An Auflassungsvormerkung is a priority notice in the land register that secures the buyer's claim to the property between signing and registration as owner. Because later sales, charges and even the seller's insolvency cannot defeat that claim, German closings are built so that the price falls due only once the notice is registered.
What it is
A priority notice (Vormerkung) secures a claim to the grant or cancellation of a right in land; future and conditional claims qualify too (§ 883(1) BGB). For a buyer, it secures the claim to transfer of ownership under the notarised purchase contract. It is entered in section II of the seller's register sheet (§ 10(1) GBV), normally on the seller's approval given in the purchase deed (§ 885(1) BGB).
Any later disposition of the property is ineffective against the buyer to the extent that it would defeat or impair the claim. This includes a disposition made by way of enforcement or by an insolvency administrator (§ 883(2) BGB). Whoever acquired a right in the meantime must consent to the registration or deletion needed to fulfil the claim (§ 888(1) BGB). In the seller's insolvency, the buyer can still demand the transfer (§ 106 InsO).
Why it matters to investors
The notice is what makes paying safe. In a German closing the price falls due only once the notary confirms that it is registered and the other conditions are met (Part 8). Under a developer contract covered by the MaBV, the first instalment may be taken only after the notice is registered at the agreed rank, unless the developer provides a guarantee instead (§§ 3(1), 7(1) MaBV; Part 6).
Its limits matter as much. It secures the claim to the land, not the money paid. A buyer who withdraws from a stalled forward deal gives up the protection and is left with an unsecured claim for repayment unless a guarantee covers it (Part 6). It is only as good as the contract behind it: a contract void because a side agreement was left out of the deed (Part 8) leaves it no claim to secure. And it does not displace charges registered before it; those must be released, which is why the notary also collects deletion approvals for the seller's land charges before the price falls due (Part 8).
What to check
• The notary's written confirmation that the notice is registered, with only the encumbrances you accepted ranking ahead of it.
• Deletion approvals for every prior land charge, in the notary's hands before payment.
• A complete deed, with every side agreement recorded, so that the secured claim exists.
• In a forward purchase, a guarantee for the instalments paid.
• An agreed route to delete the notice if the contract is unwound, since deletion normally needs the buyer's approval (§ 19 GBO).
Sources: BGB §§ 883, 885, 888; InsO § 106; GBO § 19; Grundbuchverfügung (GBV) § 10; MaBV §§ 3, 7; Gordon Real Estate Group, "German Prime Retail", Parts 6 and 8. Legal position as of 10 October 2026.
Photo: Annie Spratt / Unsplash
This entry is general information and not legal or tax advice.