Hello everyone,
We are currently buying a house, and something very strange happened that I’m not sure how to handle.
A bit of background: after a long search and countless viewings, we finally managed to get a house.
The viewing had to be arranged at very short notice, and there was no time for my partner to join. (Luckily, I recorded everything on video.)
My partner never saw the house from the inside but was still convinced by the videos and the location, so we signed the purchase contract.
Now to the situation:
We met the real estate agent (almost) for the first time when signing the purchase contract; before that, there were only a few phone calls where he requested the financing confirmation and informed us about the notary appointment.
All other contact and the viewing were conducted with the neighbor, who is a friend of the owner.
Shortly before the notary appointment, the agent wanted to meet again. He then offered me to pay the €20,000 (about $21,500) commission in cash right after the notary appointment to avoid taxes, which could save us almost €3,000 (about $3,200).
(I have to admit, at the time I thought he meant we could save the 3% VAT, so I said it probably shouldn’t be that much.)
I declined the offer, which obviously didn’t please him...
Later, after talking to someone else, I realized that he was actually suggesting an undeclared cash payment, completely without paying 16% or 19% VAT.
A quick calculation confirmed that we would have paid about €17,000 (about $18,300) in total.
Still, I was glad to refuse because we included the commission in our financing and would have had no proof of payment.
Now here’s the strange part:
We have just received an invoice for the full €20,000 (about $21,500), which states that no VAT is due due to the small business regulation (Kleinunternehmerregelung).
This confuses me a lot. If he doesn’t have to charge VAT, how could he make the previous offer?
The company looks well-established, offers many services, and according to the website has been around for 20 years. (In theory, it could still be possible that he qualifies as a small business under VAT rules.)
I don’t understand any of this.
At the same time, he seems to be a very close friend of the owner, and we don’t want to upset him since we haven’t taken possession of the house yet.
The payment deadline on the invoice is the day after tomorrow.
I would appreciate any advice.
Best regards
We are currently buying a house, and something very strange happened that I’m not sure how to handle.
A bit of background: after a long search and countless viewings, we finally managed to get a house.
The viewing had to be arranged at very short notice, and there was no time for my partner to join. (Luckily, I recorded everything on video.)
My partner never saw the house from the inside but was still convinced by the videos and the location, so we signed the purchase contract.
Now to the situation:
We met the real estate agent (almost) for the first time when signing the purchase contract; before that, there were only a few phone calls where he requested the financing confirmation and informed us about the notary appointment.
All other contact and the viewing were conducted with the neighbor, who is a friend of the owner.
Shortly before the notary appointment, the agent wanted to meet again. He then offered me to pay the €20,000 (about $21,500) commission in cash right after the notary appointment to avoid taxes, which could save us almost €3,000 (about $3,200).
(I have to admit, at the time I thought he meant we could save the 3% VAT, so I said it probably shouldn’t be that much.)
I declined the offer, which obviously didn’t please him...
Later, after talking to someone else, I realized that he was actually suggesting an undeclared cash payment, completely without paying 16% or 19% VAT.
A quick calculation confirmed that we would have paid about €17,000 (about $18,300) in total.
Still, I was glad to refuse because we included the commission in our financing and would have had no proof of payment.
Now here’s the strange part:
We have just received an invoice for the full €20,000 (about $21,500), which states that no VAT is due due to the small business regulation (Kleinunternehmerregelung).
This confuses me a lot. If he doesn’t have to charge VAT, how could he make the previous offer?
The company looks well-established, offers many services, and according to the website has been around for 20 years. (In theory, it could still be possible that he qualifies as a small business under VAT rules.)
I don’t understand any of this.
At the same time, he seems to be a very close friend of the owner, and we don’t want to upset him since we haven’t taken possession of the house yet.
The payment deadline on the invoice is the day after tomorrow.
I would appreciate any advice.
Best regards
There must be a brokerage agreement that specifies the commission amount in advance, right?
I mean, the agent can’t just issue an invoice afterward, sometimes including VAT and sometimes not.
What does the purchase contract with the notary say about the broker fee?
Don’t let a 2-day payment deadline intimidate you under any circumstances. If you’re a few days late, that’s completely acceptable. If the agent threatens you, just hang up immediately.
I mean, the agent can’t just issue an invoice afterward, sometimes including VAT and sometimes not.
What does the purchase contract with the notary say about the broker fee?
Don’t let a 2-day payment deadline intimidate you under any circumstances. If you’re a few days late, that’s completely acceptable. If the agent threatens you, just hang up immediately.
N
nordanney7 Jan 2021 16:36Tassimat schrieb:
But the note about the cancellation policy could be worth its weight in gold. If anything is not properly handled there... you might get lucky and have to pay nothing at all Not only the cancellation policy is important. The date of the real estate agent contract also matters. Since December 23rd, it is MANDATORY to conclude this contract in writing. Verbal agreements are no longer considered a valid contract from that date onward (unlike before December 23rd).
N
nordanney7 Jan 2021 16:38Tassimat schrieb:
@nordanney was quicker there.I'm currently in a boring conference call – a good chance to quickly take care of other things 😎Tassimat schrieb:
@nordanney was quicker there.
But the note about the cancellation policy could be really valuable. If anything isn’t properly handled there... you might, with some luck, not have to pay anything 😉 However, I think that’s difficult if the brokerage activity is confirmed by the notarized contract. It’s also unlikely that the contract was signed only after the 23rd; the timing doesn’t quite fit. And if there’s a close friendship between the agent and the owner... Regarding VAT, the entrepreneur is responsible. If they don’t pass it on, that’s good for you either way.
N
nordanney7 Jan 2021 16:45Schelli schrieb:
I think that’s difficult if the broker’s role has been confirmed in the notarized contract. Why should something related to the real estate agent be included in the contract? I haven’t encountered that in any of my purchases or sales so far. The original poster didn’t mention anything about that.