House purchase , whats involved?

It depends where you're buying and what you're buying. We purchase in the Tirol area. It's 1 hour split in to two so we share land rent with our neighbour, plus any costs for work on the external and roof parts of the house.

It's fairly similar to UK but you'll meet with the owner as well as the estate agent when discussing most things, and you'll sign with the owner both on purchase and on final completion at your local town hall. It's all a bit more personal, and they LOVE signing forms and photocopying hundreds of pages of documents.

You can haggle on price, we got around 10% off the asking price.

Some places have various restrictions on what you can buy, for example we couldn't buy the house as a "holiday home" as these are no longer allowed in the area, and we can't rent any rooms out for 2 years. So we have to live here full time for atleast two years (which in our case is fine anyway).

The price you see IS NOT the price you pay. Atleast here in Tirol you have to pay what is shown plus a number of other taxes and fees, so be prepared to add around 15-30% on top of the price shown. Make sure you ask for an estimated total amount including "everything". IT is unlikely you will buy the land so you'll need to budget for land rent, which is a similar price to uk.

If paying outright and from GBP exchange they will ask you to prove the money is not "schwarz geld". You can do this by asking your bank manager in the UK to confirm that the money has been in that account for X years, owned by X etc. Although they never asked us for this in the end. They set up a temporary Austrian account with a bank, you pay the money through to that account, they take the money then they close that account down. I guess this way everything is logged and processed with the bank (who, 9 times out of 10 is the estate agent).

Everything else is pretty much like the UK. Your council rates (service charge) will be a bit lower but you'll find that there are other random charges that come through separately such as rubbish removal.

Buildings insurance is just like in the UK, no problems there. Contents insurance (like in the UK) is not mandatory.

Be clear on what company provides which utility. We found out our electricity is provided by the local water people, the water is provided by the local timber yard(!!) and our broadband was provided by our water people. Obviously you can change all of that yourself but we found ourselves visiting the local water company to discuss our water bill only to be told they provide electricity

Be clear on what you must pay with your neighbour if you're in a building with atleast one other neighbour. They seem to use a points system based on what percentage of the house you own. Various little bits of the deal may already be set up - ie in our house every 7 years we switch the person who pays for the communal hall lighting. It's probably minimal but you never know how many of these agreements have already been set up. Also we had a chimney sweeper (as we share the same chimney as the neighbour) which is all paid for via our neighbour so we have to pay them our share too. Lots of little things like that which, once you have a list of aren't a big deal but it's good to keep it in mind when budgeting.

Ok, sounds a mixed bag of things. The utility side sounds strange but with out asking I won't have known that. Cheers. Eric

Hi Eric!
Good luck with your purchase! There is NO gazumping in Austria as in the UK, as once you have made a bid and signed, you are LEGALLY bound to pay up, or lose ALL costs from both sides, and gain a bad reputation. Most friendly estate agents will guide you and advise you, as well as the local solicitors who she will recommend. Council tax??? What is that in Austria? Answer is there is NO council tax in Austria-instant saving of something approaching 2000 per annum I believe. If you are buying a flat, there will be a monthly service charge similar to the UK. This will include sewage and bin emptying, drainage etc. I should also include small amounts of renovation/repairs where required. You will also have to register at the local council Rathaus, but again your estate agent will advise. Most can speak English too, so should not be a problem.
Irritating when you cant see the replies until you submit, but a good reply above. Our utilities for electricity is a bus company from Salzburg, who also sells electricity, but we use the Styrian local company. They also supply cable TV for our town here in the Alps! You can shop around for quotes from various companies before you sign up. Austria is not like the UK where a lot can be done on the internet, so they are 5-10 years behind in that sense. Internet can be SLOW depending where you are living. They have only now started laying glassfibre cabling. Digital HD tv is available here, but the BBC block everything except World News and Entertainment channel which shows very old shows in the main. Sky also available here at the same high prices.
Rod

Cheers Rod. This 'property' is in fact a shell of a house which I intent to gut and renovate. I've the skills to do it so it isn't daunting but the learning curve would be talking to the local Gemeinde and keeping on their side.  There is a barn attached that's rather nackered to say the least which I want to drop back onto the stone lower structure and make into a veranda. Not sure if planning is needed for that as the original footprint stays the same. The Gemeinde I'm dealing with are very sleepy and I could probably rebuild the inner walls before they've even lifted a finger to return any acknowledgment to my email requests!

Hi Tigcraft!
Yes, bureaucracy in Austria can be slow and full of pitfalls which they sometimes enjoy watching you trip over with a smile on their face...and still have not caught up with the 21st century technology. Getting to personally know the Bürgermeister might speed things up, and it is not unknown for the odd €uro note or two to get lost in his back pocket somewhere...they do have far more power here in Austria than in the UK. Yes, in the UK it is change of use, despite only using the same floor space, but perhaps waved through here, I am not sure. Could ask a local lawyer for friendly advice if they delay you too much. Good luck with your lifetime project! Rod

Yes and it is a lifetime project!! Although think of the end product, the real snow, the stable sunny summers, pure fresh air, empty roads, no more British aggressive people, the bigger house and sooooooo much more space then it's a no brainer

Yep don't let the bureaucracy get you down. Whilst it was a pain to organise we're very happy with the outcome. Austria is a great country to live in.

Make sure to ask your neighbours for help finding craftsmen and electricians. We went through a number of no-shows and ripoff merchants before we found a number of useful workmen thanks to some contacts happily provided by our neighbours who seem to bend over backwards to help us out. Also be sure to research grants when it comes to insulation and improvements. Our neighbour provided us with information about a 30% grant for outer wall insulation and triple glazed windows on houses older than 30 years in this area. There will no doubt be similar grants for you too.

Do you have to be a resident or can you be just a house owner to get the grants? I haven't got a straight story on that one as yet. Eric

I'm not sure on that one yet as we've not completed the process to the end. We have registered the Austrian house as our main residence. It is possible they might request a full residence certificate (Meldezettel) before we get the grant, but then perhaps a copy of the deeds is enough. I'll update this forum when we know for certain.

We also can't request the grant until the work has been completed and paid for initially.

Ok fair do. Keep us all posted. Cheers Eric

I would agree. Some local councils can be VERY touchy about holiday homes, so make it or declare it your main residence. A Meldezettel, a nice official looking document with the Austrian eagle on it should help a lot, either available at your local council or the district Bürgerbüro, here in Schladming that is in Gröbming. Yours should be the same- look at local cars with the most same abbreviated town, and that should be your local district. Good tip about local craftsmen etc. Ask neighbours or your local estate agent for tips. Your comments about England ring sadly true....noticed how frigging QUIET Sundays are??? And the church bells...SO melodic, even though I like our English bells, they just sound different and have more of an echo to them. Enjoy your life here and persist, it's worth it!
Rod

If I declare it as my main residence does that then mean I can't drive my uk registered van here for the duration of the build?
Also, offer has been accepted buy seller (yippee!) and we're going for it! The owner is British by the way not Austrian if that makes things easier.   Does all the paperwork get done in Austria or any in the uk and I want to put Sandra my wife on the deeds but heard a rumour that she needs to be present, is this true? Are notarys fair and trust worthy generally or would they have me over a barrel? Anything to be aware of?  Eric

I think you have to legally replate your van after 12 months, may be difficult with right hand drive, but most foreign workers here seem to ignore that rule. You will need a 'Pickerl' literally a sticker for the windscreen if you intend to drive on Austrian motorways! You may also have to check your insurance conditions. Here in most places outside large towns you turn the UK clock back 50 years and you can leave things unlocked including car or flat/house and nobody will touch it. The first steps have to be done here I think, ie sign papers of sale, with id etc. Lawyers are expensive as in the UK but generally fully trustworthy. Probably your wife does need to be present here too. Otherwise all legals after can be done from the UK including money transfers etc. You just need to exchange or confirm e mail addresses etc. The whole purchase might be possible from here, but you will be sending personal info like passport details over the net. The lawyer will open a temporary account where they will expect  to see a deposit paid in within a time frame to confirm your intentions, usually a minimum specified amount. They should be able to communicate in English too. You can always include her on the deeds at a later date as soon as you have settled in.