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Guides for buying and financing in Germany

Written for expats and internationals who did not grow up with the German system. Every guide answers one question properly and carries the calculator that goes with it.

Buying a home5 guides

From the first calculation to the keys in your hand

Buying property in Germany, step by stepFrom the first calculation to the keys in your hand, the German process runs in a fixed order. Nothing about it is desig…Read the guide →7 minKaufnebenkosten: the costs on top of the priceThe advertised price is not what you pay. Between 7.5 % and 15 % comes on top in taxes and fees, almost none o…Read the guide →5 minHow much deposit do you actually need?There is no single answer, but there is a clear structure. Two different pots of money get called a deposit in Germany, …Read the guide →5 minThe notary appointment, explainedNo property changes hands in Germany without a notary reading the contract aloud and both sides signing in front of them…Read the guide →5 minRent or buy in Germany?Germany is the one large European country where renting is normal rather than a stage on the way to owning. That is not …Read the guide →5 min

Getting a mortgage9 guides

What German banks look at, and which door you go through

Getting a mortgage on an EU Blue CardAn EU Blue Card is one of the better positions to be in when approaching a German bank — but it is not a permanent permi…Read the guide →5 minBuying with permanent residencePermanent residence removes the single objection that makes some lenders hesitate on foreign applicants. It does not mak…Read the guide →5 minBuying with little or no equityIt is possible to buy in Germany with very little of your own money. It is also more expensive, available at fewer banks…Read the guide →6 minSCHUFA explained, for people who did not grow up hereAlmost every financial door in Germany — a flat, a phone contract, a mortgage — has SCHUFA somewhere behind it. If you a…Read the guide →5 minMortgages for people in techTech pays well in Germany, and yet tech workers are turned down more often than their salaries suggest. The reason is al…Read the guide →5 minMortgages when you are self-employedSelf-employment does not close the door to a German mortgage. It changes which door you go through, what you have to bri…Read the guide →5 minMortgages for doctors and medical staffDoctors are among the more welcome applicants at German banks: the income is documented, the profession is stable, and t…Read the guide →5 minKfW funding, explainedKfW is the German state development bank, and it lends for property on terms no commercial bank matches. Nationality is …Read the guide →5 minWhen your fixed rate endsA German mortgage is not repaid at the end of its fixed period — a balance remains, and it needs new terms. What you do …Read the guide →5 min

Pension and retirement6 guides

What the state will pay, and what to do about the gap

Will your German pension be enough?Most people working in Germany have never seen the number their pension will actually pay. It arrives once a year in a l…Read the guide →5 minBasisrente: turning tax into pensionThere is a way of saving for retirement in Germany where the tax office covers a large part of the deposit. It is not a …Read the guide →10 minThe company pension, explainedEvery employee in Germany has a legal right to a company pension, funded from their own gross salary with an employer to…Read the guide →5 minVoluntary contributions, and the five-year lineFifty-eight months of contributions and you get nothing. Sixty and you have a pension for life. If you are anywhere near…Read the guide →5 minLeaving Germany: what happens to your pensionContributions you made in Germany do not evaporate when you leave. But whether they turn into a pension, into a refund, …Read the guide →5 minGetting your pension contributions refundedSearch for this and you will find plenty of services offering to reclaim your German pension contributions for a fee. Th…Read the guide →5 min

Insurance8 guides

One guide per policy: what it covers, what it costs, and who needs it

Insurance in Germany: what you need, in the right orderGermany runs on insurance, and newcomers are offered most of it in their first six months — usually in German, usually b…Read the guide →4 minPublic or private health insurance in GermanyHealth cover is compulsory in Germany from your first day of residence, and most internationals make the choice between …Read the guide →5 minPrivate liability insurance in GermanyAsk any German which insurance a newcomer should arrange first, and you will get the same answer: Privathaftpflicht. It …Read the guide →4 minProtecting your income in GermanyYour salary pays the rent, the mortgage, the pension contributions and every insurance policy on this website. For most …Read the guide →5 minContents insurance in GermanyFurnishing a flat in Germany is expensive. Replacing everything in it after a fire or a burglary is considerably more ex…Read the guide →4 minTerm life insurance in GermanyA German mortgage runs for twenty-five or thirty years. It does not end if the person paying it does. Term life insuranc…Read the guide →5 minLegal expenses insurance in GermanyGermans go to court more readily than almost anyone in Europe, and losing means paying both sides' legal costs. Legal ex…Read the guide →4 minCar insurance in GermanyCar insurance is compulsory in Germany — no policy, no number plate. The part worth knowing before you arrange it is the…Read the guide →5 min

Property as an investment1 guides

Buy-to-let with the numbers in front of you

Buying property to let in GermanyGerman buy-to-let works differently from most markets. Yields are lower, tenant protection is stronger, and the return o…Read the guide →5 min