Property Law — Selling from Abroad
Nº 06 · MMXXVISell your German property from abroad — turnkey.
You live in the US, Russia, Israel, Dubai or elsewhere and own an apartment, a house or an inherited property in Germany? We handle the entire sale remotely: clear the land register and inheritance certificate, steer the right agent, run the notary by power of attorney and move proceeds and tax cleanly abroad. In English, German and Russian.
RemoteFull support online — no trip to Germany required.
EN · DE · RUCommunication and contract review in three languages, nothing lost.
TurnkeyFrom clearing ownership to money in your account — one hand.
Who sells from abroad
Four situations, one goal: sell securely, without travelling.
The seller is abroad, the property is in Germany — that distance is exactly what we remove.
Inherited property while living in the US, Russia or Israel
Situation: you inherited a German property but have rarely or never been to Germany.
Pain: land-register transfer, certificate of inheritance, community of heirs — a vast, foreign machine. We guide you through it, make the property saleable first, then sell it.
Moved away, the old flat in Germany sits empty
Situation: you relocated abroad and the former apartment only ties up cost.
Pain: managing it from afar is a chore — but how do you sell remotely and safely? We take over steering, deadlines and notarisation by power of attorney, so no return flight is needed.
An investor wants out — cash instead of locked-up capital
Situation: an investor from Russia, the Gulf or Asia wants to liquidate the German asset.
Pain: cross-border money transfer, tax and compliance, choosing an agent blind. We check the speculation period and double taxation and settle the payout under KYC/AML.
A family spread across countries, one property in Germany
Situation: co-owners or heirs live in different countries and must agree.
Pain: coordination across borders and time zones, competing interests. We centralise communication, mediate the settlement and drive the sale to closing.
Services — turnkey
Sell your German property from abroad — four steps, one hand.
You need neither to guess nor to travel. We take on every step and keep you posted in your language.
Clear the land register & inheritance certificate
We check the land register (Grundbuch), arrange its correction and establish ownership: certificate of inheritance (Erbschein) or European Certificate of Succession, settlement of the community of heirs, deletion of old encumbrances. Until ownership is clean, the property cannot be sold.
Steer the agent — we choose, you don't guess
Judging an agent from abroad is guesswork. We select and instruct a suitable local agent, negotiate commission and mandate terms, and keep the listing, marketing and buyers under control — in your interest, not the first caller's.
Notary remotely — sale by power of attorney
A property sale must be notarised (§ 311b BGB). You do not have to fly to Germany: notarisation runs via a notarial power of attorney (§ 29 GBO) or the German embassy. We review the draft and secure payment date, handover and priority notice in your favour.
Proceeds & tax cleanly transferred abroad
We handle payment via notary escrow or directly, watch the bank's KYC/AML compliance and the required proof. Before the sale we clarify speculation tax (§ 23 EStG), possible exemptions and the applicable double taxation treaty — so the proceeds reach you securely.
Regions
Sellers we support from abroad.
We account for your country's specifics: time zones, bank compliance and the mechanics of transferring funds.
US & Canada
Heirs resident in North America: certificate of succession, land-register correction and a sale without travel — coordinated across time zones.
UK & Europe
Expats and investors selling a second property — three-language support from clearing title to closing.
UAE & the Gulf
Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the region: fast, cash-oriented sales with a clean tax and transfer structure.
Israel, Russia & beyond
Inherited and second properties — for Russian-speaking clients see our dedicated Russian-language page →
Guide — Selling from Abroad
Selling property in Germany from abroad: process, vendor's due diligence and tax
Selling German real estate from abroad means facing the same distance as a foreign buyer, only in reverse: a foreign legal system, no direct access to authorities and documents, money and trust crossing the border. The sections below explain how we run the sale turnkey — from clearing ownership and preparing the property to the payout.
Ownership first: land register, inheritance certificate and heirs
Only the person recorded as owner in the land register (Grundbuch) can sell. With inherited property that entry is missing at first: a certificate of inheritance (Erbschein) or a European Certificate of Succession and the subsequent land-register correction are required. If several heirs are involved, the community of heirs must be settled or at least a joint intention to sell established. We handle these steps before any marketing begins — otherwise the sale collapses at the notary. For estates with a US element we work with the specialist practice us-nachlass.de.
Vendor's due diligence — making the property saleable
In a purchase, examining the asset (due diligence) is traditionally the buyer's task, because for existing properties the buyer's warranty rights are typically excluded in the contract (the caveat emptor principle). Increasingly important, however, is vendor's due diligence — the seller preparing the property for sale. It removes identified weaknesses in advance, shortens negotiations and builds trust: where the reviewing lawyers stand behind their result towards the buyer too, in the form of a reliance letter, the buyer's risk falls — and your price rises. For the seller, this means resolving the information asymmetry in your favour, rather than getting it back later as liability.
Specifically, before the sale we review and put in order, among other things:
- the public-law inventory: planning, refurbishment, milieu-protection, monument-protection, fire-safety and building-code law;
- the technical installations including the energy certificate and accompanying documents;
- continuing obligations such as maintenance and caretaker contracts;
- the floor-area calculation (main and ancillary areas);
- the property insurance passing under § 95 VVG (risks, terms, reinstatement/current value);
- service-charge management and the tax classification, above all for VAT;
- for let properties, tenancy due diligence: rent levels, indexation, term, options, maintenance and cosmetic-repair clauses, written form (§ 566 BGB, "sale does not break lease");
- the consents underlying the land-register entries — easements, charges — as well as heritable building rights, the declaration of division and the community rules for condominium (WEG) properties.
Steering the agent instead of guessing
Assessing the right agent from abroad is almost impossible. We select and instruct a local agent, negotiate commission and exclusivity, review the listing and marketing strategy and keep the process in hand — in your interest. For the contract side, see buying property in Germany from abroad.
Notary and sale by power of attorney
A property sale contract must be notarised (§ 311b BGB). As a seller abroad you need not attend in person: notarisation runs via a notarial power of attorney (at least notarised certification, § 29 GBO) or the German embassy; where a power of attorney is insufficient, subsequent ratification helps (§§ 177 ff. BGB). We review the draft, secure the payment date, handover and priority notice (Auflassungsvormerkung) and prepare the power of attorney in proper form.
Price, money transfer and tax abroad
Payment usually runs via a notary escrow account or directly against the priority notice. For non-residents we pay particular attention to the bank's KYC/AML compliance and the necessary proof. The decisive tax point is the speculation period: selling within ten years of acquisition, without own use, can make the capital gain subject to income tax (§ 23 EStG). We check the period, any exemption, the applicable double taxation treaty and the payout abroad — so the proceeds reach you securely.
Advice in English, German and Russian. Describe your property and situation — in a free initial consultation we will tell you which steps your sale from abroad requires.
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