European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 27, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse It. I 1 i Brian Filangi a tamp in renovated living Ream. They have a 28-year mortgage. Their monthly payments Are 1,1po Marks. We Ere very Happy the payments Are not out of line with Normal rent said Jane. Since Hwy moved in they have had to install a new Gas line irom the Street which Cost 2,000 Marks. Legal fees Cost 1,500 were careful to select their own notary turning Down brie suggested by the mortgage company. They wanted to be absolutely sure the notary would be impartial As he is in charge of drawing up the final papers. The notary charges a. Standard fee based on the Cost of the property. They also paid 100 Marks for an officially sanctioned translator and a slate property Transfer fee of 5,000 Marks. The latter noted Brian is a one time fee. Properly taxes run less than 60 Marks a year though they were very careful in completing the transaction they admit they took one risk. Thare was a tenant in the House. Under German Law he could have remained there Tor 214 years according to the lawyer Friend they consulted and who charged them no fee. Fortunately he did not fight to stay and they were Able to move in the House within 2vi months of select Ingli. Because of the tenant we were Able to talk the owners Down in Price. We paid 48,000 Marks $15,483 Al 3.10 to the Dollar below the original asking Price the payments on a 35,000 Pound House would be 346,50 pounds about $527 per month at an interest Rale of 11 percent assuming that the buyer put no Money Down on a Standard 25-year mortgage. For the e-5 mentioned above that s $185 More than the allowance Brill in Lublec an allowed tax Relief of up to about one third on each of Ihler monthly mortgage payments mortgage interest Reisiel at source or Mira americans however Are not eligible for this Relief. They must pay full interest and count on claiming the interest on their . Federal income lax return. The two most common mortgage lenders Are Banks and building societies. However in recent years mortgage brokers have become popular. Depending on current Market conditions and interest rates Banks and building societies will usually lend 90 to 95 percent of the Purchase Price of a Home to qualified buyers. For people who Don t want to spend a lot of time shopping around or who Aren t sure How to go about finding the Reghl mortgage a broker might hold the finding value in a townhouse w Hen attorney Donald per Kaland his wife Sal of to buy a Home inthe Hal Delbargo area they knew what they did t want thay did t wan anything that was t new. They had remodeler a House in me United Stales and he experience convinced them never again they weren t about to compound that experience with a language problem. Bui alter Reading ads visiting real estate agents., really nosing around whal they finally bought was a High ceiling 1910 townhouse. However,1 it had been substantially remodeler in 1984 new plumbing new fixtures new Furnace though the Perals love the remodeler townhouse he says tha had they chosen a location farther from the Center of town they could Havo had a More modern Home with larger Kitchen and Baths plus swimming Pool for the same Money. They ire concerned however with Salami Fly and Perkal says there Are some real horror stories on thai subject i be heard of people who have been stuck with houses Lor years. The germans value proximity to the Center of town. They Aren l within Heidelberg he Lound houses offering the same Baste living Comfort ranging in value from 2,500lo 4,500 Marks a Square Metar Al current Exchange rates from about is 125 to $2,020in outlying areas the Price dropped to 1,800 Marks about $810you have to know the areas of a City. Price can even depend on the Street. You can get a mansion out in the country for whal you would pay for a Nice House in the City. The Perakis started seriously House Hunting Aboul a year and a half before they bought. They were seeking to pro decl the capital gain on the House they had sold in the United Stales. In order to defer a capital gain on a personal residence you must Purchase another residence within a time prescribed by Law and live in they met lha 4b-Morith deadline by one month. Perkal Nolet that the Dollar Mark Exchange Rale was on tha Rise when he started looking. I sat Down and figured out How much i could afford in payments with the Rale Al certain Levels i made some preliminary inquiries about How much Down payment was needed and was told a minimum of 20 percent. If you buy a new Home from a builder you can get almost up io90 percent financing but if you buy an older Home my experience in Heidelberg was that no Lender will offer More than 80 percent.". He inquired at about a half dozen institutional lenders and says he was turned Down cold by three smaller Banks. I sensed they were a a Lille nervous Aboul american the Dollar was a 13.40 Marks but he figured his assets at 3 Marks to the Dollar. He found that though there had been e Chilly. Reception at the smaller Banks the larger ones were eager to do business. Most people hire Are into discounted Loans. The discount depends on the interest rata and the length of time of the loan. The higher the inheres a you pay the lower the discount. It works in an inverted order. You make the rounds of the lenders. Unlike in the United Stales where interest rates be uniform every Lender throws a different Deal at you. A couple of lenders contacted me a week alter we d first talked to Ell me they could t give me the figure they had quoted it was now a half to three fourths of a Point higher. I found that astonishing since interest Rales do not move up and Down that rapidly in besides the Cost of the House itself. Perkal discovered there were a number of other Lees connected with its Purchase. There is the properly tax which is 2 percent of the Purchase Price. If you buy through a realtor you. Pay him another 3.24 percent then i was charged 2,750 Marks for notary Perkal says that a seller May try to pressure a buyer into signing the papers at the notary right away. He warns buyers not to do so until they have a written loan commitment. V. Above All Perkal recommends that buyers have their own attorney. He had his almost from the beginning. The lawyer referred Perkal to some lenders verified certain Selling conditions and checked the title or the property. He also was present at the notary s office when the property Wes transferred. You May think you speak German bul Here you Are dealing with real estate Perkal had hoped that he could have . Tax Relief Tor some of the incidental costs. I read with Chagrin the administrative Law put out by the office of the judge advocate. But i went to the lax Relief office just to be sure. It cannot be .given.". Perkal says americans also probably will want to pay additional Money Tor property insurance. There is a state run insurance company that insures Alt houses. The coverage is Only Lor fire. You can t increase your coverage. You can Only supplement on your own by buying liability and Content insurance.". Mar Neth Mike Ellis a mortgage broker in Bury St. Edmunds specializes in obtaining All types of mortgages for Home buyers. He said mortgage brokers can usually arrange the right mortgage at the Reghl Price. And he said brokers sometimes can act As a Liaison Between the Lender and the banking Insl Laullon ii there Are any problems. He said that at the moment american service personnel can gel 100 percent mortgages for Homes up to 50,000 pounds in Britain there Are no such things As Multi listings in which any realtor can sell any House that s listed with cooperating real estate agents. British realtors Are called estate agents. A Parson Selling a House can list with As Many estate agents As he wants. But Only those estate agents Are allowed to set the House. Prospective buyers whose first concern is Price rather than location and Type of House must travel to several estate agents to gel a Good sampling of houses in their Price Range. The most frustrating pert of Home buying May come after the House is selected and the Price is agreed upon obtaining a mortgage for americans takes longer Baker said. She said that because credit references must be obtained by Banks or building societies savings adds a couple weeks to the process because it s All done by mall. Baker said it takes an average of about three months from the time a family selects a House to the time they cart move in. Many times Sellers and buyers will Back Oul of a Deal before it s finished. It s usually six to eight weeks before you Exchange contracts. Until Hen nothing is legally Baker Lold the Story of an american airman rom Raf Alconbury who picked out a House she wanted to buy and started the necessary paperwork. Two and a half months later owners of the House decided not to sell. By that time you be paid solicitor s lawyer s and Valuer s appraiser s fees usually ranging irom about $75 to �400." tuesday May 27, 1966 the stars and stripes Page 17
