ᐅ General Questions (Leasehold)

Of course, one can also purchase a right, not just a physical property. But even then, it remains clear who your role is in the process. Last but not least, all of this does not take place in some shady dive behind the train station, but rather at the notary’s office.

---

https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

User0815 schrieb:

No, it’s not a lease agreement, but a purchase contract for a hereditary building right. "Erbpacht" is colloquial.

Now, a little clarification.
1. There is a hereditary building rights contract. This contract establishes the hereditary building right. It specifies the rights and obligations of both the holder of the building right and the issuer (for example, the amount and indexing of the ground rent, the term of the lease agreement—usually 99 years for residential buildings—reversion, compensation upon expiration of the hereditary building right, and the permitted use of the building right).
2. A notarized purchase contract is signed (for the hereditary building right), and the hereditary building rights contract is assumed by the holder of the building right.

So, both transactions have now been named.

I live in an area where many plots of land are leasehold. However, this is often not mentioned in listings and, if at all, is only indicated by a lower price.
Dear original poster, if your main concern is to avoid buying leasehold land, you will have to ask directly and possibly request an extract from the land registry. But if you want to buy something, it will require some work and effort – after all, it involves a significant amount of money.

What fears do you have about expropriation? Is it because of things like bypass roads, airports, open-pit mining, or if you’re unable to pay? I don’t believe there will be any difference.

alwayssearchin schrieb:

Good day,

I hope I am posting in the right subforum

I am planning to build a house on my own plot of land in Hesse at some point.

I keep encountering the same issue:

I do not want to acquire a leasehold property. The land should be fully owned by me.
Some listings also mention that the land is leasehold.

Here are my specific questions:

Can a purchased plot of land that was NOT acquired as leasehold be expropriated?

How can one recognize that it might be leasehold, besides it being explicitly mentioned in the listing? I don’t want to waste valuable time with inquiries only to find out later that, although not explicitly stated, there is a kind of "code" or other indication in the listing that experts understand as meaning leasehold, so it is actually included.

How is land ownership regulated in Germany in general? Does it vary from state to state or is it uniform throughout the country?
Can it generally be said that land ownership rights in Germany are better or worse compared to neighboring countries such as Austria, Switzerland, or France?

And the most important question: How can I be sure that the plot of land I purchase belongs to me and me alone?

Best regards

alwayssearchin

I understand that you do not want to enter into a leasehold agreement, but especially in high-priced areas, it can make building more affordable.

Hello

I would like to thank you in advance for your replies.

So far, I understand that you can generally recognize a ground lease by the price. However, especially in metropolitan areas, ground leases are often priced close to what the land itself would cost about 50km (30 miles) away.

Since there were some follow-up questions, I want to answer them so that this topic can be settled for me:

What fear do you have of expropriation? Because of things like bypass roads, airports, open-pit mining, or if you can’t pay? I don’t think there will be any difference.

Well, I hope that with what I consider a secure job, I will be able to manage the costs over several decades. Of course, I wouldn’t dive in somewhere without any equity… I believe this issue should (hopefully) be off the table at least from that perspective.

My main concern is that once everything is paid off and settled, the government might come along and decide to build a road right through my garden or expropriate part of the property for possible construction, meaning that the profit only goes to the construction company and it’s not a forced expropriation in the true sense—that is, for the public good (which of course would still be frustrating).

In this context, and regarding the question about neighboring countries, it is important for me to know where, for example, a forced expropriation—by whichever authority—is significantly harder to enforce.

Or whether neighboring countries offer significantly stronger property rights, especially regarding ownership beneath the earth’s surface, compared to Germany. Since I am no expert, that is why I basically asked about property rights in neighboring countries.

Best regards

alwayssearchin

alwayssearchin schrieb:

My main concern is that once everything is fully paid off and settled, the government might come along and decide to build a road through my garden or expropriate another part of the property for potential construction, so that the profit ends up only with the construction company and it’s not really a compulsory purchase in the true sense; meaning for the public good (which would, of course, also be frustrating).

You can’t protect yourself from that, no matter which country you live in. Somewhere, the common good takes priority over your personal interests. In the very unlikely event that the government needs your property, you will be financially compensated. However, no one will take your land to build houses. If anything, it would be for a highway or something similar.

As I said, all of this is very, very unlikely.

But keep in mind, in rural areas it’s more common for new roads, power lines, or similar infrastructure to be built than in cities. So just don’t buy a remote, isolated plot in the middle of nowhere—choose a regular lot within a city, and you’ll be safe.