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Buying in Austria?Avoid the mistakes other buyers made.

Austrian and foreign buyers share what went wrong when they bought property in Austria. Most of these problems were easy to avoid. Read them before you visit, make an offer or sign anything.

Avoid all the traps

RedditKurierTrustpilot AustriaiDNES.cz202 mistakes you won’t make

Real experiences, by real people

Everyone helping you buy in Austria gets paid when you sign. Who's warning you?

Not the agent. You pay his commission yourself, up to 3% plus VAT, and he earns it only once the deal is done. He's there to sell. And in Austria, the deal is done early: an accepted Kaufanbot is already a sale, even before any notary is involved.

Other buyers have written about what went wrong. But scroll their posts and you'll find someone who paid the seller directly instead of the Treuhandkonto, or someone fined over an illegal holiday home in Tyrol, while you're still comparing flats. Not your problem yet. That's why every mistake sits under its own step, and you read the one in front of you.

The page costs less than $100, paid once, and you only read what concerns you.

You'll almost certainly find a mistake you were about to make, and in Austria, avoiding just one is worth far more than the price.

More about us

Your buying journey in AustriaApprovalLoanAgentGrundbuchWEGKaufanbotContractEscrowGrundverkehrKeys

Step 1

Checking you may buy and use it

Land approvals for non-EU buyers and holiday-home bans

  • “It looked perfectly fine on paper, then the bills came in.”

    A very common trap. The person who posted explains every step, with the names.

     Source

  • “The agent knew about it, and the contract said nothing.”

    He shares the documents, the dates and what it finally cost him.

     Source

  • “Three other owners in the building had the same problem.”

    Owners in the thread compare what happened to them, and what they would check first next time.

     Source
9 more traps to avoid in this step
Step 2

Lining up the financing

10% equity, 40% of income, and banks wary of foreign income

  • “The agent knew about it, and the contract said nothing.”

    A very common trap. The person who posted explains every step, with the names.

     Source

  • “Three other owners in the building had the same problem.”

    He shares the documents, the dates and what it finally cost him.

     Source

  • “We only found out when it was already too late to walk away.”

    Owners in the thread compare what happened to them, and what they would check first next time.

     Source
18 more traps to avoid in this step
Step 3

Dealing with the agent

Buyer commission up to 3% plus VAT, and the energy certificate

  • “Three other owners in the building had the same problem.”

    A very common trap. The person who posted explains every step, with the names.

     Source

  • “We only found out when it was already too late to walk away.”

    He shares the documents, the dates and what it finally cost him.

     Source

  • “The paperwork took far longer than anyone promised us.”

    Owners in the thread compare what happened to them, and what they would check first next time.

     Source
11 more traps to avoid in this step
Step 4

Reading the Grundbuch

The C sheet: mortgages, easements, pre-emption and sale bans

  • “We only found out when it was already too late to walk away.”

    A very common trap. The person who posted explains every step, with the names.

     Source

  • “The paperwork took far longer than anyone promised us.”

    He shares the documents, the dates and what it finally cost him.

     Source

  • “Nobody mentioned this part before the signature. Nobody.”

    Owners in the thread compare what happened to them, and what they would check first next time.

     Source
17 more traps to avoid in this step
Step 5

Checking the owners' community

Minutes, the reserve fund and the unit valuation

  • “The paperwork took far longer than anyone promised us.”

    A very common trap. The person who posted explains every step, with the names.

     Source

  • “Nobody mentioned this part before the signature. Nobody.”

    He shares the documents, the dates and what it finally cost him.

     Source

  • “It looked perfectly fine on paper, then the bills came in.”

    Owners in the thread compare what happened to them, and what they would check first next time.

     Source
27 more traps to avoid in this step
Step 6

Signing the Kaufanbot

An accepted offer is a sale, and the rare 7-day exit

  • “Nobody mentioned this part before the signature. Nobody.”

    A very common trap. The person who posted explains every step, with the names.

     Source

  • “It looked perfectly fine on paper, then the bills came in.”

    He shares the documents, the dates and what it finally cost him.

     Source

  • “The agent knew about it, and the contract said nothing.”

    Owners in the thread compare what happened to them, and what they would check first next time.

     Source
11 more traps to avoid in this step
Step 7

Signing the Kaufvertrag

The lawyer or notary, the trustee and the approval condition

  • “It looked perfectly fine on paper, then the bills came in.”

    A very common trap. The person who posted explains every step, with the names.

     Source

  • “The agent knew about it, and the contract said nothing.”

    He shares the documents, the dates and what it finally cost him.

     Source

  • “Three other owners in the building had the same problem.”

    Owners in the thread compare what happened to them, and what they would check first next time.

     Source
30 more traps to avoid in this step
Step 8

Paying into the Treuhandkonto

Rank reservation first, then the trust account, never the seller

  • “The agent knew about it, and the contract said nothing.”

    A very common trap. The person who posted explains every step, with the names.

     Source

  • “Three other owners in the building had the same problem.”

    He shares the documents, the dates and what it finally cost him.

     Source

  • “We only found out when it was already too late to walk away.”

    Owners in the thread compare what happened to them, and what they would check first next time.

     Source
11 more traps to avoid in this step
Step 9

Clearing the Grundverkehr

Declarations, approvals and fines for illegal holiday homes

  • “Three other owners in the building had the same problem.”

    A very common trap. The person who posted explains every step, with the names.

     Source

  • “We only found out when it was already too late to walk away.”

    He shares the documents, the dates and what it finally cost him.

     Source

  • “The paperwork took far longer than anyone promised us.”

    Owners in the thread compare what happened to them, and what they would check first next time.

     Source
7 more traps to avoid in this step
Step 10

Paying taxes and registering

3.5% transfer tax and the 1.1% registry fee, exemption now over

  • “We only found out when it was already too late to walk away.”

    A very common trap. The person who posted explains every step, with the names.

     Source

  • “The paperwork took far longer than anyone promised us.”

    He shares the documents, the dates and what it finally cost him.

     Source

  • “Nobody mentioned this part before the signature. Nobody.”

    Owners in the thread compare what happened to them, and what they would check first next time.

     Source
10 more traps to avoid in this step

Optional steps

Only if they apply to you.

Optional

If you plan to rent it out

Vienna's 90-day rule and co-owners' consent for Airbnb

  • “We only found out when it was already too late to walk away.”

    A very common trap. The person who posted explains every step, with the names.

     Source

  • “The paperwork took far longer than anyone promised us.”

    He shares the documents, the dates and what it finally cost him.

     Source

  • “Nobody mentioned this part before the signature. Nobody.”

    Owners in the thread compare what happened to them, and what they would check first next time.

     Source
9 more traps to avoid in this step
Optional

If you leave it empty

Vacancy and second-home levies in Tyrol, Salzburg and Styria

  • “We only found out when it was already too late to walk away.”

    A very common trap. The person who posted explains every step, with the names.

     Source

  • “The paperwork took far longer than anyone promised us.”

    He shares the documents, the dates and what it finally cost him.

     Source

  • “Nobody mentioned this part before the signature. Nobody.”

    Owners in the thread compare what happened to them, and what they would check first next time.

     Source
6 more traps to avoid in this step

How we work

  • We findWhat ChatGPT won't tell you: Reddit threads, Austrian building and legal forums, consumer complaints and regional press reports.
  • We link backEvery trap links to the post it came from. Open it, read the replies and judge for yourself. Nothing here is made up or rewritten.
  • We go localVienna of course, but also Salzburg, Tyrol, Graz, Innsbruck and Vorarlberg.
  • We read both sidesAustrian owners and expats rarely post in the same places or talk about the same things. We read both, and show you both.
  • We keep it updatedWe're on these forums every week, reading what buyers post. As soon as a post is worth knowing, we add it here.
  • We stay independentNo developer, agent or lawyer pays to be on this page or to be left out of it. Nobody has paid us anything, and nobody will.
  • We helpFound a problem you didn't know about, and not sure how to fix it? We work with local real estate experts. Contact us
  • You read it in one eveningGrab a coffee, take an evening, read the ones that could happen to you. You’ll walk into every meeting knowing what to look for.

One evening of reading.Years of expensive mistakes avoided.

Every day, plenty of foreigners and locals make mistakes when buying in Austria. Why repeat them when you can learn from them?

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