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The real estate or property register (Grundbuch)

Sper Vormerk

Blocking action in the property register for the benefit of the purchaser until the factual transfer of ownership takes place.

Auflassungsvormerkung

Binding conditions, which are imperative for the legal validity of the purchase contract.

When acquiring property or real estate in Germany, you are, contrary to conditions in most European countries, not yet the formal owner of the property after signing and approval of the purchase contract by the notary public.

You are only the owner when you, as owner, have been registered in the property register (Grundbuch) as the owner.

This will be taken care of by the notary public after he has received irrevocable evidence from the purchaser that the purchase price has been paid. Evidence provided directly from the seller to the purchaser.

Where in the Netherlands and most other European countries the notary public does his “investigations” prior to signing the purchase contract, in Germany this “investigation” is typically done after the signing of the contract.

Therefore the purchase contract contains quite a number of articles which have to be fulfilled before the notary public will declare the purchase contract as legal and binding.

At the moment that nothing withholds the exchange of the property from one party to the other. The notary public will produce a “Fälligkeitsmitteilung”.

Herewith the notary public declares that all conditions of the purchase contract have been fulfilled and he at the same time claims the payment of the property (within a specified period of time).

The purchaser is then committed to pay the purchase sum exactly as specified in the “Fälligkeitsmitteilung”. This can be specified as one sum to one selling party, but it is also possiblethat the buyer has to pay several amount shares to several parties (successors).         

On the moment that the notary public has the assurance that the purchasing price has been paid and received by the seller(s) he will process the change of ownership in the “Grundbuch” (property register).

When this action has been finished you will receive written evidence and only then you cab call yourself the formal owner.

To prevent a “villain” from selling the object to another interested party while you have signed the purchase contract at the notary public a “Sper Vorwerk” is processed at the property register. The prove of this blocking action is included in the purchase contract as a binding condition. A condition which is imperative for the legal validity of the purchase contract.

This “Sper Vorwerk” is your assurance that you at the end of the whole purchasing process indeed will become the owner. In fact, you will become the owner after having received prove of your payment of the purchasing price. So without the “Sper Vorwerk” the property can theoretically be sold to other buyers.

Theoretically of course, because when buying with the services of Hollander-Makler, you will be prevented for these pitfalls. That’s our business.