“We’ll sell you the house cheaply, and we’ll just keep living downstairs.” In the fictional case the parents’ proposal initially sounds straightforward to Lea. She has known the building since childhood and wants to buy it anyway. Nevertheless, three things are unresolved: what exactly is she supposed to pay, how will continued living be arranged and what financial leeway do the parents themselves need? A family discussion can prepare these questions; it does not replace professional structuring.
This article applies to Germany. The following conversation steps are our editorial recommendation. They concern the acquisition from living relatives, not the sale of a house already inherited or a binding division of an estate.
First listen to the different objectives
Lea wants to be able to plan securely where she will live in future. The parents want to take on less building-related work and to remain in their familiar surroundings. They may also wish for a certain sum of money for their living expenses. These are different objectives, even if everyone initially says “house sale”.
Discuss these objectives without immediately agreeing a price. Is the whole building to be transferred? Which rooms do the parents actually want to continue using? Which help is only hoped for and which service should be agreed bindingly? Siblings or other relatives must not be placated with blanket promises about their later rights. Inheritance and family law effects require a separate classification.
What would you sign first in Lea’s place?
Options include a self-written sales note, a bank transfer as a gesture of trust, or initially a jointly agreed description for the notary. Our reasoned recommendation is: prepare the intended content professionally first. Trust is made concrete in this way and is not replaced by a hasty payment.
§ 311b Absatz 1 BGB requires, for a contract that obliges to transfer or acquire ownership of land, as a rule notarisation. [FORM] The family relationship does not create a general exception. This note is not an instruction to cure a lack of form later. Before making their own binding declarations, the intended agreements are clarified with the notary.
Describe the consideration in full
A sum alone does not tell the whole plan. Preparation includes planned cash payments, payment dates, any assumed obligations and the intended further use. A family loan is also a separate agreement and not automatically available equity.
In the invented example Lea wishes to finance 240.000 Euro. At the same time work on the building is to take place, and part of the house is initially not available to her because of the intended parental use. The financing wish therefore does not result in a checked property value nor the tax valuation of the entire transaction. Lea therefore has the actual subject and the full encumbrance explained before she goes to the bank with a mere purchase price figure.
Assess sale and possible gift separately
An advantageous family price must not be treated as fiscally insignificant too quickly. § 7 Absatz 1 Nummer 1 ErbStG captures gratuitous transfers between living persons insofar as an enrichment at the expense of the transferor exists. [STEUER] Whether and to what extent the specific package contains such a transfer has thus not yet been calculated.
Valuation bases, counter-performances, reserved rights and the personal tax situation belong in the professional review. The article deliberately names no supposedly universal tax-free price difference. A percentage threshold taken from the internet would not be a substitute for the valuation of the actual plan.
Translate continued living into a usable mandate for review
The statement “keep living downstairs” becomes more precise in the conversation: which rooms and accesses are meant, which shared use is envisaged and what should happen in the event of a longer absence or changed needs? Likewise, running costs and major works are addressed as open points for structuring.
This description does not automatically imply a particular legal form. Whether a right of residence, another arrangement or a combination is appropriate will be clarified professionally. The effects on financing, later use and possible changes must fit together. Lea must not quietly assume the previously family‑obvious help as an unlimited future obligation.
Proceed with a shared factual basis
Before the next appointment everyone summarises their actual ideas. Agreed, still open and to be decided professionally remain distinguishable. Family consensus about the goal is valuable; however it confirms neither condition nor financing nor contractual effect.
Lea’s next step is therefore a discussion with the same complete basis at the responsible professional offices. Only when house, counter‑performances and further use are understandable together can it be assessed whether the purchase suits both generations. An intentionally differently structured acquisition or even a provisional waiver can be a good result.