How to Check a Property Investment Firm in Germany: Expat Checklist

Six checks you can run yourself in the public registers before you sign anything, the warning signs, and the same checklist applied to LDP Group.

Quick answer

Check six things before you sign: the register entry, the licences (§ 34c GewO for brokerage, § 34i for mortgages), who pays the firm, whether the price holds against an independent valuation, whether the notary's draft reaches you two weeks ahead, and the track record.

What kind of firm you are dealing with

Nobody in Germany is licensed as a property investment adviser. A firm that finds or sells you a flat is, in law, one of three things: a broker (Makler) who brings buyer and seller together and needs a permission under § 34c GewO; a seller or developer who sells its own stock; or a mortgage broker, who needs a separate permission under § 34i GewO. Many firms that address expats combine the first two with a network of partners for the loan, the tax return and the rental management.

This matters because the protections you may know from regulated investment advice do not apply. BaFin supervises banks, insurers and securities firms. A flat you hold in your own name is not a financial instrument, and a broker of such flats is supervised by the local trade authority or chamber of commerce, not by BaFin. There is no suitability report and no supervised adviser. The protection in a German property purchase sits elsewhere: in public registers, in the bank's own valuation, in the notary, and in advisers you choose yourself. The six checks below use exactly those.

This page is written by LDP Group, a firm that sells property to expats and is paid when they buy. Treat it accordingly: every check points to a register, a statute or a court ruling you can open yourself, and the last section applies the checklist to LDP Group.

Check 1: identity. Which legal entity are you talking to?

The imprint. A commercial website in Germany must carry an imprint (Impressum) with the company name and legal form, the address, the authorised representative, the register court and number and, where the activity needs a permission, the supervising authority (§ 5 DDG). A trading name is not a company. Write down the legal entity.
The commercial register. Look the entity up at handelsregister.de. Access has been free and without an account since August 2022. The entry shows the date of registration, the managing directors, the share capital and the registered purpose. Compare the date with the experience the firm claims.
Annual accounts. A GmbH files its annual accounts with the company register at unternehmensregister.de. A company in its first two years may have none yet, which is information too.
Insolvency notices. Open proceedings are published at insolvenzbekanntmachungen.de.

If the entity that signs your contract is not the one on the website, or sits outside Germany while selling German flats, ask why before anything else.

Check 2: licences. What may the firm do, and who does the rest?

A firm may coordinate work it is not licensed to do, as long as a licensed party does the advising and you know who that party is. Ask for the name of the mortgage broker and of the tax adviser, and look both up.

Who needs which permission in a German property purchase, and where to verify it. Compiled by LDP Group from the statutes and registers linked below, as of October 2026
Activity	Permission	Where to verify
Brokering a flat or a house	§ 34c GewO	No public register exists for § 34c. The imprint names the supervising authority; ask the firm for the permission and the authority for confirmation
Advising on or brokering a mortgage	§ 34i GewO	Public register of intermediaries at vermittlerregister.info, search by name or registration number
Tax advice and the tax return	Tax adviser (Steuerberater) under the StBerG	Official directory of tax advisers at steuerberaterverzeichnis.berufs-org.de
Legal advice and contract review	Lawyer (Rechtsanwalt)	The official directory of the Federal Bar at rechtsanwaltsregister.org
The purchase contract itself	Notary	Notary search of the Federal Chamber of Notaries at notar.de
Funds, securities or insurance sold with the flat	BaFin licence, or § 34f or § 34d GewO	BaFin company database and vermittlerregister.info

A firm that says it gives tax advice without a tax adviser, or that it arranges your mortgage without a § 34i registration of its own or of a named partner, is describing something it may not do.

Check 3: money. Who pays the firm, and how much?

How a firm is paid tells you whose interest it serves. There are three models, and a firm should name its own in one sentence.

A buyer's commission (Maklerprovision), shown in the listing and invoiced after the notary date. When a consumer buys a flat or a single-family house, a broker who acts for both sides may only charge both the same amount (§ 656c BGB). Where only the seller engaged the broker, the buyer can be made to pay at most as much as the seller, and only once the seller has paid (§ 656d BGB).
A commission from the seller or developer, inside the price. You receive no invoice. The firm's income depends on the sale and is part of what you pay at the notary. This is legal and common, and it makes Check 4 essential.
A fee for advice, owed whether or not you buy. This is the only model without an interest in the sale, and it is rare in this market.

Ask in writing: who pays you for this purchase, how much, and when. Two rulings help. A reservation fee in a broker's standard terms that is kept when no purchase follows is invalid (Bundesgerichtshof, 20 April 2023, I ZR 113/22), so treat a demand for a non-refundable reservation fee as a warning sign. And a brokerage contract that a consumer concludes online, by e-mail or by phone can be withdrawn within 14 days (Bundesgerichtshof, 7 July 2016, I ZR 30/15); a notarised purchase contract cannot.

When the commission is inside the purchase price: nine questions to ask

Many firms that sell flats to investors are paid out of the purchase price and send the buyer no invoice. LDP Group is one of them: its commission is part of the purchase price, as the last section of this page states. In German the arrangement is called Innenprovision. Listings describe it as provisionsfrei für den Käufer (no commission for the buyer) or say that the Maklerprovision is im Kaufpreis enthalten (included in the purchase price). What does not appear on an invoice you can only learn by asking, so this section says what the law settles, what it leaves open, and what to ask.

The orderer-pays rule (Bestellerprinzip) covers rentals, not purchases. A letting agent may charge the tenant only if the agent went looking for the flat solely on that tenant's instruction (§ 2 Abs. 1a WoVermittG). No such rule exists for buying a flat.
For purchases the law splits a commission that the buyer is charged. The rules in § 656c and § 656d BGB (Check 3) have applied since 23 December 2020 and only where the buyer is a consumer (§ 656b BGB). They decide how a commission is shared between buyer and seller. They do not limit what a seller pays a broker out of the price, and they do not make that amount public: a commission paid by the seller alone is permitted.
A duty to volunteer the amount exists only above a threshold. A firm that recommends or brokers an investment as an investment intermediary or adviser (Anlagevermittler, Anlageberater) has to tell the buyer, without being asked, about sales commissions of more than 15 percent of the capital the buyer puts in. The Bundesgerichtshof confirmed on 23 June 2016 (III ZR 308/15) that this also holds for a flat sold as a capital investment, with or without a prospectus. Whether a given firm acted in that role depends on what it did for you. Below the threshold the firm does not have to raise the figure on its own. You can ask at any level, and should.

A commission inside the price also changes your own numbers. Transfer tax is charged on the purchase price (§ 9 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 GrEStG), and the notary and land registry fees follow the price as well, so you pay purchase costs on the commission and finance it with the loan. And it means that the price is not the same thing as the value. The bank's valuation and a valuer of your own (Check 4) are the only figures in the file that the selling side did not produce.

Nine questions for a firm that is paid inside the purchase price. Compiled by LDP Group from the statutes and the ruling cited in this section, as of October 2026
Ask in writing	Why it matters
Who pays you for this purchase: the seller, the developer, a sales organisation, or more than one of them?	The payer is the party the firm is working for. More than one payer means more than one interest.
How much do you receive in total for this flat, in euros and as a percentage of the price, including bonuses and any share passed on to partners?	It lets you see the price net of sales cost. Above 15 percent of your capital, a firm acting as investment intermediary or adviser has to tell you unasked.
Do I sign a brokerage contract with you, does the seller, or do both of us?	Which contract exists decides which rule applies: § 656c BGB for a broker engaged by both sides, § 656d BGB for a broker engaged by one.
When is the commission earned: at the notary date or when the price is paid? What happens to it if the purchase is unwound?	It shows whether the firm's income depends on the purchase completing, or only on the signature.
Does the amount depend on which flat I buy, or on its price?	A higher payment for certain projects or for higher prices is a steer, and you should know about it before you compare flats.
Do you, your owners or a related company own the flat, hold an option on it, or hold a stake in the seller?	A firm that sells its own stock is a seller, not a broker. See the first section of this page.
Are the mortgage broker, the tax adviser and the property manager you suggest paid by you, or do they pay you?	A referral fee between partners is a second commission. You are free to bring your own.
What is the bank's valuation of this flat, and may I commission a valuer of my own before the notary date?	With the commission inside the price, an independent value is the only check on the price.
Will you put these answers in writing before I reserve?	A firm that is paid in the open has no reason to refuse. A refusal is an answer too.

How LDP Group answers the first question is in the last section of this page and on the reliability page. Put the other eight to us as you would to any firm.

Check 4: the price and the numbers

The bank's valuation. A German bank values the property itself before it lends. If its value is well below the price, the loan offer shows it. Ask for the figure.
A valuer of your own. Publicly appointed and sworn valuers are listed by specialism in the directory of the chambers of commerce at svv.ihk.de. Commission one before the notary date, not after.
Official land values. The valuation committees publish standard land values per zone, most of them through the BORIS portal. They do not price a flat, but they show whether the land share in the offer is plausible.
The rent. In cities with a rent brake a new letting is capped at the local reference rent plus 10 percent, subject to the statutory exceptions. A rent in a brochure that ignores the cap is a plan, not an income.
The full calculation. Ask for purchase costs, renovation, financing, management, non-recoverable costs, vacancy and tax in one sheet, with a source for every number. A gross yield is not a return, and a tax effect is an estimate for your income until your own tax adviser confirms it.

Check 5: the contract and the payment

The notary is neutral, and that is all. A German notary is bound to impartiality (§ 14 BNotO) and makes the contract legally sound. The notary does not check whether the price is fair or the investment sensible.
Two weeks with the draft. For a consumer purchase the notary should send the draft contract two weeks before the appointment (§ 17 Abs. 2a BeurkG). Use them. A firm that pushes for an earlier date is asking you to give up the one cooling-off period the law provides.
The language. If you do not understand German well enough, the deed has to be translated for you at the appointment (§ 16 BeurkG). Arrange the interpreter beforehand and have the draft translated in the two weeks.
The payment. The price is paid after the notary's notice that the conditions are met, to the account named in the contract. Never to the broker. Cash, crypto assets and gold are prohibited as payment for real estate since April 2023 (§ 16a GwG).

Check 6: track record and reviews

Ask for completed purchases with figures, not for testimonials: the price, the rent before and after, the financing, and what went wrong. A firm with a track record can show cases; a firm with a marketing department shows quotes. Ask to speak to a client who bought more than a year ago.

Read reviews with one rule in mind. A firm that displays customer reviews has to say whether and how it checks that they come from real customers (§ 5b Abs. 3 UWG). Look for that statement, read the low ratings first, and compare the review dates with the age of the company in the register. The consumer advice centres (Verbraucherzentrale) offer paid consultations on property purchases and financing and are independent of any seller.

Warning signs

A notary appointment within days, or a discount that expires this week.
A guaranteed rent or yield without a named guarantor whose accounts you can read.
The tax saving is the main argument and the price per square metre is not discussed.
Only the firm's own notary, bank, valuer and tax adviser are possible.
A non-refundable reservation fee, or any payment to the firm before the notary date.
Full financing is promised before anyone has seen your income documents.
Documents are withheld: the declaration of division, the minutes of the owners' meetings, the energy certificate, the existing leases.
No imprint, a company abroad, or a contract partner that differs from the firm on the website.

None of these proves bad faith. Each of them removes one of the protections described above, and two or more together are a reason to walk away.

The same checklist, applied to LDP Group

A checklist published by a firm that sells property is only credible if the firm passes through it in public. These are LDP Group's answers, each with the place where you can verify it. The details are on the reliability page.

LDP Group against its own checklist. Source: LDP Group, register entry and imprint, as of October 2026
Check	LDP Group	Where to verify
Legal entity	LDP Immobilienberatung GmbH, Grünwald near Munich, Amtsgericht München HRB 296909, registered in October 2024	handelsregister.de and the imprint
Property brokerage	Permission under § 34c GewO from the IHK für München und Oberbayern	The imprint; the chamber
Mortgage	No § 34i GewO permission of its own yet; it is in preparation. Loans are advised on and brokered by FM Zinswerk, an independent mortgage broker	vermittlerregister.info, for the broker named in your file
Tax	LDP Group gives no tax advice. The tax side is advised by the tax firm Helm & Partner, or by your own adviser	The official directory of tax advisers
How LDP Group is paid	Through a commission that is part of the purchase price. No separate invoice and no additional broker fee on top	The reliability page, which also names the conflict of interest
Price check	The bank values the property, a valuer of your choice is welcome, and the notary's draft reaches you two weeks before the appointment	Your loan offer; your valuer; the draft
Track record	Completed client purchases with price, rents before and after, photos and floor plans	The client cases page

What follows from it: LDP Group is a licensed broker with a published track record, and it is not an independent adviser. Its income depends on the sale. The checks that protect you are therefore the ones outside its control, which is why this page lists them first.

Limitations and what this page cannot do

This is not legal advice. It describes the rules and registers as of October 2026; statutes and court rulings change.
It is written by a firm with a commercial interest in the market it describes. Use the registers and statutes linked here, not our summary of them, for anything you rely on.
Which authority grants and supervises a § 34c permission depends on the federal state, and there is no public register for it. A firm's own statement can only be confirmed by that authority.
The checklist covers existing flats bought by private buyers. Off-plan purchases from developers, with instalments under the MaBV, and fund or share structures need further checks that are not covered here.
A firm can pass every check and still sell you a flat that does not suit you. The registers confirm who the firm is, not whether the investment fits your income, horizon and risk.

What would change this answer

A public register for § 34c GewO permissions, or a change to § 34c or § 34i GewO, which would change where a licence is verified.
A change to the commission rules in § 656a to § 656d BGB, or a new Bundesgerichtshof ruling on reservation fees, on the withdrawal right for brokerage contracts or on the disclosure of commissions paid inside the price.
The grant of LDP Group's own § 34i GewO permission, which changes the mortgage row in the table above.
A change to the two-week rule in § 17 Abs. 2a BeurkG or to the payment ban in § 16a GwG.

Last reviewed October 5, 2026. Reviewed by Nicholas Runtic and Abdelrahman Maged, co-founders of LDP Group, before publication and at every review date. We review this page every quarter and whenever a licence, a register or one of the cited rulings changes.

Next step

Three ways to continue, with or without talking to us

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Run a real purchase with your own numbers

Start from a published LDP Group client purchase, here Munich, Olympiapark: 3-room co-living, bought for €505,000, and change loan, interest rate, tax rate and costs. You see the equity it takes and the cash position per month before and after tax, with a stress test.

Open the case calculator

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The same purchase with the calculator's default assumptions, to read later or to forward. We send a confirmation link first.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I check whether a property investment advisor for expats in Germany is trustworthy?

Run six checks before you sign: the legal entity in the commercial register at handelsregister.de, the permissions under § 34c GewO for brokerage and § 34i GewO for mortgages, who pays the firm and how much, the price against the bank's valuation or a valuer of your own, the notary's draft two weeks before the appointment, and completed cases with figures instead of testimonials.

Is there a public register of licensed real estate brokers in Germany?

No. There is no public register for permissions under § 34c GewO, which covers property brokers and developers. The imprint has to name the supervising authority, and that authority can confirm the permission. Mortgage brokers under § 34i GewO are different: they are listed in the public register at vermittlerregister.info, searchable by name or registration number.

Does BaFin supervise property investment firms in Germany?

Not for directly held property. BaFin supervises banks, insurers and securities firms, and a flat in your own name is not a financial instrument. A property broker is supervised by the local trade authority or chamber of commerce under § 34c GewO. BaFin becomes relevant only when funds, securities or insurance are sold together with the property.

Can a broker in Germany charge a reservation fee?

Not through standard terms if the fee is kept when no purchase follows. The Bundesgerichtshof ruled on 20 April 2023 (I ZR 113/22) that such a clause disadvantages the customer unreasonably and is invalid. A demand for a non-refundable reservation fee before the notary date is therefore a warning sign, whatever the document is called.

What questions should I ask a property investment company in Germany that earns its commission inside the purchase price?

Ask who pays the firm, how much it receives in total for this flat in euros and as a percentage of the price, who signs a brokerage contract with whom, when the commission is earned, whether it varies with the flat or the price, whether the firm or a related company owns the flat, whether the partners it suggests pay it or are paid by it, and what the bank's valuation is. Ask for the answers in writing before you reserve.

Is a flat advertised as commission-free for the buyer really free of commission?

Not necessarily. Commission-free for the buyer means that the buyer receives no invoice. Where the seller or developer pays the firm out of the purchase price, an arrangement called Innenprovision, the buyer still carries the commission as part of the price, pays transfer tax and notary fees on that part and finances it. The split rules in § 656c and § 656d BGB only govern a commission that the buyer is charged.

What are the warning signs of a bad property investment offer in Germany?

A notary appointment within days, a guaranteed rent without a solvent guarantor, a sales pitch built on the tax saving instead of the price, the firm's own notary, bank and valuer with no alternative, a non-refundable reservation fee, full financing promised before anyone has seen your income documents, withheld documents, and a contract partner that differs from the firm on the website.

Is LDP Group an independent adviser?

No. LDP Group is a licensed property broker under § 34c GewO and is paid through a commission that is part of the purchase price, so its income depends on the sale. That is why LDP Group tells buyers to check every price independently: through the bank's valuation, a valuer of their own choice and the two weeks with the notary's draft.

How do I check whether a property investment firm for expats in Germany is trustworthy?