A sales dossier should make it possible to verify statements about your flat. A large folder is neither necessary nor sufficient for this. What matters is whether every important question about the offered property has a suitable basis and whether the limits of that basis remain apparent. The following organisation is an editorial recommendation for an Austrian flat sale; it is not an exhaustive statutory list of documents.
Start from the offered object
Use a clear object designation for your entire preparation. Record the address, flat, associated ancillary rooms and parking spaces as well as the existing land-register (Grundbuch) designations. For a cellar compartment, for example, it must be clarified which document explains its allocation. A photo of a labelled door alone does not answer this question.
Do not then build a filing system exclusively by sender. “Bank”, “administration” and “architect” help locate documents, but they do not yet show whether, for example, you can substantiate a usage allocation or a current ongoing expense. The decisive link is: statement in the sale – appropriate document – scope of application – remaining open question.
Create an overview with six subject groups
- Who owns which share, and which rights affect it? – Typical available bases: current land-register excerpt, related acquisition and legal deeds; What does not follow automatically from this: current outstanding debt or technical condition
- Which flat and ancillary areas are allocated? – Typical available bases: condominium agreement (Wohnungseigentumsvertrag), utility value documents (Nutzwertunterlagen), authoritative plans; What does not follow automatically from this: that every area actually used today is allocated the same way
- Which execution and use are documented? – Typical available bases: existing construction, approval and amendment documents; What does not follow automatically from this: that the current condition matches every old version of the plans
- Which ongoing and decided common matters exist? – Typical available bases: current billing, accounts, reserve information, resolutions and relevant minutes; What does not follow automatically from this: that an ongoing monthly payment covers all future measures
- What energy and condition information exists? – Typical available bases: energy certificate, findings, maintenance and repair records; What does not follow automatically from this: a comprehensive technical clearance of the property
- Which actual uses and agreements exist? – Typical available bases: for rented or otherwise used parts the relevant contracts and supplements; What does not follow automatically from this: that the desired later use is already secured
These groups are a search grid. Depending on the property, further documents will be needed or individual groups may be omitted. Tax documents and personal financial data belong in the appropriate advisory process, not automatically in every prospective buyer dossier.
Take the scope of a document’s statement seriously
The official explanation of the main registry (Hauptbuch) describes A-, B- and C-sheets and the deeds underlying them. It expressly warns: a lien entry does not show the current outstanding liability. [GB-HAUPT] For a redemption query, therefore obtain the specific current bank information and have the legal settlement assigned.
The same line of thought helps with other documents without asserting additional legal claims: an annual account belongs to its accounting period; an older plan to its documented state. Record date, object reference and full scope. If an annex mentioned in a resolution is missing, note the compilation as incomplete until it is supplemented.
Distinguish between present, appropriate and classified
Our recommendation: check every material statement in three steps. Is a document present? Does it concern exactly this object and this statement? Is its significance sufficiently clarified? Only then decide how the statement can be used in the sale.
A missing proof does not automatically make a statement false. But it is also no reason to use the most favourable recollection as secure evidence. Describe the specific gap and send a targeted request to the responsible body. If the area has not yet been verifiably calculated, the result is initially “calculation basis open” and not a figure averaged from two old exposés.
Classify the energy performance certificate in good time
For recorded sales, § 4 EAVG generally requires an energy performance certificate that is no more than ten years old at the time of presentation to be provided in good time before the contract declaration is submitted; it must be handed over within 14 days after conclusion of the contract. If requested, a paper copy must be presented and handed over. The standard contains different permissible object references. [EAVG-4]
Under the transitional rules in force since July 2026, certain older certificates remain usable for their ten-year validity period; if a certificate is not available digitally, a complete copy may be handed over. [EAVG-10A] Check the specific certificate and any possible exceptions. A photo of individual key figures is not a check that you can fulfil your obligation with that document.
An invented flat sale as a working example
Lea has an old sales folder, more recent administration letters and a revised floor plan. She assigns a source to each statement: “parking space is included” is checked based on the allocation documents, “monthly expenses” on the current invoice with its components. The reserve fund information remains a separate entry with a reference date.
In doing so she discovers that a storeroom mentioned in the exposé only appears on a hand-drawn plan. She has the allocation clarified before the room is presented as a component sold with the property. The value of the folder lies in this decision, not in a higher number of files.
Make a finished starting folder recognisable
At the end you create a concise table of contents with document title, date, object reference and open question. You retain full original documents and file alongside them the versions intended for each recipient. How personal data and access are handled when passing documents on is a separate work step.
The starting folder is usable if another person can find the essential statements and their limits. A new document is not merely appended: check which previous statement it confirms, supplements or changes. This way the folder remains the basis of a comprehensible object description.