Buying a flat: the paperwork tells you more

With a house, what counts is what you can see: roof, cellar, heating. With a flat, what's on paper counts at least as much. You're not just buying your flat but a share of a whole building – and you become a member of an owners' association (Wohnungseigentümergemeinschaft, WEG) that decides on, and pays for, the roof, façade, heating and lift together.

The good news: the main risks are written down in the documents. You only have to read them.

What's yours – and what belongs to everyone

A flat in Germany comes in two parts:

• Separate ownership (Sondereigentum): your flat – interior walls, floors, bathroom, kitchen, interior doors.
• Common ownership (Gemeinschaftseigentum): everything else – roof, façade, load-bearing walls, staircase, heating system, usually also the windows and the balcony structure.

Often there are also exclusive use rights (Sondernutzungsrechte): a garden, terrace or parking space belongs to everyone, but only you may use it. An underground parking space, on the other hand, is often a separate unit with its own land register entry and its own price.

When the roof is renewed, everyone pays their share – according to the co-ownership shares set in the declaration of division. So the question isn't only "how is my flat?" but also "how is the building, and who decides about it?"

The five documents to read

1. Declaration of division and community rules

The Teilungserklärung and Gemeinschaftsordnung set out what belongs to your flat, which exclusive use rights exist and how costs are split. Look for rules that restrict you: are holiday lets banned? Do you need the others' consent to remove a wall? Does the cellar room the agent showed you really belong to this flat?

2. Minutes of the owners' meetings for the last three years

The most revealing document. It shows what people argue about, which renovations are coming and which keep being postponed. Phrases like "quotes for the façade renovation are to be obtained" or "damp in the cellar, survey commissioned" announce future costs.

3. Collection of resolutions

The property manager must keep all resolutions in a Beschlusssammlung. It shows what has already been decided – such as a special levy or a roof renovation that will only be paid after you buy.

4. Budget and last annual statement

Here you see the house money (Hausgeld): what you pay the association every month – for management, insurance, caretaker, cleaning, heating, water and the reserve. The annual statement also shows whether individual owners are behind with their payments. Large arrears are a warning sign.

5. The maintenance reserve

The reserve (Erhaltungsrücklage) is the shared savings account for repairs. What matters isn't the absolute figure but how it compares with what's coming: €80,000 is a lot for a new building with ten flats – and little for an old building whose roof is due in three years. If a big renovation comes and the reserve isn't enough, there's a special levy (Sonderumlage): an extra payment from every owner, easily several thousand euros per flat.

Is the house money too low?

Low house money sounds good but is often a bad sign: it frequently means too little goes into the reserve – and the bill arrives later as a special levy. As a rough guide, experts name about €3 to €5 per square metre per month for older buildings; much less deserves a close look at the reserve and the minutes. A lift, an underground car park or a concierge push the house money up.

Include the house money in your budget. In the Can I buy this home? calculator you enter it as running costs; it counts when checking whether the monthly payment is affordable.

At the viewing: look at the whole building

Don't just look at the flat – look at the staircase, the cellar, the courtyard and, if possible, the roof. A well-kept staircase, a dry cellar and a decent front door say a lot about how the association looks after its building. Ask about the age and type of heating – it usually belongs to everyone, and replacing it is paid for together.

Who actually lives there?

• Owner-occupiers or investors? Associations with many owner-occupiers often invest more willingly in the building. Pure investor buildings like to save.
• One majority owner? If one person or company holds more than half the shares, they can push many decisions through alone.
• The property manager: a good manager sends statements on time, gets quotes and keeps clean minutes. Ask how long they've been in charge.

Buying a rented flat

An existing tenancy passes to you with the purchase – with rent, deposit and all the tenant's rights. If you want to move in yourself, you need to give notice for personal use (Eigenbedarf), and that has limits:

• If the flat was converted into a condominium only after the tenant moved in, a waiting period applies: at least three years from the first sale nationwide, up to ten years in areas with a tight housing market. In all of Berlin it's ten years.
• After that, the statutory notice periods apply – up to nine months depending on how long the tenancy has lasted.

Read the whole tenancy agreement, check the rent (does the rent cap apply?) and have the transfer of the deposit guaranteed in the purchase contract.

In short

• You're buying into an association. Read the declaration of division, minutes, resolutions, budget and reserve.
• Low house money is no advantage if the reserve is thin and the roof is due soon.
• Look at the whole building, not just the flat.
• For rented flats: know the waiting periods for personal use, especially in Berlin.
• What comes on top of the price is in our guide to purchase costs.