The handover of the sold German house has been agreed, yet the buyer’s side does not appear. You have scheduled time and want to conclude the matter. However, the missed appointment does not automatically mean that all costs and risks are fixed from that moment. First, performance status, offer and reaction must be made traceable.
Record the actual events
Our editorial recommendation: Record the agreed appointment, confirmed communications, persons present and the condition actually provided. Note any cancellation received with its content. Do not assume a specific reason from silence and do not send a self‑drafted legal consequence as an established fact.
Which appointments, access conditions and steps of performance have been agreed is to be checked against the contract. The article does not say that a single missed visit terminates the purchase or permits free handover of keys.
What an offer of performance must achieve
§ 293 BGB describes default of acceptance (Annahmeverzug) as failure to accept the offered performance. § 294 requires an actual offer in the manner in which the performance is to be rendered. § 297 excludes default of acceptance under its conditions if the obligor himself is unable to perform. [BGB-293] [BGB-294] [BGB-297]
These three provisions are a guide, not a complete examination of all forms of offer, requirements and consequences. Whether the specific appointment was legally sufficient will be advised based on the actual facts. An internal calendar note alone does not prove a proper offer.
An invented yet still occupied ancillary room
A seller wants to hand over the house on Friday. However, a room sold with the property is still full of his items to be left behind, although something else may be owed under the contract. The buyer’s side does not come.
He therefore does not state in blanket terms “everything properly offered”, but describes the actual condition in full. His advisers can examine whether and how he was actually ready to perform. The article does not decide whether the specific items stood in the way of an effective handover.
Do not forget the practical safeguards
An unattended appointment still creates organisational needs: who checks the agreed access, who keeps the available documents ready, which next coordination is actually required? Such steps are organised within the existing authority. The article permits neither an unauthorised entry nor a new use by third parties.
Additional expenses are recorded with date, reason and receipt. Whether this gives rise to an enforceable claim will be examined separately. Your own cost list is an evidential tool, not an automatically due invoice to the buyer.
Agree the next step with professionals
Submit the contract, appointment history and status of performance to the competent advisers. Have them determine which declaration and which further procedure are appropriate. Afterwards a confirmed new appointment or other step will be recorded clearly. In this way the missed handover can be processed, without turning a missed meeting into an unexamined full settlement of the purchase contract.