Articles & analysis.
Property purchase topics, set out clearly for clients.
BRANDAUER Rechtsanwälte
Salzburg law firm for real estate, property and corporate law
Every matter is handled by a coordinated team of lawyers, legal staff and specialists. In property purchase matters we look at the contract, land register, escrow and tax consequences together.
Buying an apartment with unauthorised alterations
Apartment with unauthorised alterations: check owners association consent, building file, rollback risk, warranty and retention before signing.
Foreign purchase funds: source of funds, escrow and delays
Foreign funds in an Austrian property purchase: clarify source of funds, bank checks, escrow, delays and purchase price maturity before signing.
Short-term rental and Airbnb after buying an apartment
Airbnb after apartment purchase: check zoning, WEG condominium rules, house rules, leisure residence limits, use and contract wording.
Sewer, septic tank and wastewater connection in a house purchase
House purchase and wastewater: check sewer connection, septic tank, private system, authority orders, costs and assurances.
Buying attic space: development right, building permit and condominium checks
Buying attic space in Austria: check development right, condominium title, usable value, consent, building permit and contract wording.
Well, spring and water supply in a land purchase contract
Buying land with a well or spring: check water rights, easements, pipes, quality, costs and contract wording before signing.
Missing occupancy permit in a house purchase contract
Missing occupancy permit in a house purchase: check authority file, consent, completion, use, demolition risk and contract before payment.
Buying an apartment building in Austria: rent roll, arrears and fixed term leases
Which rental documents buyers should review before signing so income, arrears, deposits and lease terms are reliable.
Buying an apartment with a pending owners resolution challenge in Austria
What buyers should check when an owners resolution is being challenged before purchase price, reserves and cost risks are fixed.
Land register document archive: what buyers should review before signing
Why buyers should read not only the land register extract but also the documents behind easements, mortgages and condominium entries.
Public road access when buying land in Austria: secure access before signing
How buyers should check whether physical access, public road connection, plans and contract documents really match.
Wrong land area in the purchase contract: survey, price and challenge
How buyers should assess discrepancies between area, cadastre, contract and survey documents before buying land in Austria.
Pending land register application before purchase: what an open reference number means for buyers
What a pending land register application means and how buyers should handle it before signing, escrow release and registration.
Amending an Austrian property purchase contract before registration
When an amendment to an Austrian property purchase contract is useful and which points must be fit for registration before completion.
Checking the owners association before buying an apartment: minutes, resolutions and management
Which owners association documents buyers should review before buying an apartment and how minutes, resolutions and reserves reveal risk.
Buying land with a non-final building permit: neighbour appeals and contract safeguards
What buyers should consider when a building permit is not final and neighbour appeals affect the land purchase contract.
Buying a demolition property in Austria: costs, permits and disposal clauses
Which demolition costs, permits, pollutants and disposal duties buyers should regulate before buying an old house for demolition.
Building obligation and contractual zoning when buying land
Why buyers should review building deadlines, municipal agreements and buyback rights before buying land.
Housing subsidy loan when buying property in Salzburg
How buyers should review a housing subsidy loan, mortgage and escrow before buying property in Salzburg.
Multiple sellers in a property purchase contract
How buyers should check consents, powers of attorney, signatures and price distribution with multiple sellers.
Buying commercial property with an operating facility permit
Permits, official conditions and use risks buyers should review before buying commercial property.
Photovoltaic system and heat pump in a house purchase
Ownership, maintenance, feed in and subsidy issues buyers should review for PV systems and heat pumps.
Conditions precedent in an Austrian property purchase contract
When conditions precedent are useful in Austrian property purchases and how they connect with financing, approvals, escrow and registration.
Early key handover before land register registration
Risks when buyers receive keys before registration and how the Austrian property purchase contract can secure use, costs and return.
Land register application after signing the purchase contract
What happens after signing until registration in the Austrian land register and which documents buyers should monitor.
Purchase price maturity in an Austrian property purchase contract
When the purchase price should become due in an Austrian property purchase and how escrow, discharge of encumbrances and the land register interact.
Purchase price retention for open defects before handover
How buyers can document open defects before handover and regulate a purchase price retention through escrow in the contract.
Family home in a property sale: consent, risk and contract review
Family home in a property sale: why consent, residential interests and assurances should be reviewed before signing.
Minors in property purchases: approval and secure settlement
Minors in property purchases: review representation, court approval, escrow and land register before signing.
Municipal charges in a house purchase: arrears and cut-off date
Municipal charges, property tax and operating costs in a house purchase: regulate confirmations, cut-off date, retention and later payments.
Real burdens, life estate and annuity in Austrian property purchases
Real burden, life estate or annuity in the land register: what buyers should review before signing the purchase contract.
Vacant handover: securing vacating and possession in the contract
Vacant handover in a property purchase: secure vacating, inventory, keys and consequences of delayed handover.
Buying property through a GmbH: authority, company register and AML checks
When a GmbH buys property, authority, company register evidence, beneficial ownership and financing must be documented cleanly.
Flood zones and natural hazards before buying land in Austria
Flood zones, surface water and hazard maps before buying land in Austria: documents, clauses and risk allocation.
Instalments and seller financing in an Austrian property purchase contract
Instalments or seller financing need clear maturity, security, default consequences and escrow logic in the purchase contract.
Securing a property purchase option and option agreement
A purchase option can create time, but it is reliable only if deadline, exercise, price and security are clearly regulated.
Seller abroad: signatures, apostille and the Austrian land register
If a seller signs abroad, certification, apostille, translation and Austrian land register usability must be clarified in advance.
Accessories, parking and garden areas in an apartment purchase contract
Cellar, parking space and garden area when buying an apartment: what should be visible in contract, valuation report and land register.
Building authority orders and open notices when buying a house
Open orders, authority notices and conditions when buying a house: how buyers separate contractual risk from construction law.
Deposit, forfeit money and contractual penalty in a property purchase
Deposit, forfeit money or contractual penalty: which payment creates which risk in a property purchase contract.
Development, connection charges and infrastructure costs in a land purchase
Buying land: how development, connection charges and infrastructure costs should be allocated in the purchase contract.
Joint property purchase by unmarried partners: shares, loan and exit
Buying together without marriage: how ownership shares, loan, repayment and exit should be clarified before signing.
Checking boundary cadastre and natural boundaries before buying land
Why buyers should compare cadastre, plan, fence line and contract before buying land.
Listed buildings and old houses: what buyers should check before the purchase contract
Which documents and clauses matter when buying an old or listed building.
Checking renovation resolutions and special levies when buying an apartment
How buyers can address open renovations, special levies and the reserve fund in the contract.
Reservation agreement in a property purchase: fee, commitment and risk
When a reservation agreement creates commitment, which fee is risky and which clauses should be reviewed before signing.
Reviewing the valuation report and condominium allocation when buying an apartment
Why apartment buyers should compare valuation report, appurtenances, plan and land register.
Allocating the purchase price to inventory and furnishings: what is permissible
Allocating the purchase price to inventory and furnishings: when movable items leave the basis of assessment for the levies and when a sham allocation looms.
Apartment ownership agreement and house rules before buying
Which documents buyers should review before buying an apartment: ownership agreement, house rules, use rules and exclusive-use rights.
Renovation plans after buying an apartment: consent under section 16 WEG
Why buyers should clarify renovation plans, common parts, valuation and consent under section 16 WEG before buying an apartment.
Avoiding the purchase contract for error or fraudulent deception
Avoidance of the property purchase contract for error (section 871), fraudulent deception (section 870) and laesio enormis (section 934): requirements, periods and consequences.
Second home and holiday home: restrictions when buying in Salzburg
Second home and holiday home when buying property in Salzburg: when leisure use is permissible, what the declaration of use means and which levies and consequences loom.
Buyer dies before registration: contract and land register
Why a buyer’s death between signing, escrow and land register completion requires careful review of contract, heirs and closing.
Nature protection and protected areas before buying land
Why protected areas, trees and nature protection approvals should be checked before buying land in Salzburg.
Notarial deed or certified signature: which form the purchase contract needs
Certified signature under section 31 GBG or notarial deed: which form the property purchase contract needs, when the Notarial Deed Act applies and what the form costs.
Power of attorney for property purchase: form and land register
Which special authority, certification and representation evidence should be checked before signing a property purchase.
Buying property at forced auction in Austria
Which documents buyers should review before award, payment and handover in an Austrian forced auction.
Building insurance and risk transfer when buying a house
Why buyers should clarify building insurance and risk transfer before handover, land register completion and payment.
Buying commercial property: VAT option and contract wording
Why VAT option, input tax and contract wording should be coordinated early with legal and tax advisers when buying commercial property.
Checking contaminated sites and soil contamination before the purchase: prior use, atlas and contract
Why possible soil contamination must be checked before buying a plot: contaminated sites, indications from prior use and the atlas and securing it in the contract.
Oil tank, asbestos and pollutants when buying an old building
Which documents buyers should review and secure contractually for oil tanks, asbestos and building pollutants in old properties.
Buying property from an insolvency administrator
What buyers should clarify in a private sale from an insolvency estate: authority, approval, encumbrances and escrow.
Buying property with a building permit: project, conditions and transferability
What buyers should review when purchasing property with a building permit: project status, conditions, construction start, plan changes and costs.
Buying agricultural land in Salzburg: land transfer, farming and approval
What buyers should review when acquiring agricultural land in Salzburg: land transfer rules, farming use, intended use and land register entry.
Buying a building right or superstructure: ownership on someone else’s land
What buyers should review in building rights and superstructures: term, rent, reversion, land register status and the split from land ownership.
Buying property involving adult representation: court approval and authority
What buyers should review in property deals involving adult representation: authority to represent, court approval, conflicts and secure closing.
Checking zoning and building land before the purchase: zoning, developability and contract
Why zoning must be checked before buying a plot: building land versus green land, developability via the building plan and securing a warranty in the contract.
Benefits, burdens and risk transfer in the property purchase contract
What buyers should agree for the cut-off date of benefits, burdens and risk: service charges, taxes, insurance, damage and possession.
Buying an Undivided Co-ownership Share: Use, Administration and Division
What applies when buying an undivided co-ownership share: the distinction from condominium ownership, the use agreement, the right to division and rights of first refusal.
Buying part of a plot: division plan, survey document and land register
What buyers should review before a part-plot purchase is registered: survey, zoning, access, easements and new plot boundaries.
Buying a rented apartment: lease, deposit and service charges
What buyers should review when buying an already rented apartment: rent, deposit, reserves, service charges and existing rights of use.
Priority notice for intended sale: securing priority in the land register
How buyers can secure priority notice for an intended sale: interim entries, double-sale risks, mortgages and transaction timing.
Buying Property from an Estate: Disposal, Devolution and Court Approval
What to watch for when buying a property from an estate: the power of disposal, the role of the formal devolution and the sequence of registrations.
Governing the Seller’s Reserved Right of Residence and Usufruct Correctly
When the seller reserves a right of residence or a usufruct: the difference between the two rights, registration as a servitude, the ranking and the effect on the purchase price.
Land Transfer and Foreign Acquisition in Salzburg: Approval Before the Purchase
When buying property in Salzburg needs land transfer approval: the treatment of EU, EEA and third country nationals and the approval as a condition precedent.
Prohibition on encumbrance and sale: when the land register blocks the sale
How a prohibition on encumbrance and sale under section 364c ABGB blocks the sale: conditions for registration, consent of the beneficiary and deletion.
Right of first refusal when buying property: right in rem, sale case and period
How the right of first refusal affects a property purchase: right of first refusal in rem and contractual, the sale case and the thirty-day redemption period.
Easements and rights of way when buying: what burdens the land register
What easements and rights of way mean when buying property: praedial easement and personal easement, the encumbrance sheet and apparent rights.
Financing condition in the purchase contract: condition precedent and subsequent
How the financing condition secures a property purchase: condition precedent and condition subsequent, their effect and what matters in the wording.
Withdrawal from a property purchase contract: default, forfeit money and the right routes
How to exit a property purchase contract: withdrawal for default, agreed forfeit money and earnest money, and the distinction from challenge and warranty.
Real estate capital gains tax: what sellers pay on a property sale
What sellers pay in real estate capital gains tax on a property sale: tax rate, old and new assets, main residence exemption and the collection of the tax.
Real estate transfer tax on a property purchase: amount, self-assessment, due date
How high the real estate transfer tax is on a property purchase: tax rate, basis of assessment, graduated family tariff, self-assessment and the due date.
The purchase offer is binding: what buyers must know before signing
Why a purchase offer binds when buying property: offer and acceptance, the acceptance period, the distinction from record of main points and preliminary contract.
Seller obligations, energy certificate and documents: what the seller owes
Which obligations apply to the seller: unencumbered transfer, disclosure, the energy certificate under the EAVG 2012 and the documents before the contract review.
Financing, mortgage and priority ranking in a property purchase
How the bank finances a property purchase through a mortgage lien: mortgage, rank, notation of priority ranking, discharge of encumbrances and registration fee.
Condominium ownership, reserves and operating costs: what buyers should check
Condominium ownership under the WEG: what buyers should check on the reserve, operating costs, utility value and owners association and which documents to obtain.
Warranty for hidden defects: your rights after the property purchase
Warranty under sections 922 ff of the Austrian Civil Code for hidden defects: period, improvement, price reduction, rescission, burden of proof and exclusion limits.
Handover protocol for a house or apartment purchase: what belongs in it
What matters in the handover protocol for a house or apartment: transfer of possession, passing of risk, meter readings, keys, inventory, defects and warranty.
Declaration of consent and registration: how the contract becomes ownership
How the declaration of consent and registration interact: title and mode, basis for entry, notation of priority ranking, taxes and the expectant right.
Paying the purchase price via escrow: how to secure your acquisition
How paying the purchase price via escrow secures your acquisition of ownership: escrow agent, client trust account, release conditions, eTHB and bank financing.
Discharge of encumbrances in the contract: into unencumbered ownership
How the discharge of encumbrances in the contract works: encumbrances in sheet C, deletion declaration from the bank, escrow handling and the case of an excessive loan.
Reading the land register extract: understanding sheets A, B and C
How to read a land register extract correctly: sheet A on the property, sheet B on ownership, sheet C on the encumbrances, plus notations and currency.
Review the property purchase contract before signing: what matters
Which points to review in the property purchase contract before signing: land register, discharge of encumbrances, escrow, registration consent and warranty.
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BRANDAUER Rechtsanwälte GmbH Giselakai 51 5020 Salzburg
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