Purchasing a Property in Austria

 

Local and foreign citizens who want to buy a house in Austria can benefit from the support provided by one of our Austrian lawyers. The procedures and the formalities implicated can be entirely managed by our specialists. In this article, you can find information about buying a property in Austria helped by our experts who can also represent you with a power of attorney if you cannot be present during the process.

 

Foreign nationals of European origins face fewer restrictions, leading to the current ease in purchase being comparable to that of a citizen of Austrian nationality. The case is different for foreign nationals from non-EU nations, since, upon deciding on a property one would wish to purchase, permission from the local authorities must be obtained before moving further with the purchase of real estate.

 

There are exceptions, as well as exemptions regarding local permission available in certain situations to buyers from outside the European Union; our lawyers in Austria will make sure to thoroughly investigate each aspect of the process for you. On the other hand, our immigration lawyers in Austria can provide legal support for relocating to this country in a safe and rapid manner.

 

Steps in buying a property in Austria

• Offer and negotiation – Once you have found the property you want to buy, you can talk to a real estate agent who will help you in this endeavor. Thus, you can make an offer and even negotiate the price before the final decision. Normally, it can be reduced by around 5%-10% of the price.
• Verification of the property - Real estate due diligence is recommended before buying the desired property, and one of our lawyers can explain this process to you. Thus, rigorous checks can be made to see if the respective property is in order from a legal point of view.
• Documents verification – Our attorney in Austria can take care of verifying the history of the chosen property, and if legal problems are discovered, they can be solved in time.
• Pre-sale agreement – If the price has been set, you can go on to sign the pre-sale contract, as well as pay a deposit of 10% of the property price. This deposit represents a guarantee that the house in question is reserved to be sold.
• Signing the contract - The transaction takes place between buyer and seller, in front of the notary. At this moment, the sale-purchase contract is signed, and the persons who cannot appear can be represented with a power of attorney.

 

Mortgages for buying a property in Austria

When the buyer and seller manage to reach an agreement, the following step is to prepare the contract and sign them in front of a public notary. This task can be handled by our lawyers in Austria up to the point of finishing the transaction.

 

As a general rule, legal fees add up to amount to approximately 10.5% of the offer. These fees vary from province to province, but generally include:

 

 

We suggest the legal support of our local specialists if you want to buy a house in Austria and understand the taxation matters after the transaction. 

 

Those interested in immigration to Austria can contact our lawyers and benefit from the legal services offered. We can guide you on the formalities involved, as well as prepare the necessary documents. We mention that it is important to have health insurance prepared to cover expenses in case of emergency medical treatments. Also, the authorities have the right to ask for a clear criminal record at the time of relocation to Austria and visa application.

For all other aspects of the process, please contact our law firm in Austria to assist you in buying a property in Austria.