2026-10-10 11:59

What do you risk buying property in Germany without your own lawyer?

The risk is a contract that protects the seller: the notary is impartial and negotiates for neither side, and the broker earns a commission only if the deal goes through. Without their own lawyer, buyers risk accepting the seller's exclusion of liability for defects, voiding the whole contract by leaving an important agreement outside the notarial deed, or buying a lease the tenant may end early. In our experience, legal due diligence, negotiation and closing together cost €12,000–25,000 — no more than 0.25% of the price of a €10 million store.

The notary records the deal but does not represent you

A German notary is an independent holder of a public office (§ 1 BNotO) and the impartial adviser of all parties, not the representative of one of them (§ 14(1) BNotO). The notary explains the legal effect of the contract (§ 17(1) BeurkG) but does not negotiate commercial terms or assess the price and the tax consequences (see Part 8 of the series German Prime Retail). For a negligent error, a notary is liable only if the injured party cannot obtain compensation in any other way (§ 19(1) BNotO).

Nor is the broker your lawyer: the commission is earned only if the contract is concluded (§ 652(1) BGB). Gordon Real Estate Group itself works as a broker, so we will say it plainly: the broker's interest is that the deal happens; your lawyer's interest is that it happens on your terms. If you do not speak German well enough, the deed is translated for you (§ 16 BeurkG) — but a translation is not advice.

The costliest mistakes come to light after signing

Exhibit 1. Seven risks surface only after signing, when the contract can no longer be corrected

Risk	Consequence	Statute
Agreement left outside the notarial deed	The entire contract is void — until the buyer is registered	§§ 125, 311b(1) BGB
Defects in the property	No claims for defects known at signing; for the rest, where liability is excluded, only if the seller acted intentionally or gave a guarantee	§§ 442, 444 BGB
Form defect in the lease	A 15-year lease can be terminated on roughly six months' notice	§§ 550, 578, 580a BGB
Claims against the developer not assigned	The buyer inherits the defects but not the claims	§ 398 BGB
Precautionary VAT option not declared in the deed	An option declared outside the notarial deed is invalid	§ 9(3) UStG
Public charges and soil contamination	The bill can go to the new owner, including for the past	§ 134 BauGB; § 4(3) BBodSchG
A buying GmbH waives MaBV protection	Payments to the developer without security	§ 7(2) MaBV

The main trap lies where market practice meets the law. In our experience, contracts for completed buildings mostly exclude the seller's liability for defects. And a defect that your own due diligence has uncovered is a defect known to you at signing (§ 442(1) BGB). Your lawyer must therefore turn every finding into a contract term — a price reduction, a guarantee, an assignment of claims — or into a decision to walk away.

A lawyer costs a fraction of one per cent of the price

In our experience, the legal workstream, including negotiation of the contract and closing, costs €12,000–25,000; full due diligence on a supermarket across all four workstreams costs €30,000–50,000. Full due diligence is 0.3–0.5% of a €10 million price, and only a small fraction of the real estate transfer tax alone, at 3.5–6.5% (Part 7). The cost of a mistake is of a different order. In 2018 a tax adviser's report stopped our clients from buying a Netto discount store in Mannheim with an advertised yield of 6.0%. The new lease allowed no costs at all to be passed on to the tenant (Part 7).

Implications for investors

1. Retain your own lawyer before the letter of intent. The notary is impartial, and the broker earns a commission only if the deal goes through: only your lawyer argues for your terms in the contract.

2. Turn every due-diligence finding into a contract term. A defect that due diligence has uncovered is a defect known to you at signing, and it gives you no claims. It must become a price reduction, a guarantee or an assignment of claims — or a reason to walk away.

3. Put everything you agree into the notarial deed. An agreement left outside the deed can void the entire contract until the buyer is registered, and a precautionary VAT option declared outside the deed is invalid.

What to check:
• Retain a lawyer before the letter of intent, and give them the draft contract well ahead of the notary appointment.
• Include every agreement — guarantees, side letters, arrangements on fixtures — in the notarial deed.
• Reflect each due-diligence finding in the price, a guarantee or a contract term.
• Make sure the purchase agreement assigns to you the claims against the developer and contractors.
• Check that the precautionary VAT option is declared in the deed itself.

Sources: §§ 1, 14, 19 BNotO; §§ 16, 17 BeurkG; §§ 125, 311b, 398, 442, 444, 550, 578, 580a, 652 BGB; § 9 UStG; § 134 BauGB; § 4 BBodSchG; § 7 MaBV; the series German Prime Retail, Parts 6, 7 and 8; Gordon Real Estate Group transaction experience. Legal position as of October 2026.

Photo: Jan-Philipp Thiele / Unsplash

This page is general information and not investment, legal or tax advice.

Ilya Gordon