How does buying a property in Austria work?

The essentials in brief

• An accepted purchase offer already is the purchase contract. Conditions such as a financing proviso therefore have to be in it before you sign, not afterwards.
• The purchase price never goes directly to the seller. It sits in the escrow account (Treuhandkonto) of the notary or lawyer until the buyer is entered in the land register.
• You become the owner with the entry in the land register (Grundbuch), not with the signature and not with the handover of the keys.
• Duration: usually four to eight weeks from the offer to the land register. Buyers from non-EU countries first need an official permit, for which there is no statutory deadline; after that it takes another four to six weeks.
• Withdrawal is possible only in narrow cases — for instance under § 30a KSchG (the Austrian consumer protection act), if you signed on the day of the first viewing.
• Before the offer you are entitled to a written overview of the purchase costs from the agent and to be shown a valid energy certificate (Energieausweis).

The eight steps at a glance

The durations are practical benchmarks. Most of all they depend on the bank, on whoever draws up the contract and on the land register court.

The eight steps in detail

1. Clarify the budget and the financing

Before you view anything, you should know how much you can spend. Add around 10 % purchase costs to the price, around 11 % with a loan — the breakdown is in our guide Additional costs when buying property. A preliminary commitment from the bank shows the seller that your offer is serious. How much equity banks currently expect is explained in the guide Property financing.

2. Inspect the property and check the documents

The viewing shows the condition, the documents show the risks. Before the offer, check at least the land register extract, the energy certificate and, for flats, the documents of the owners' association. The full list is in the checklist below.

Two duties are not yours:

• The agent must hand you a written overview of all expected costs of the purchase including the commission before you make your offer (§ 30b KSchG).
• The seller must show you an energy certificate no more than ten years old in good time before your contractual declaration. After the contract is concluded, they must hand it over within 14 days. If the certificate is missing, the energy efficiency usual for the age and type of the building counts as agreed.

3. Make the purchase offer

The purchase offer (Kaufanbot) is your written offer to the seller. If the seller accepts it, the purchase contract has come into being — even though the detailed contract is only signed later at the notary or lawyer. That is why everything essential belongs in the offer:

• the price and any furnishings included in the sale
• the deadline until which you are bound by the offer
• the desired handover date
• who draws up the contract and handles the escrow
• conditions, above all a financing proviso: the offer only applies if a bank approves the loan by a given date
• for buyers from non-EU countries: the permit of the land transfer authority as a condition

The agent's commission is earned with an effective purchase contract. If the contract is subject to a condition precedent, such as the financing, the claim only arises once that condition is met (§ 7 MaklerG).

4. Fix the loan

After the offer has been accepted, the bank submits the binding offer together with the European Standardised Information Sheet (ESIS). This offer must remain valid for at least seven days — enough time to compare it with other banks. For the mortgage lien in the land register you sign a mortgage deed (Pfandurkunde). Watch the size of the registered amount: the registration fee is 1.2 % of it.

5. Sign the purchase contract and pay the price into escrow

A notary or lawyer draws up the purchase contract. The signatures are certified — without the seller's certified signature the land register enters nothing. You then transfer the purchase price — and usually the property transfer tax and the registration fee as well — to the escrow account of whoever drew up the contract. Where there is financing, the bank transfers its part straight there.

The trustee only pays out once the conditions agreed in the contract are met. Additional protection comes from the note of priority for the intended sale (Anmerkung der Rangordnung): for one year it secures the rank of your entry, so that later encumbrances of the seller do not come before you.

6. Obtain the permit — only for buyers from non-EU countries

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens buy just like Austrians. Anyone from a non-EU country needs a permit: in Vienna from the MA 35, in Lower Austria from the provincial government. Until then the contract is not effective and the money stays in escrow. The requirements, fees and documents are explained in the guide Buying property in Austria as a foreigner.

7. Handover of the property

When you get the keys is governed by the contract. Often that is as soon as the full purchase price sits in escrow, that is before the land register entry. Record the handover in a protocol:

• meter readings for electricity, gas, water and heating
• the number of keys
• visible defects and the furnishings handed over

Afterwards you transfer energy and internet into your name, inform the building management and take out insurance. If you move in, you must register your residence with the registration authority within three days.

8. Land register entry and payout to the seller

Whoever drew up the contract applies for the entry of your ownership and of the bank's mortgage lien. With the entry you legally become the owner. Only then does the trustee pay the purchase price out to the seller. The seller's old loans are redeemed from the purchase price and deleted from the land register. How long the entry takes depends on the district court — usually a few weeks. At the end you receive the land register extract with your name on it and the statement of the escrow account.

How long does buying a property take?

Without an official permit we reckon on four to eight weeks from the accepted offer to the land register entry. If the buyer needs a permit as a non-EU national, the authority's procedure comes first, and there is no statutory deadline for it. After the permit it takes another four to six weeks. It also takes longer if the loan arrives late or the seller has to redeem encumbrances. In new-build projects payment follows the construction progress and handover follows completion.

Can you withdraw from a purchase offer?

As a rule no: an accepted offer binds both sides. The law does know exceptions for consumers:

• § 30a KSchG — signing on the day of the first viewing. It applies to a flat, a single-family house or a building plot for one, where the purchase is to meet your urgent housing need or that of close relatives. You can withdraw in writing within one week. The period only begins once you have received a copy of your declaration and an explanation of the right of withdrawal. The right lapses at the latest one month after the first viewing.
• § 3a KSchG — promised circumstances do not materialise. If a business, for instance a developer, presented a loan, a subsidy or a tax advantage as likely during the negotiations and it does not materialise through no fault of yours, you can withdraw within one week of learning about it. This does not apply when buying from a private individual.

More reliable than any statutory right of withdrawal is a clearly worded condition in the offer itself.

Who pays what?

The property income tax is calculated and transferred out of the purchase price by whoever drew up the contract. For you as the buyer that means no additional payment.

Checklist: documents before the purchase offer

• ☐ current land register extract: owner, mortgage liens, rights of residence and pre-emption rights
• ☐ energy certificate, no more than ten years old
• ☐ for flats: the condominium contract (Wohnungseigentumsvertrag) and the utility value report (Nutzwertgutachten)
• ☐ minutes of the last owners' meetings and planned refurbishments
• ☐ the level of the reserve fund (Rücklage) and the current monthly charge
• ☐ the latest operating cost statement
• ☐ for an attic conversion, extension or house: building permit and completion notice or occupancy permit, zoning
• ☐ for let properties: tenancy agreement, deposit, applicability of the Tenancy Act (MRG)
• ☐ the agent's written overview of the purchase costs
• ☐ the financing confirmation from your bank
• ☐ if your citizenship is outside the EU and EEA: the permit question settled

Selling? → How selling a property works

How ImmoLöwin accompanies you

We check the documents before your offer and formulate the conditions together with you. For the purchase contract and the escrow we recommend notaries and lawyers we work with regularly and whose quality, speed and fees we know. We coordinate appointments with the bank and the contract drafter through to the handover, in German, Russian, English and Ukrainian. View current properties or book a consultation.