karin_brenig

  I've seen slow people in the US, and I've seen fast people in Germany.    If you want something to move forward, you have to stay on top of it. As for your offer, if you made the offer on a  Sunday through Thursday, call about 24 hours later and ask what they think about it. If you made your offer any Friday through Saturday, call on the following Monday (unless that would happen to be a holiday).

my husband and I have bought houses in the US and in Germany - it all depends on the location, and on the market situation on both sides of the pond.   Our house in Germany is located in a very hot sellers' market with a high demand and very few offers. We went to a showing as soon as we became aware of the offer. The Makler let us know there had been an offer for slightly under the asking prize from an interested buyer already, and if we wanted to have a chance at the house we should act quickly.   We hadn't even talked to a lender yet - but were confident that we would  be able to get financed.   So we made an offer for what the asking prize was. The Makler called us two days later, saying that our offer had been accepted - and asked, if we needed help finding a lender.    My advice for you (being novices in the German real estate business) would be to rely on reputable real estate agencies. I don't know, if this sale is being managed by a Makler. If so, you should keep in constant contact with that person throughout the entire process. Ask the agent, what the next step will be. If there is a "bidding war" going on, or what the seller thinks about your offer. Communication is key.

  Flurkarte should be sufficient without owner details, in black and white, but get the beglaubigt version (with official stamp). Grundbuchauszug shows your (partial) ownership of the property you are selling.   BTW - it looks like you are doing this (selling real estate in Germany) for the first time. Just to save you some trouble/hazzle, I'd recommend you do the whole thing with the help of a qualified Makler (real estate agent). Yes, those people charge money for their services - but in my opinion that money is well spent.

  you're welcome   my errors, btw, are all pure gain: I gain valuable knowledge, sometimes even wisdom, out of them

I can answer #4: Germany and India both joined the Hague Convention treaty.  So, getting married in one country already makes you married in the other.  You can't get married twice.   Problems with marriage in India and life in Germany arise when you need to prove the validity of documents from India to German officials. That can turn into a lengthy, complicated, expensive process.   But you could get married whereever is the quickest/easiest for you (like Denmark) - and then (later) have a big party (or two) with family and friends somewhere else    

well - there is an article from ADAC about a similar case here: https://www.adac.de/news/bgh-urteil-gestohlenes-auto/   The car is not yours - whether it is on the list or not - you have to give it back to the rightful owner (or the police).   Whether or not you get your money back from the person who sold it to you depends on when the vehicle was put onto that  Fahndungsliste. If it was on that list on the day that you bought it, you'll get your money back (still have to go to court, of course). If the car was put on that list after you bought it, you're SOL.

you can order your Flurkarte online here: https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/324341/   and here (for all those interested in the topic) is a nice educational article about what that Flurkarte actually is: https://www.immonetzwerk.de/know-how/flurkarte

What you pay for public insurance depends on your income. The premium can go up to well over €700 monthly for a self-employed single person with an income above the Beitragsbemessungsgrenze   The premiums for your private health insurance can be higher or lower than that - they don't depend on your income.    For my daughter (as an example) her premium as a voluntary member in GKV would be more than twice the amount that she is paying for her private health insurance. Based on her income GKV would amount to 8.9% while PKV is costing her just 3.8% currently.    The question of "pride" or social "responsibility", of course, is a completely different topic.

  Here's a quick refresher (just the basics) on retirement and GKV:   when you reach retirement age and have been a member of public health insurance there are two possible scenarios: You were a member of GKV for at least 90% of the duration of the second half of your working life - then you become a member of KVdR. Means half of the premiums are taken right out of your monthly Rente (amounts to about 7% currently). Other forms of income - like rental income or dividends or interest - are not considered, you don't pay health insurance premiums on those parts of your income. You were a member of GKV for at least 24 months aut of the 5 years preceding your retirement - then you may become a voluntary member of GKV. Means you will get an additional 7% on your Rente to cover part of your health insurance premiums. You will then have to pay around 14% of your total income (up to Beitragsbemessungsgrenze) in premiums to your health insurance provider. So, if your income consists of Rente only, there's no difference between this and scenario #1. But if you have other forms of income (rental properties, dividends, interest bearing accounts, private retirement funds, or even some form of social security from some other country) the 14% taken is going to make your premiums a bit higher (up to whatever the max will be at that time).

just in case anybody is still interested in online courses - I like https://www.udemy.com  no subscription, no hazzle, just great courses you can purchase.

even if you can't get into KVdR - because you may not be able to fulfill that crazy requirement of 90% of the second half of your working years - your premium is still just a percentage of your income if you stay as a voluntary member of GKV.   Which is why - even if you are currently in a situation where private insurance is better for you - you want to make a plan to get back into public health insurance once you are closer to 50. (unless the rules change again, you need to be well under 55 when you make that move)

very interesting topic! I just had that discussion with my daughter. 32 years old, highly successful independent tattoo artist, healthy, married, no plans to ever have children. Before she started her own business, she had been an employee for years - last job was Service Manager at a popular night-club - and was a member of TK public health insurance. TK offered her the option of staying within public insurance at a monthly premium of well over 700 €. Being self-employed she would have to pay the full amount. No reasonable person would think, that this is a good deal. So she checked out private health insurance options and picked one that offered the extras she is most interested in. She will be paying around 300 € per month for that now.   Back in the day, when I was her age, my situation was very different - but I too faced that same decision: stay in the public system, or go with private health insurance? I was an employee, working a full time job and making well above the "Beitragsbemessungsgrenze/Versicherungspflichtgrenze" of about 2000 € per month which were identical back then (until 2002). I paid half of the maximum premium (the other half came from my employer) - some 150 € a month for me and my first husband, who was unemployed at the time. Since we were planning our first child, and I didn't see him finding a job any time soon, I remained in the public system.      Of course we have no crystal ball to see the future - but a few things seem to be relatively "constant" factors: for public health insurance your age or physical condition is irrelevant, your premiums are calculated as a percentage of your income. for private health insurance your premiums are a function of several individual factors: your age, your gender, your health condition, whether you have children or not So, if you believe your personal circumstances may/will change drastically in the near future (you will make less money, you will get sick, you want to have children, you are about to turn 50), you might want to stay in (or try to get into) public health insurance for the financial security. 

maybe you'll find a more targeted audience here https://www.betreut.de - and then wouldn't have to resort to double-posting

your problem at this time - currently a real hot sellers' market - is not finding the "real" value of a house, but beating other interested buyers in the race.    The asking price may be over the Verkehrswert, or it may be right on target - chances are that the seller will get what they want, and then some.    Of course this totally depends on your personal goal. Do you want to simply get a feel for the market? Or do you want to buy investment property? Or do you plan on buying your own future home?   In buying for yourself, you have to picture your future needs/wants. Is the location your favorite spot? Then Verkehrswert is rather unimportant - unless you believe the asking price is blown way out of proportion.

  well, looks can be changed - genetics are permanent