General

Once a suitable building plot has been found and purchased, the next step is to plan the floor plan. This step is very important in the house-building process because, after all, the residents should feel comfortable in their own home in the long term. When creating the floor plan, it is important above all that the rooms are laid out in such a way that they meet the current and also the future requirements of the...

At the end of 2019, the German government has decided to increase subsidies in the area of building renovation. Since the beginning of this year, property owners have benefited from significant tax advantages from the tax office as well as subsidies from the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (Bafa) and the state-owned Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). Prerequisite for the subsidy...

As a rule, property owners who renovate their residential building to make it more energy efficient are allowed to pass on the renovation costs to their tenants. After the owner and landlady of a residential building in Berlin had the floor of the attic insulated, she assessed a monthly rent increase of 25 euros per household. The tenant living under the attic floor was not satisfied with the...

A modular house allows owners flexibility and mobility in the design and composition of their home. This is because modular construction is characterized by the fact that the individual rooms can be separated from each other and reassembled. For example, a former children's room can be separated from the main house and used as a detached garden house or guest house....

Forward-looking housing models and investment in employee housing should continue to provide financial relief for employees and companies in the future. The construction of employee housing is also intended to counteract the housing shortage and relieve the housing market. Thus, the area of "employee housing" in the real estate and housing industry is moving more and more into...

Anyone looking for a new home first needs a plot of land that meets their wishes and requirements. Once a suitable plot has been found, future homeowners usually want to start construction work straight away. However, just because a plot of land is approved as building land, it says nothing about its soil quality, its load-bearing capacity or the...

The "Zukunft ERDGAS" initiative of the German natural gas industry conducted a Forsa survey in December 2019 to find out how much natural gas will be needed to generate energy in Germany in the coming years. More than 1,007 citizens were surveyed for the poll. The majority of respondents see natural gas as a fundamental producer of energy. Around 74 percent of...

Spouses or partners who inherit a property are supported by the legislator with inheritance tax concessions. The aim is to enable them to keep their residential property in the family and thus protect the family living space. The financial support takes the form of an inheritance tax exemption for inherited real estate. However, these benefits are conditional on...

When choosing the right stair railing, it is not only a matter of aesthetic aspects, the right building materials and an appealing look, but above all legal regulations must be complied with. The basis for the construction of a stair railing in Germany are the regulations of DIN standard 18065. The regulations specified here apply to the fall protection...

Last year, the real estate consultant Catella studied and analyzed the investment activities of around 80 family offices, i.e. companies that deal with the bank-independent management of large private assets. The evaluations are based both on discussions with experts and on numerous database analyses. The reason for the investigations is the steadily growing global...