Selling property for parents, grandparents and loved ones

As a child, you worry about mom and dad; as a grandchild, you worry about grandma and grandpa. Retirement savings don’t last forever, and neither do the savings. At some point, the property becomes too big, and at the same time the savings become less and less. At the latest now, a solution must be found for your loved ones!

What to do when you need to sell?

Prevention is better than aftercare: options

Before it is about expressions of grief, it is about good solutions. People grow old and at some point, life has to be organized appropriately. For many, this means selling the house and moving into an age-appropriate condominium. Accordingly, close people have to make decisions. This includes living wills, in case your loved ones are no longer able to make their own decisions at some point. But it is just as much a part of thinking about your own property.

One thing is also Important: First and foremost, do not think about your own inheritance, but about the family!

Let’s take a look at the 3 options for your understanding: Sale of the property, partial sale and real estate annuity! Tip, you will find further links to all three topics, with detailed explanations. What to do when someone gets old? Here are three alternatives!

Options in the sale of real estate:

1. Real estate annuity – selling with lifelong right to live
2. Partial sale – Proportionate, with option for total sale
3. Sale – Complete sale of the property

In addition, for owners: an extra tip on the subject of bequeathing correctly.

Real estate pension: sale with extra “pension” – Option 1

Your first option is the real estate pension. The real estate annuity is especially interesting for people who have already reached a higher age, usually from 70, 75 years. Should you prefer a solution in which your relatives can stay in their own property until the end of their life (!) without any complications, then the life annuity is an option you should consider.

Life annuity means that the property is sold in its entirety, but the owner retains a full right of residence and use until death. These privileges are secured by the usufructuary right. In addition, the seller receives a small, monthly extra “pension”. Another advantage, they no longer have to worry about maintenance costs in the future. This is the responsibility of the new owner. All in all, a comfortable solution, especially in old age.

Real estate pension simply explained:

• Direct, complete sale
• Lifetime right of residence and use
• Small, monthly “extra pension” for former owner
• No maintenance costs

Read more about topic here:

• Real estate pension

Unconcerned and reassured into old age.

Partial sale: Proportionate, with possibility of total sale – option 2

The second option for your loved one, if you want them to be able to continue living in their property, whether it’s a condo or a house, is to partially sell a property.

A partial sale works like this, you sell the part of a property, usually between 10% and 50% pro rata, to a finance company. For this sold part, the financial company charges a so-called “usage fee”. The user fee is paid in return for the fact that sole residential rights and rights of use are still granted. This means that the finance company merely becomes the partial owner. The advantage: you get the sale price relatively uncomplicated, without a major credit check, as with loans from the bank. The disadvantage: the user fee is relatively high, e.g. compared to a mortgage loan.

Partial sale summarized:

• You sell a part of your property (usually 10-50%)
• Partial purchase house: Yes
• Partial purchase apartment: Yes
• Partial purchase of land: Yes
• Financial company becomes part owner
• You remain the sole user of the property
• You pay monthly usage fee
• Total sales in X years (optional)

Read more about the advantages and disadvantages here:

• Partial sale property

Complete real estate sale – option 3

Your third option, if you need to find a solution, is the complete sale of condominium, house, apartment building. For the regular process, the question often arises, sell privately or sell with broker? Especially the emotional situations, such as deciding on the future of their own parents or grandparents, it is recommended to work with an experienced broker. After all, it is about all the advertisements, communication with interested parties, selection according to serious, unseriös, the subsequent credit checks, arrangement of viewing appointments and many more. Of course, also a big factor, the previous real estate valuation.

Read more here:

• Sell property

Selling real estate: Procedure and steps

To give you an initial overview of how such a sales process works, explained here in 18 simple steps, categorized into 3 phases.

1. Preparation: prepare property and sale
1. Financial planning and timing of sale
2. Hire real estate agent
3. Records and documents
4. Increase real estate value
5. Determine offer price
6. Create exposé
2. Sales phase: market property and find buyers
1. Market real estate
2. Contact with prospective buyers
3. Filter and select prospective buyers
4. Credit check
5. Viewing dates
6. Sales talk & purchase price negotiation
3. Sales processing: purchase contract until handover
1. Draw up purchase contract with notary
2. Notary appointment
3. Land register entry and payment processing
4. Handover of the property
5. Notary fees & broker commission
6. Pay taxes

These 3 options are primarily available to you.

These were the most important tips for selling with and for your loved ones!

Whether a condominium in a prime A-location or a…

… Condominium in 60/70 prefabricated building:

Extra tip: Bequeath / inherit correctly

Here are a few extra tips for you.

Sale with usufruct

If you are considering a direct, outright sale of your parent’s, grandparent’s or loved one’s property, be sure to take a look at usufructuary rights. Usufructuary right simply means “lifetime, sole right of occupancy.” So, it means that your loved ones hold the sole right to use the property, even after the sale. The same applies in other cases, such as an anticipated inheritance (link above: Inheritance).

Advantage: The usufruct right brings you the advantage that your relatives are not dependent at any time, on the goodwill or the consent of the seller.

Inheritance in advance: Taxes & Co.

Tip. Before it is too late, talk to your parents and grandparents about the inheritance early on. After all, an early inheritance can save you quite a bit, especially on taxes. Learn more about early inheritance here:

• Bequeath correctly

For heirs:

• Inherit correctly

Inheriting correctly also often means preventing disputes among children.

Take care!

Real estate yields in Wiesbaden stable at a high level

Question: You are mainly active in Wiesbaden, the capital of Hesse, and the surrounding area as an investment advisor and investor. How do you think the real estate market in the region is developing?

I will first answer with two figures: Wiesbaden has about 290,000 inhabitants today. According to decent forecasts, this figure is set to rise to 300,000 within the next five years. These 10,000 people want and need to live somewhere. The necessary apartments have to be built and paid for by someone. So there are also numerous opportunities for investors in real estate.

However, we have a fundamental problem in Wiesbaden: there are relatively few opportunities for new residential construction. The old city villas only come on the market very rarely anyway. Here and there there is worthless old building fabric that is torn down and made available for new buildings. There are some new building projects on the outskirts of Wiesbaden. The greatest potential lies in unused military sites, some of which have already been developed and some of which are being over-planned.

Real estate returns better than many other investments

You can find more statistics at Statista

In terms of yields, I do not expect any increase for Wiesbaden and the surrounding area, but I do expect a sustained sideways movement at a high level. Values of 5 % and more are realistic. An upward movement is therefore rather unlikely, because purchase prices and rents develop to the same extent upward and one needs already a really very long investment horizon, in order to be rewarded the high purchase price by a clear rent increase with a growing yield. On the other hand, there is of course also the profit from the later sale of the property. There, increased purchase prices would have a corresponding effect again.

Yield calculator online: The right instrument to start with

Question: Which of the various online calculators for loans, investments or returns do you find particularly helpful and why?

I’ll start with the loan calculators: I can’t see anything being done wrong there. That’s why I won’t recommend any computer in particular. The calculators of Stiftung Warentest or a reputable online newspaper are certainly not suspicious with regard to a hidden forwarding of the user’s data. Basically, such an online calculator can only be an initial source of information. For example, for my question, what I have to pay monthly for my real estate loan with regard to the interest and repayment rate. I can also go about it the other way round and ask: if I have a sum x available each month, what loan amount can I afford to buy a flat?

On the other hand, I don’t know of any loan calculator – not even that of a financial institution – that calculates the interest rate I have to pay for my loan in view of my equity and other collateral. That is always a matter of personal discussion with the bank. That’s why calling up and using various loan calculators on the internet doesn’t help. The best loan calculator with the most accurate information and the safest result for me is still the conversation with the financier himself. You should be quiet from different banks give an offer. There are sometimes really spraybare differences in the interest rate offered.

Anyone thinking about real estate as an investment naturally wants to know what return their property will yield. In other words: how much money will I earn with my investment? For this purpose, there are of course many tools on the Internet. The yield calculators for real estate are usually linked to a real estate agency or financial institution. This is not a disadvantage, you should just know it. Because the vast majority of online calculators for property yields can not take into account every detail of the property. That is why it is always much better to get an overview via the online calculator in order to then seek a personal discussion on the basis of a real property.

Overall, there is a pretty good overview including deposited calculators on the portal finanzrechner.org. As I said, these calculators offer really good guidance. Everyone should definitely make an individual calculation with their personal financial advisor or tax expert.

Not every square meter counts as living space!

Question: How do you calculate the price per square meter as a landlord of an apartment?

Actually a simple question, but with some small “devils in the details”. Because normally everyone knows the square footage of their apartment and what they pay monthly (not including utilities based on consumption). The rest is a simple division calculation of rent (or purchase price) divided by the total square meters.

The question remains: what can I include in the living space? For example, cellar rooms do not count as living space. The same applies to storage rooms outside the apartment. Balcony, terrace or a loggia are only calculated with half of their square meters as living space. You should also use a tape measure for the ceiling height. Everything below a height of one meter does not count as living space and rooms with a ceiling height of less than two meters only half. This is especially important for attic apartments. Very special rules also apply to pillars and stairs in the apartment. A proper real estate expert knows these regulations very well. Here too, simply ask for advice.

Investing your money successfuly: Alternatives to real estate

Question: In Wiesbaden, there is no doubt that not only real estate is traded, but due to the proximity to the headquarters of various banks in Frankfurt, other financial products are certainly also in the focus of your customers. Please explain to our readers which three capital investments you would recommend besides real estate. Do these investments have any disadvantages?

You can find more statistics at Statista

First of all, I recommend that anyone who wants to invest their money profitably should ask themselves. And indeed questioned about their own willingness to take risks in terms of profit and loss. Because the capital investment must always fit the respective person and his goals. The one investor looks for a maximum of security, the other again has with risk and Verkust no problem. Then there are people who literally want to see what they have invested their money in, which again other investors do not care about at all.

Those who are not afraid of the big risk can invest their money in commodities or rare earths, for example. This is a form of investment that is not yet very widespread, but is becoming increasingly popular. There are people at some major banks and also on the consultancy market who are quite knowledgeable about this. As I said, it’s not for the faint-hearted and, by the way, it’s also a form of investment that should run for several years in order to compensate for price fluctuations.

For pure security fanatics – to mention the completely other side – there are funds whose profit is capped, but which are also protected against loss. Such funds are offered by banks and insurance companies. However, many find them very boring.

If you are looking for a more unusual form of investment, you should take a look at luxury watches. Watches are more difficult to assess as an investment object because, unlike shares or gold, there is no market that clearly and universally sets a price. The value of a luxury watch does not depend solely on its horological value and condition, but crucially on the demand for precisely this particular model. This demand is subject to fluctuations and cannot be objectively predicted. However, since the prices of luxury models have clearly developed positively in recent years, this investment can be very rewarding. Those who manage to buy a model that is in demand at a low price should take advantage of the opportunity.

Is it worth it to be a stock trader on your own account?

Question: In the meantime, shares have a long and partly successful investment history behind them. There are also many people who believe they can act as stock traders, tipsters and day traders themselves. But how does the reality of stock trading look like? Can quick profits really be made and what is the difference to real estate as an investment?

Of course, I was not active as a stock trader myself and – as far as I can tell today – I do not intend to do so. However, I have so much own experience with the share topic that I can say: who would like to care completely himself about his share package and the investments, needs a lot of knowledge and time. Especially if you really want to make quick profits. Because that means that I have to keep a constant eye on the company stocks and their bonds that I am interested in. In addition, always the phone handy, so that I can ask my proxy in a flash to buy or sell the shares.

Tax makes the difference: watch out for investments!

In any case, I warn against the countless guides that can be found on the Internet – like the yield calculators. If tipsters followed their own recommendations, Germany would have to be a nation of millionaires. The reality of the share business, as it is convertible for most of us, looks completely different. One should plan for a long period of investment so that price fluctuations are of little consequence. It is always advisable to spread the risk widely – i.e. over several company stocks, perhaps also government bonds, currencies etc.. With a little skill and good advice, you can put together a package with good performance yourself, or you can leave it to your money adviser.

The disadvantages of these and other investments do not always show themselves quite so clearly. This starts with the much-vaunted risk. After all, this is a less tangible factor that many investors like to ignore. According to the motto: what I can’t see doesn’t exist. Fluctuations in the value of shares, works of art, watches and government bonds depend on many external factors that only experts can keep track of. And even the experts can be wrong – as we have seen very often in the past.

Quite real and to be quantified are the running costs for financial investments – no matter if securities or other. Issue surcharges, custody account fees, ongoing capital gains tax, etc. reduce the return. On the other hand, the profit on the sale of rented property is tax-free after ten years. This amount must be added to the total return in any case.

Wiesbaden: Living with high recreational value

Question: What is Wiesbaden and its surroundings like to live in? What do your customers say? What places worth seeing, events etc. are there? What makes this region so interesting for investors?

The people of Wiesbaden themselves may forgive me if I now first point out the surrounding area. Immediately before the gates of the city begins the Rheingau with its nice small half-timbered and wine-growing villages Eltville, Oestrich-Winkel, Hattenheim up to Rüdesheim. There you will find the Eberbach Monastery and the Hildegard Monastery in Eibingen. In addition, the Rheinsteig begins as a hiking trail and of course the Rhine bike path. Wiesbaden is located at the foothills of the Taunus, so that beautiful hiking and in winter also cross-country skiing trails are quickly accessible.

Wiesbaden itself as the so-called “Nice of the North” offers a beautiful city center, a beautiful spa park with casino, the Nerobergbahn and the very famous Russian Orthodox Church from the Tsarist era. Very famous, not least because of its organ, is the classicist Marktkirche. Across the Rhine are Mainz and Germany’s largest wine-growing region, Rheinhessen. I think it takes more than a lifetime to have discovered this region completely. The leisure value is indeed very high, even if there are no Alps or the Mediterranean here.

I certainly don’t have to mention the proximity to Frankfurt. I would even include Darmstadt with its future-oriented companies from the IT sector. Because the good transport infrastructure of the Rhine-Main region means that even residents of Wiesbaden and the surrounding area can get to the region at the foot of the Odenwald quickly. No one in Wiesbaden and the surrounding area has to worry seriously about a lack of interest in renting, i.e. also about rental downtimes.

Good yield opportunities also in the surrounding area of Wiesbaden

Question: Do you have an insider tip for profitable real estate in Wiesbaden and the surrounding area?

With the insider tips in metropolitan areas it is such a thing. But for Wiesbaden, too, if you’re willing to drive a little further, you’ll get by quite well in the surrounding rural regions in terms of the purchase price and the amount on offer. Up to Bad Schwalbach or Taunusstein, for example, the roads are also well developed. But it is also not everyone’s cup of tea to join the commuter car queue every morning and evening. Potential tenants also think about that.

The opposite side of the Rhine also offers attractive real estate opportunities. This extends to Bingen, Bad Kreuznach or the gates of Worms. Basically, one must also look here, in how far the lower purchase prices are also accompanied by lower rents, so that the yield in these areas can be lower. In fact, the surroundings of Bingen, Ingelheim etc. offer quite good properties as capital investment. The purchase prices are somewhat lower than in Wiesbaden, but the rents are not to the same extent. In individual cases, one can therefore expect better returns than in the core area.

How do I get my own investment property quickly and safely?

Question: How can I tell which broker is the right one?

At least not on the brightly polished brass plate on the office door. Admittedly, that was a bit flippant. But actually it is with the right broker like with the right doctor. It is only during the consultation that I notice whether the person, with his qualifications and his manner, suits me. Of course, there are professional associations of brokers, as well as appropriate training and further education. All this is also very important.

But even more important is whether the broker knows his market. Can he show comparative prices? Does he have a larger number of reference properties in the region? Is his name not only known in the region, but does he have a good reputation? If it is important to you that the estate agent proceeds rather cautiously, you should attach particular importance to discretion.

Discretion when buying and selling a house?

Question: A broker works in public and needs many contacts to make the business work. How can you be discreet?

In fact: there are also real “discreet brokers”! Especially with customers who do not like to appear in public with their sales or purchase intentions, this kind of broker is in demand. A luxury villa in Wiesbaden or a great penthouse apartment can be sold much better if there are no screaming billboards in front of the house. Mostly, the owners and their property do not want to be identified either by photos of the house or location descriptions.

For the buyer this means: he can only get hold of such properties via one of these discreet brokers. They often appear only in the files of the broker. In the relevant real estate portals, you will find these objects rather not. If you go to a real estate agent, you can openly address the issue of discretion. I consider the discreet working method of a good real estate agent to be very important and still completely underestimated.

Focus Frankfurt: Investing in the Rhine-Main Region

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