General

According to a survey conducted by the Institute for Housing, Real Estate, Urban and Regional Development (InWIS) and research conducted by the EBZ Business School, the Bochum-based university for real estate management, homeowners and tenants are more satisfied with their housing situation this year than they were in 2007. Most of those surveyed were tenants of cooperatives or...

Even though most houses and apartments have a ceiling made of concrete, wooden ceilings are becoming increasingly popular and bring some advantages. For example, sound and heat insulation in a room with a wooden ceiling is very good and provides a pleasant room acoustics. Likewise, a wooden ceiling has visual appeal, harmoniously divides the premises due to the uniform beams and...

Those who live in an energy-autonomous house obtain all the energy they need for electricity, hot water and heating in an environmentally friendly way via solar thermal and photovoltaic systems and can supply themselves completely free of emissions. According to the EU Building Directive, all new buildings in Germany are to be built as "near-zero energy houses" from 2021, and by 2050 even the entire building stock...

In the area of burglary protection, the law also requires apartment owners and members of a condominium owners' association (WEG) to coordinate all planned measures with the community. This applies to the installation of window grilles, the installation of an alarm system or the installation of burglar-proof doors: Burglary protection is a community matter. Which measures are considered...

If you are looking for a suitable fence gate for your house and yard driveway, you can choose between classic single or double-leaf swing door gates, sliding gates or automated fence gates. In addition to an attractive appearance, a gate should also meet functional and technical requirements and be weather resistant. Above all, hot-dip galvanized fence gates last - thanks to...

According to figures from the German Federal Statistical Office, prices for agricultural land have risen by an average of 2.3 times across Germany over the past ten years. One of the main reasons for this development is that more and more investors see large-volume agricultural land as good financial investments for real estate. Especially in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as well as in Saxony, agricultural...

Painting walls in the apartment or house is one of the most popular and most often carried out renovation work. But who paints his walls, should inform not only about the choice of color, but also about the substrate. After all, the wall paint should always be matched with the texture of the wall, so that it lasts and shines powerfully in the long term. Many households...

To increase the energy balance in his house or apartment and save costs, owners should review their heating systems. If the heating systems are outdated, they should be replaced with a modern and environmentally friendly heating system. Government subsidies, such as those from the Kreditbank für Wiederaufbau (KfW subsidy) or the Federal Office for Export Control...

The Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht, BVerfG) has recently examined a number of constitutional complaints by owners of second homes who complain about the previous assessment of their second home tax. For example, in the Bavarian municipalities of Sonthofen and Oberstdorf (AZ 1 BvR 807/12 and 1 BvR 2917/13) and in the municipalities of Friedrichskoog and Timmendorfer Strand in Schleswig-Holstein (AZ 2 LB...

The 2009 inheritance tax reform aims to allow property owners to bequeath their family home to their partner or children tax-free. However, as this is not always possible due to strict conditions, the tax experts at Stiftung Warentest advise property owners on how to avoid tax traps. Above all, the experts advise homeowners and...