/herself, agents of Luxury Immobilien GmbH will organize a viewing of each property. If necessary, several views can be organized during one day.

Our clients also have access to round-the-clock information support, as well as a VIP service, which comprises a transfer from anywhere in Austria in Mercedes-Benz S-class cars.

4.Making a Purchase Intention (Kaufanbot)

The document contains information about the property, the cost agreed between both parties, and a list of additional costs (Kostenaufstellung), including VAT, the Transfer Tax and the lawyer's and realtor's fees. The property is reserved for the client and withdrawn from sale after signing the Kaufanbot. The execution of this document must be carried out in the presence of a lawyer/notary.

In case of acquisition of real estate objects on the primary market, the conclusion of the agreement is supervised by the developer's lawyer. You can involve your own lawyer when buying a secondary property.

5.Making an advance payment

Local legislation does not require the buyer to deposit funds at the time of signing the Purchase Intention, but the owner can request an advance of up to 10% of the total value of the property in case of cooperation with foreign person(s). It is issued in the form of a target deposit and stored in a bank account until the deal is completed.
Important! In Austria, both a written and an oral agreement with the intention of making a transaction has legal force.

6.Signing a purchase/sale agreement (Kaufvertrag or Kaufverträge)

During the next stage, a notary or a lawyer will prepare a contract in accordance with the terms agreed between the seller and the buyer. The purchase/sale agreement contains personal data of both parties of the agreement, a description of the property, the purchase price, as well as all related expenses.

The buyer is given 4 weeks to fully familiarize him/herself with the contract and sign it.

7.Payment

After signing the purchase/sale agreement, the lawyer opens a trust account to pay for the cost of the real estate. It is important that your personal account already has all the necessary amounts in advance, because the entire cost must be transferred within a single payment. A personal account can be opened in one of the banks in Austria or at least in an EU bank.
It is important to note that a very strict verification of the source of origin of funds coming into the account of customers is carried out in Austrian banks. It is recommended that you take care in advance of opening an account, and providing all the necessary documents to confirm the legality of funds (statement of receipt of dividends, real estate sale agreement, wages, etc.)

8.Payment of real estate tax

And all related expenses, including attorney's fees and real estate agency commission.

9.Transfer of ownership to a new owner

To do this, the notary enters all information about the completed transaction (Modus) into the state cadastre of real estate called the Land Register (Grundbuch). There is also a separate fee for this.
If the buyer has an EU passport, then the data is entered into the Land Register (Grundbuch) and the lawyer transfers all funds to the seller's account within a month.

If the buyer is not an EU citizen, then they need to pass a special commission to obtain approval for the purchase of property. It will be necessary to transfer the entire required amount to the trust account, after which there will be a waiting period for a positive resolution of the commission.
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Evgeny Pilnikov,
CEO
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