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
nordanney schrieb:
Why should something from the real estate agent be included in the contract? I haven’t had that in any of my purchases or sales so far. The original poster didn’t mention anything about that. Really? From what I know, the agent was usually present at the notarization. It’s just one sentence, but real estate agents often struggle to follow up on that. Out of curiosity: Is it included in the contract now?
Nina343434 schrieb:
The company also makes a strong impression, offering a wide range of services and, according to the website, has been operating for 20 years. (In theory, of course, it is still possible that he is a small business owner)You really need to explain that theory in more detail. For that to be the case, he would have to earn most of his income from employment and only do brokerage on the side. Or he interprets the turnover thresholds so that only the money recorded in the books counts, while primarily living off undeclared income. Does he have the website on the darknet, which customs have somehow overlooked for twenty years?https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
N
Nina3434347 Jan 2021 20:41Thank you all for your responses.
He wanted a commission confirmation from us by mid-December. We were supposed to write "broker commission 7% including taxes."
We found a sample, entered the property details, and sent it to him.
It probably isn’t worth taking any action and just paying.
That’s what we want to do anyway. It was clear from the beginning that we would have to pay a commission of €20,000, and that doesn’t bother us.
He also received the commission confirmation before the deadline for splitting the commission costs...
We are just very confused about the tax and don’t understand it at all.
What would you do now? Just pay as well?
@11ant
Well, theoretically he could be employed somewhere and only run this company as a side business, making sure to stay below the small business threshold, right? I can’t verify that...
But then why did he offer us to do it in cash without tax if no tax applies anyway?
He wanted a commission confirmation from us by mid-December. We were supposed to write "broker commission 7% including taxes."
We found a sample, entered the property details, and sent it to him.
It probably isn’t worth taking any action and just paying.
That’s what we want to do anyway. It was clear from the beginning that we would have to pay a commission of €20,000, and that doesn’t bother us.
He also received the commission confirmation before the deadline for splitting the commission costs...
We are just very confused about the tax and don’t understand it at all.
What would you do now? Just pay as well?
@11ant
Well, theoretically he could be employed somewhere and only run this company as a side business, making sure to stay below the small business threshold, right? I can’t verify that...
But then why did he offer us to do it in cash without tax if no tax applies anyway?
F
fach1werk7 Jan 2021 20:49If both parties agree that the 7% should be paid, then that’s fine. However, I would definitely process it through the official accounts. It’s not absolutely necessary, but I would ask for the real estate agent’s license; I really can’t imagine how the real estate license and small business regulation could be compatible. One of them is missing 🙂
Best regards
Gabriele
Best regards
Gabriele
