The apartment is suitable, but the management information lists arrears. The seller wants to clear them from the purchase price later. For your decision you need more than a rough single outstanding total: the status of the claims, any possible security on the share and the planned method of settlement must all be examined together.
Distinguish the arrears from the future contribution
Our editorial recommendation: Have current ongoing assessments, alleged old arrears and already known court or registration proceedings presented separately. Each figure should include the period, allocation to the debtor and its origin. An older statement cannot, without reconciliation, confirm today’s outstanding balance.
The legal review must clarify which claims exist and how they affect the intended acquisition. The article does not claim that every buyer is personally liable for all the seller’s arrears, nor that labelling them as old contributions makes them irrelevant for the share.
Recognise the statutory security framework
§27 WEG 2002 provides a statutory preferential lien (Vorzugspfandrecht) on the co-ownership share for the claims named there. Para 2 contains prerequisites for asserting the claim in court and applying for the annotation of the action; the provision also refers to the Enforcement Act (Exekutionsordnung) for the extent. [VORZUGSPFAND]
A mere balance list therefore does not conclusively explain whether and to what extent such a security is relevant in the concrete case. Nor should an incomplete private register check be used as a reliable all-clear. Have the current extract, claim documents and known proceedings assessed together.
Understand the settlement as a concrete step in the transaction
Ask the contract adviser which current confirmation and which settlement are required for the intended purchase. Who is to be satisfied with which amount and how will the relevant balance for that be determined? Which further declaration or register treatment is actually necessary?
The article does not formulate a payment release or a deletion consent. A seller’s promise “I’ll pay that afterwards” must not automatically be treated in your preparation as an already confirmed encumbrance-free acquisition position. A privately agreed allocation of costs alone does not answer the effect vis-à-vis third parties.
Fictional case: The known sum does not include the current month
A buyer receives an older arrears statement and calculates exactly that amount as to be settled. Before the planned closing further items and a known proceeding are mentioned. The previous overview was not aligned to the same cut-off date.
She has the current status consolidated and the intended settlement path adapted to it. The example does not confirm a claim. It shows why a particular earlier balance is not yet a fully clarified settlement position.
Name the type of acquisition and result clearly
This article deals with the preparation of a private sale (freihändiger Kauf). §27 para 3 contains, in addition, a special rule for foreclosure sales (Zwangsversteigerung). [VORZUGSPFAND] Therefore do not transfer statements from a foreclosure case to your contract without verification.
In the end you need an expert-stated acquisition position including any remaining prerequisites. This review complements the view on reserves and future renovations. Old claims, their security and future financing needs are different parts of your purchase decision.