2022

A guide entitled "Mietkosten im Griff. Nebenkosten, Mieterhöhung, Wohnungsmängel" has now been published by the consumer advice center and the German Tenants' Association. On 192 pages, the guide sheds light on how to save money on various topics such as finding accommodation, rent and cosmetic repairs. For example, the following questions are answered in the guide...

More and more teenagers and young adults are moving away from home more quickly. This is according to a statement from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). In 2021, 2.6 out of 8.3 million 15 to 24-year-olds no longer lived at home. This corresponds to 31.2 percent. Ten years earlier, only 27.5 percent had moved out of the parental home at this age. According to the statistical office, women...

The Bundesverband Deutscher Fertigbau (BDF) points out the advantages of buying semi-detached houses. The advantages are, for example, the lower construction and land costs and low energy costs compared to single-family homes. The reasons for this are that the construction and land costs are shared by two parties and, according to the BDF, semi-detached houses are built in a particularly energy-saving...

If owners want to renovate their façade, they can also install new doors and windows at the same time. Martin Brandis, energy expert at the consumer advice center, advises this. The reason for this is that heat can be lost through old windows, for example. According to the consumer advice center, the heat loss factor (UW value) of old windows is 3.0 or more and therefore exceeds the legal...

A castle in Thuringia may be referred to as a "lost place". This was decided by the Munich Local Court (AZ: 142 C 14251/20). In this case, an American company that owns the castle sued for damages due to copyright infringement. The defendant showed photos of the castle on its website, including the interior, and referred to it as a "lost place".

Residents without their own assets are being squeezed out of the housing market by tourists and for financial reasons. This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the Department of Human Geography at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (KU) led by Professor Dr. Christian Steiner and Dr. Gerhard Rainer. Using the example of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, they have investigated the influence...

A vacation property in Mallorca is a real bargain compared to a condominium in Munich. While prospective buyers can purchase a vacation property with a living space of 143.1 square meters for 400,000 euros in Mallorca, they can buy just 35.9 square meters for the same price in Munich. This is the result of an analysis by Immoscout24. Nevertheless, Mallorca is only...

Every second new-build apartment is already infested with mold during the construction phase and should not actually be occupied - this is the view of the Association of Private Builders (VPB), which has published a guide on the subject of "Mold in new builds". The causes of mold growth are manifold. In addition to the ubiquitous mold spores, moisture during the construction phase can also...

Putting on a sweater, wrapping up in a blanket and heating less - two thirds of Germans would be prepared to do this in winter to make Germany more independent of energy supplies from Russia. This is the result of a survey conducted by the forsa opinion research institute on behalf of the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) for the DBU environmental monitor "Energiewende und...

An estate agent cannot demand payment of the commission if he looks after prospective buyers who purchase the property at a later date at a lower price from another estate agent. This was decided by the Darmstadt Regional Court (LG Darmstadt; 29 O 326/19). In the case at hand, an owner had entrusted a real estate agent with the sale of his property by contract until January 31, 2019. In this...