Editorial update: · Richter Immobilien-Transaktionen
The sale contract is signed and your move is approaching, but the purchase money has not arrived. Start with the agreed payment conditions, establish what is actually missing and choose your next step with the right professional support. This guide concerns property in Germany, including North Rhine-Westphalia, under German law.
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Establish whether the payment is actually due
A missing property payment can affect much more than one bank account. You may need the proceeds for your next home, repayment of a loan or an already arranged move. Nevertheless, the starting point is the notarised sale contract. Signing it does not normally mean that the buyer must pay immediately. An anticipated moving date is not necessarily the contractual payment deadline either. First identify the conditions that make the purchase price payable.
Read the provisions headed Kaufpreis, Fälligkeit and Besitzübergang: purchase price, when payment falls due and transfer of possession. The notary's Fälligkeitsmitteilung is a notice concerning the contractual prerequisites for payment. The Rhineland Chamber of Notaries describes the usual sequence. Individual contracts can contain additional requirements, so the notice and your actual deed must be considered together.
Record when the notice was issued, what is known about its receipt by the buyer and how the contract calculates the payment period. A period running from receipt does not simply begin on the date printed on the letter. Ask the notary to explain ambiguous wording and the applicable deadline. Also check whether you still have something to provide, such as agreed evidence or vacant possession where this is a payment condition.
Consider an illustrative sale of a house in Düsseldorf for €420,000. The seller expects payment because the planned handover is approaching. If a contractual prerequisite is still missing, that expectation alone does not establish a payment default. Find out which document or action is outstanding, who must provide it and what happens next. This gives you a useful starting point for resolving the delay.
Reconcile all payments before calculating a shortfall
The purchase price and the amount reaching your personal account may legitimately differ. Where the agreed arrangements require it, part of the money can be paid directly to your lender to discharge existing borrowing secured against the property. Check the notary's payment instructions and obtain appropriate confirmation of those payments. Do not assume the buyer owes you the full difference merely because you have not received the entire price yourself.
In the Düsseldorf example, €160,000 is payable to the seller's lender and €260,000 to the seller. If both payments are confirmed in accordance with the instructions, the €420,000 purchase price has been paid. If the lender has received €160,000 but the seller has received only €240,000, the remaining purchase price is €20,000. Interest or recoverable costs would require a separate calculation.
Prepare a simple record showing the amount due, its intended recipient, confirmed receipts and unresolved amounts. Keep statements and bank confirmations. A screenshot from the buyer may show a payment order, rather than an executed transfer credited to the recipient. Unusual changes to bank details should be checked through contact details you already know, before you relay or act on new payment information.
Ask the buyer for a precise explanation of any remaining obstacle. Which payment was instructed, when was it instructed, and what requirement does the financing bank say remains unmet? A general reassurance that the bank is dealing with it gives little basis for planning. Record explanations fairly, distinguishing confirmed information from a promised outcome. You do not need to guess whether the buyer is insolvent to identify what is still unpaid.
Involve the notary and organise legal representation
Tell the notary handling the transaction promptly that all or part of the expected payment is missing. Include the deed reference, property, agreed payment arrangements, confirmed receipts and proposed handover date. A short factual chronology is more useful than a long exchange of accusations. Never confirm full receipt of the purchase price simply to keep the administrative process moving when you cannot substantiate that confirmation.
Ask which payment conditions have been met, whether any evidence remains outstanding and how the handover provisions apply. If the parties want to change dates or payment arrangements, ask how the change should be documented and whether a particular legal form is required. An informal message offering more time can have implications that are difficult to resolve later. Establish what you intend to agree before sending it.
Under section 14 of the Federal Notaries Act, the notary acts independently and impartially for the parties. The notary is therefore not your personal litigation representative. If the buyer disputes liability, you are considering withdrawal or significant consequential losses are developing, instruct a lawyer experienced in German property law to advise on your interests.
Give that lawyer the complete deed and amendments, payment notice, evidence of receipts, correspondence and documents showing potential additional costs. If several people are selling together, clarify who has authority to make statements. Keep the practical sale file organised alongside the legal work; our house sale checklist provides a useful overview. Clear responsibilities prevent the same unanswered question from circulating between buyer, bank, notary and seller.
Separate a due payment from legal default
Fälligkeit means that a payment is due. Verzug is the additional legal concept of debtor default, which can trigger consequences such as default interest. Under section 286 of the German Civil Code, a demand made after payment becomes due generally puts a nonpaying debtor in default, but statutory exceptions exist. Certain calendar deadlines or appropriately calculable periods can make a further demand unnecessary.
There is no general requirement to send three reminders. Equally, default does not always begin the day after the seller hoped to receive the money. The often mentioned 30-day provision is not an automatic grace period for every transaction and has additional requirements where the debtor is a consumer. Contract wording, receipt of relevant communications and responsibility for the failure to pay all matter.
Have any necessary demand identify the parties, transaction, amount and required payment clearly. Reliable evidence of delivery is also important. If the letter is intended to set a period supporting a later withdrawal, have that purpose checked separately. A demand intended to establish default and an additional period intended to support withdrawal perform different functions, even when both appear in one document.
For our example, a demand for the full €420,000 would be inaccurate after the confirmed payments described above. The outstanding purchase price is €20,000. Update the record whenever further money arrives. If the buyer raises an alleged defect or a right to withhold payment, pass the full explanation to your lawyer. Stronger language does not resolve a disputed legal basis, and ignoring the buyer's stated objection can obscure the actual issue.
Choose whether to pursue payment or withdraw
Start with your desired outcome. Do you still want the existing sale completed, or is ending it becoming the better option? A clearly identified financing requirement that can realistically be resolved may justify a professionally agreed payment arrangement. Repeated promises without supporting information offer less security, especially when your own borrowing costs or commitments are increasing. Discuss both the legal options and the likely financial consequences.
Withdrawal for nonperformance under section 323 of the German Civil Code normally requires a due obligation and an appropriate additional period for performance that expires unsuccessfully. Exceptions exist, but must fit the circumstances. There is no universally correct seven-day or fourteen-day period for every property sale. Partial payment, particularly where only a comparatively small balance remains, makes withdrawal from the entire contract a question for careful assessment.
The contract does not automatically end when the payment period expires. Under section 349, withdrawal requires a declaration to the other party. Have the legal basis, recipients and evidence of receipt checked. Withdrawal and damages instead of performance are also distinct decisions. Improvised letters pursuing incompatible outcomes can complicate the position you wanted to protect.
A valid withdrawal leads to an unwinding of the transaction, including the general obligation to return received performance under section 346. An Auflassungsvormerkung, the land register entry securing the buyer's acquisition claim, does not simply disappear. Coordinate the necessary steps, partial payments and any other entries with the lawyer and notary. Establish a secure legal basis before entering another binding sale.
Assess interest, losses and realistic recovery
A recoverable claim is not the same as money available to spend. Section 288 of the German Civil Code generally provides default interest of five percentage points above the base rate, with different provisions for payment claims from transactions involving no consumer. Five percentage points above a variable base rate does not mean a fixed annual rate of five percent. The relevant period and any partial payments must be reflected in the calculation.
Additional financing costs or other delay-related losses may also require assessment. Section 280 sets out fundamental requirements concerning breach, responsibility and resulting damage. Keep invoices and the underlying agreements, and explain how the payment delay caused the particular cost. An expense incurred after the delay is not automatically recoverable just because the dates coincide.
Ask whether the buyer submitted to immediate enforcement of the purchase price obligation in the notarised deed. If the relevant requirements are met, such a deed can constitute an enforcement title under section 794(1), number 5, of the Code of Civil Procedure. This may avoid a preceding lawsuit for payment. The enforceable copy, service and other procedural requirements still need professional attention.
A title cannot guarantee successful collection. Discuss anticipated costs, timing and known recovery risks with your lawyer; indications of insolvency require a separate assessment. For your own cash planning, exclude disputed interest and damages from funds you regard as secure. If you are relying on the sale to finance another property, this distinction helps prevent an unresolved claim from creating a second avoidable funding problem.
Keep control of the handover
Handover can become emotionally difficult when the buyer has arranged builders, ended a tenancy or booked a removal vehicle. Those arrangements do not replace your contract's handover conditions. Check whether full purchase price payment and any additional conditions must be satisfied. The Koblenz Chamber of Notaries discusses early handover. Any departure from the agreed sequence should be professionally structured and appropriately secured.
Even a key supplied just for measuring rooms can create practical complications if materials arrive or renovation begins. Distinguish a supervised visit from independent access. Before agreeing to early use, clarify responsibility for damage, running costs and restoring possession if the sale fails. Receiving part of the price is not, by itself, an adequate answer to all those questions.
If the buyer already has possession, do not try to undo the arrangement by changing locks or removing belongings yourself. Obtain legal advice about the actual possession and contractual position. Record who holds keys, which areas are occupied and what work has started. Document the property only through lawful access. An urgent desire to recover control does not make every practical intervention appropriate.
Once the agreed conditions are demonstrably satisfied, organise a proper handover record covering keys, meter readings and condition. Our guide to handing over a sold house explains the preparation. Transfer of possession, the economic allocation of benefits and costs, and ownership registration are distinct matters. A date entered in a handover record does not replace verification of payment or the relevant land register process.
Plan the next sale decision using confirmed facts
Keep a short action record with four items: confirmed unpaid amount, next professionally checked deadline, person responsible and your own financial exposure. This makes it clear whether you are waiting for a document, pursuing a payment or preparing a legal decision. Alert your own advisers to an endangered onward purchase early. Avoid promising new fixed dates while their essential conditions remain uncertain.
If a second marketing effort may become necessary, do not choose its asking price out of frustration with the first buyer. An updated property valuation can help you reconsider condition, price and marketing prospects. A lower resale price does not automatically establish an equivalent damages claim against the original buyer. Preparing a realistic new sale and unwinding the existing contract are related but separate tasks.
For support with the sale planning, describe your position to RICHTER Immobilien-Transaktionen through the property seller enquiry form. Useful starting details include location, property type, current contractual stage, intended handover date and whether you hope to complete the existing sale or remarket after legal clarification. A concise account is sufficient initially; do not send complete bank statements or private financing documents without a reason.
The immediate objective is a reliable decision: is payment due, how much is actually missing and what does the deed require before handover? Your notary and lawyer can address the legal steps on that basis. Sales support can then help with marketing and scheduling questions. This sequence gives you a practical route forward while keeping major decisions grounded in the verified position.
