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PROTECT YOURSELF IN GERMANY

Achtung! Five reasons expats in Germany are dangerous to know

You’re always on time, you think of Angela Merkel as ‘Mutti’ and you’ve even found yourself craving currywurst (well, some of you). You think you’ve assimilated in Germany.

Published: 25 June 2020 07:57 CEST
Achtung! Five reasons expats in Germany are dangerous to know
Photo: Getty

But many expats have failed miserably with a vital ingredient for true integration: private liability insurance. While not compulsory, it’s widely seen as essential protection against the risk of harming another person or their material things; almost nine in ten Germans have it.

In partnership with Coya Insurance, The Local presents five pathetic excuses (we were being kind when we said ‘reasons’ in the headline) that explain why so many expats in Germany don’t have private liability insurance.

Wunderbar! Get your offer in under two minutes and stop being a danger to your hosts!

1. Too boring to bother with

Private liability insurance doesn’t even exist in many countries. You never gave it any thought at home and feel entitled to glaze over on the – oddly regular – occasions when your German friends animatedly start talking insurance. If you did listen up, you’d probably learn that Germans would consider it crazy to hang out with someone not covered. 

Dropped and smashed someone’s phone while taking a photo? Set a friend or colleague’s laptop on fire (or perhaps just spilled coffee all over it)? You’d be better off blaming a mystery doppelgänger than claiming not to know about private liability insurance 

Or better still, finding out about coverage with Coya before you get hit where it hurts (your wallet, not your privates … although you never know. Life is risky!). 

Photo: Getty Images

2. You want nothing serious (with the German you’re dating …)

We admit it: it’s a great plan if you secretly want to get dumped. Germans really are obsessed with insurance. Your new love interest may well bid you ‘auf Wiedersehen’ on learning of your naive or reckless attitude to the risk your existence poses to others.

But imagine your short-lived sweetheart’s schadenfreude on learning you’ve later been landed with a major bill. Involvement in an accident where someone is badly hurt could leave you bearing financial costs running into hundreds of thousands of euros – or more.

Coya can cover you for up to €30 million of damage – not bad for something that costs under €100 per year.

Achtung Baby! Don’t get dumped and end up with a damaging bill – get your offer now

3. Bureaucracy gives you the blues

Poor you. You filled in all those government immigration forms so neatly. You also took great care with your banking application. And health insurance plan. And tax return. And … you really deserve a break from bureaucracy!

With Coya, you can get a personal offer in a couple of minutes after answering a couple of quick questions. Find out everything you need to know on its website or by addressing any questions to its team via calls, SMS or Facebook – with WhatsApp services coming soon. 

A policy will also defend you against potential litigation related to an accident – dealing with that alone would be the real bureaucratic nightmare.

4. Diabolical Deutsch!

Private liability insurance sounds obscure. Haftpflichtversicherung – its German name – sounds like a headache-inducing nightmare. If that’s just the name, who could face going through a whole contract?

Even if you speak respectable German, complicated insurance and legal terminology might prove difficult to grasp. German companies also love hiding the ‘gut zu wissen’ (good to know) section at the end. You will read all 600 or so pages, right? 

At Coya, the commitment to English doesn’t end with its website and customer communications – you can get your entire policy in English too. Gut zu wissen, nein?

Gut zu wissen! Get your entire mind-numbingly boring insurance policy in English now!

 5. A flight of fancy …

Perhaps you’re a contract worker spending a couple of years abroad or a student? Why bother taking on extra responsibilities when you don’t plan to stay in Germany long-term?

Like it or not, it’s fanciful to think the rules don’t apply to you because your move is temporary. You will be held responsible by your neighbour if your child smashes their window with a football or you spill red wine over their carpet at a party.

Photo: Getty Images

Sometimes problems spiral out of control. What if your nice neighbour then faints and suffers a nasty bang to their head when they find out you were a devil-may-care outsider posing as a responsible adult?

Need a quick recap? Those five excuses in full: 

  • You didn’t really know what private liability insurance is (until now thanks to us)
  • Settling down and being responsible is scary (time to grow up)
  • You don’t want to face even more bureaucracy (Coya’s got your back!)
  • You find German contracts too difficult to understand (ditto)
  • You have no plans to stay in Germany in the long-term (sadly irrelevant)

Integrate fully! Become a real insurance bore …

Congratulations! Now, you’ve got your head around private liability insurance, you’re on the cusp of becoming socially acceptable to Germans.

To appear truly intelligent and interesting, read up on home contents insurance too. Fascinate your friends by explaining how the clauses cover everything from a leaky washing machine flooding your apartment to getting mugged on holiday!

Even your pet dog or cat will be covered, along with all your home items, against fire, water damage, storms and burglary or theft.

Last but not least, who doesn’t love a good tale about the importance of protecting your keys? With Coya, both home contents and private liability insurance will cover you for lost keys.

Ready for real integration? Get a personal offer for private liability insurance in Germany in under two minutes – then why not find out more about home contents insurance too?

For members

PROPERTY

Who pays broker’s fees on property in Germany – and how much do they cost?

One of the major hidden costs of buying and selling property in Germany is the estate agent's commission, or broker's fee. We look at some of the unusual rules around it - and how much you can expect to pay.

Published: 17 September 2024 16:25 CEST
Who pays broker's fees on property in Germany - and how much do they cost?

There are many areas of life in which things in Germany function just that little bit differently – and buying a house is no exception.

Though the buoyant property market in the Bundesrepublik makes it an attractive place to buy, anyone looking to get their foot on the housing ladder should consider the hidden fees they might incur.

Beyond interest rates, taxes and fees for notaries and translators, one major outlay is the estate agent’s commission, which can sometimes stretch to thousands of euros.

Here’s what to know about these hefty fees and how you might be able to lower them. 

Who pays commission on property transactions in Germany?

If you come from another European country or somewhere like the United States, you may be used to a system in which the seller pays the broker’s fee. This intuitively makes sense because the estate agent is there to market the property, liaise with buyers and ultimately get the best price for the seller – so it makes sense that the seller should pay for these services.

Until recently, however, it was the buyer who was responsible for paying the entirety of the estate agent’s commission in Germany. That meant that these fees – which could be as high as seven percent of the purchase cost – were added to the mountain of extra costs buyers had to contend with, from notary fees to land transfer tax.

READ ALSO: The hidden costs of buying a house in Germany

Luckily for buyers (but less so for sellers), this was changed under a law that came into force at the end of 2020. Since then, costs are generally split 50/50 between buyers and sellers.

However, there are some details that are important to note here. If the seller commissions the estate agent to help them sell their home, they are technically liable for the costs but must pay a minimum of 50 percent. 

If the buyer commissions the estate agent to find them a home, the same rules apply the other way around: the buyer is liable for the costs but can obtain a maximum of 50 percent from the seller.

In each case, the side that commissioned the broker must prove they have paid their share before the other side is liable to pay theirs. 

How much do estate agents’ fees cost in Germany?

Commission on property sales varies from state to state but is generally set at between 5 and 7 percent of the purchase price.

According to online portal ImmobilienScout24, these were the standard rates that applied in each of the federal states in 2024, with the number in brackets representing a 50 percent share of the costs:

Baden-Württemberg: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Bavaria: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Berlin: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Brandenburg: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Bremen: 5.95 percent (2.97 percent)

Hamburg: 6.25 percent (3.12 percent)

Hesse: 5.95 percent (2.97 percent)

Lower Saxony: 4.76 – 5,95 percent or 7.14 percent, depending on the region. (2.38 – 3.57 percent)

Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania: 5.95 percent (2.97 percent)

North Rhine-Westphalia: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Rhineland-Palatinate: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Saarland: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Saxony: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Saxony-Anhalt: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Schleswig-Holstein: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

Thuringia: 7.14 percent (3.57 percent)

If it’s hard to gauge how much this means in real terms, we can take the example of two properties: a €200,000 apartment and a €500,000 family home.

In the state of Hesse, a buyer splitting the broker’s fee equally with the seller would pay €5,940 to buy the €200,000 apartment and €14,850 to buy the €500,000 house.

In pricier Berlin, meanwhile, the same buyer would pay €7,140 on the €200,000 apartment and €17,850 on the €500,000 house.

READ ALSO: Is autumn 2024 the right time to buy a property in Germany?

Here’s where it gets more complicated, however: under German law, you are technically free to negotiate the commission with your estate agent.

That means that, especially in areas with stiff competition, you may be able to secure a better deal. 

Do I always have to pay commission in Germany? 

Not always. In fact, as a seller, you’re perfectly free to sell your property privately without enlisting the help of a real estate agent.

The benefit of this, of course, is that you can potentially save thousands of euros in fees, both for yourself and any prospective buyer. 

On the flip side, though, you will need to take the entire job of the estate agent on yourself, from marketing the property to liaising with potential buyers and finally closing the deal.

Real estate agent Germany

A real estate agent talks to prospective tenants at an apartment viewing. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Tobias Hase

There can also be some upfront costs involved in commissioning things like floor plans and professional photography, as well as the time you’ll need to invest in learning all the procedures and preparing relevant documents for notary – to name just a few examples.

Ultimately, though, it’s up to you to decide whether the expense of working with a professional broker is worth it in the end. 

As a buyer, there are also some situations where you’ll see the words ‘provisionsfrei’ – or commission-free – written in a property listing.

This is fairly common in new-build properties, where the developer may sell the homes directly to interested buyers. More rarely, an existing property may be listed without commission, making it a more attractive proposition.

In both cases, it’s possible that commission has been built into the purchase price, so you may not necessarily be getting a better deal.

Another case where you’re likely to be able to avoid commission as a buyer are so-called Kapitalanlagen – or buy-to-let properties. 

READ ALSO: Should you think about purchasing a buy-to-let property in Germany?

These tenanted properties are designed to be bought as investments: buyers can enjoy additional rental income over time and, ideally, will also make money when they come to sell the property several years later.

For this reason, costs are generally kept slightly lower for the buyer by eschewing the standard broker’s commission. 

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