Translation of property purchase agreements and interpreting at notary appointments

The purchase of land (developed or undeveloped), condominiums and heritable building rights must be notarized. This already applies to preliminary contracts or purchase options.

If, for example, you come to Frankfurt as an expatriate and would like to acquire residential property here, it is advisable to first familiarize yourself with German law and the corresponding procedure when buying a house. The legal ownership of the property, for example, does not pass directly to the buyer with the payment of the purchase price, but only after the corresponding registration in the land register.

The payment of the purchase price is also strictly formalized and is subject to certain prerequisites for the payment becoming due, the so-called due date conditions, for example the registration of a priority notice of conveyance, the occurrence of which is monitored by the notary. The notary will only issue the due date notification and demand payment of the purchase price once all requirements have been met in full. Both parties are thus equally protected and do not have to fear either not receiving the purchase price or not receiving the property.

Notarization

A notary carries out the notarization of the property purchase agreement, i.e. he reads out the contract in its entirety in the presence of all contracting parties. As a German notary usually in German. If a party is not proficient in the German language according to his or her own statements or according to the notary’s conviction, a court-sworn interpreter must be called in according to Section 16 of the German Notarization Act (Beurkundungsgesetz), if the notary does not translate himself or herself.

Translation of the property purchase agreement

A written translation of the property purchase agreement may be dispensed with, but this is extremely useful for the preparation of the parties and the smooth running of the notarization. In this way, questions can be clarified in advance and the procedure of the transaction can be explained.

As experienced translators and interpreters in the field of real estate, our service supports the contracting parties, the notary, the estate agent and, if necessary, the financing adviser alike, and the handling of the transaction, even with international participation, turns out to be an easy task for you.

In the course of real estate transactions, financing by a bank also occurs by default.

If an interpreter is then called in during the notarization of a property purchase agreement or if the purchase agreement has already been translated, ING in particular, as the financing bank, always requires proof that the buyer has understood the loan agreement. This is usually only available in German. I will then be happy to go through the loan agreement in detail with the buyers and, as a court-sworn interpreter , I will be able to provide ING with the appropriate confirmation. This is the most efficient and cost-effective approach for the client and guarantees a smooth financing process. This meeting usually costs the client about one hour and can take place directly in the Wiesbaden office of Linguaforum GmbH.

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