Current Catalogue
or order.

Download Auction Terms & Conditions (PDF, 2,2 MB)
I make the following declarations in my own name and in my capacity as the Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Grundstücksauktionen AG, formerly Berliner Grundstücksauktionen, for this company - hereinafter referred to as the "Auction House".
The following
- notarised by the Notary Heidemann, Berlin, deed no. 1/2011 from 4th January 2011 -
apply to the sale of third-party property and third-party property-equivalent rights at auctions to be carried through by me in my capacity as a publicly appointed Property Auctioneer, who is certified by the Senator for Economy, or other auctioneers - hereinafter referred to as the "Auctioneer" - with the cooperation of the Auction House:
1.)
a) Every Seller who appoints the Auction House for the auction sale of real property, part of a real property, or property-equivalent right - hereinafter referred to as the "Object" - shall be obliged to hold the sales offer open until the end of the auction date or, should a subsequent sale be agreed upon, he shall be obliged to hold his sales offer open until the end of the subsequent sales period. Except as otherwise agreed upon in the individual case, the subsequent sales period shall cover two (2) months which commences on the day following the last auction day. If a subsequent sale is agreed upon, the Auctioneer and the Auction House shall have the right to sell the Object during the subsequent sales period to any other party by observing the Limit according to Clause 2. These Auction Sale Provisions shall apply accordingly to subsequent sales.
b) If the object consists of a partial area which so far has not been surveyed, the Seller shall have the right to determine the price/performance in accordance with § 315 German Civil Code and he shall exercise this right at his reasonable discretion. The Object will be described in the auction sales text by reference to the cadastral map.
c) If a Seller still has not been entered as the Owner in the land register, he shall have the duty vis-à-vis the Auction House and the Purchaser to have himself registered as the Owner at his expense and obtain all documentation required for this registration the costs of which shall be borne by him. Should an Object be delivered for auction by several Sellers they shall be jointly and severally liable to the Auction House and the Purchaser.
d) The Purchaser's obligation to pay the tax on acquisition of real estate and to provide a confirmation of power of attorney in the form required by § 29 GBO (Land Registration Code) (possibly together with evidence of the authority to represent in due form) as well as the provision of the identification code according to §§ 139a ff. AO (Fiscal Code) are primary contractual duties. In the case of non-compliance, the contractual partner in each individual case will thus be entitled to rights because of non-fulfillment of a primary duty to perform (damages instead of performance §§ 280, 281 BGB (German Civil Code) or withdrawal § 323 BGB).
2.) For the Objects which are put up for auction sale, a minimum price (limit) is agreed with the Seller, at the announcement of which the auction sale for the Object begins provided the Auctioneer has not announced a higher minimum bid in writing in accordance with para 5).
3.) The Auctioneer reserves the right to determine from case to case the sums by which a new bid has to exceed previous bids by the minimum (rate of increase) for each Object. The rates of increase amount to € 500.00 provided that the Auctioneer has not announced another sum. The rate of increase may also be changed during the auction.
4.) Every bidder shall be bound to a given bid until it is outbid by another bidder‘s higher bid. If several bidders bid the same amount only that bid shall be valid of which the Auctioneer has first taken notice. With regard to possible doubts or unclearness on the validity of a bid, the Auctioneer shall decide at his discretion whether he accepts a bid and whose bid he accepts or whether he repeats the auction. He may also ask earlier bidders whether they hold open or repeat their bid and repeat or continue the auction sale as from the highest bid held open / the repeated bid.
5.) The Auctioneer may also admit bids in writing, verbal bids and bids by telephone which are submitted to him before or during the auction. These auction sale provisions shall be acknowledged in such bids and, in addition, an authorized person present at the auction sale shall be named who can possibly effect the notarization of the purchase contract on behalf of the Bidder. These Auction Sale Provisions are unrestrictely recognized by such bids. The persons present at the auction sales shall be informed about the sums of such bids by the Auctioneer at the beginning of the Object's auction sale after the announcement of the limit. By the submission of a written bid, the Bidder authorizes the Auctioneer to announce and accept the highest bid. The Bidder undertakes to confirm this authorization immediately in a notarized form.
The Auctioneer shall, at his discretion, be entitled to freely declare the acceptance of the highest bid forfeited, especially if a bidder, upon making the highest bid, has acted on the basis of concealed authorization and does not, as joint and several debtor, assume liability, together with the person represented, for all claims of the Seller and Auction House against the Purchaser and does not subject himself together with the person represented as joint and several debtor to execution levied upon his property, or if there are any indications that the highester bidder is not going to completely fulfil the auction and/or purchase conditions and/or the contract of sale. This will especially be the case if he does not immediately pay the total bidding security and commission or if he does not comply with item 12 and item 18 a) sentence 1. In this case the Auctioneer may, in his discretion, repeat the auction sale and proceed also according to item 4 sentence 4 or accept the bid of the next highest bidder if the latter upholds his bid or repeats it.
Unlimited domestic authority in the auction hall and in ante-rooms shall be exclusively with the Auctioneers and he/they or she/they can, in their discretion, also for reasons that have not been mentioned, prohibit the visitor's or bidder's attendance/continued attendance at the auction.
If, when making the highest bid, a Bidder has acted in undisclosed authority, the Auctioneer may declare the acceptance of the bid forfeited should the Bidder not assume liability as a joint and several debtor together with the Principal for all claims of the Seller and the Auction House vis-à-vis the Purchaser and subject to execution to be levied upon his property as a joint and several debtor together with the Principal. In such a case, the Auctioneer may, in his discretion, repeat the Auction and also proceed according to Clause 4, sentence 4, or accept the bid of the bidder with the second highest should the latter uphold or repeat his bid.
6.) Upon acceptance of the highest bid, every Purchaser shall be obliged to pay a bidding security amounting to ten (10) per cent of the purchase price, nevertheless, in the amount of € 2,000.00 by the minimum. In the individual case, the Auctioneer may waive or lower this bidding security. The bidding security can either be paid in cash or by check and has to be deposited in a trust account of the Notary who officially records the purchase contract or the bid acceptance records. The bidding security shall be credited against the purchase price to be paid at a later date. If the purchase price is not deposited in full and if the contract is therefore not fulfilled, the bidding security serves first for the payment of the Auction House's commission claims and secondly for the satisfaction of possible claims for damages by the Seller. In such a case it shall be paid out in accordance with the concordant instruction of the Seller, the Purchaser and the Auction House; in the absence of such an instruction, the Notary who officially records the auction sales or the bid acceptance records shall be entitled to deposit the bidding security at the depositing place of the Local Court Tiergarten or retain it until a legally valid judgment is available by which the person authorized to pay out the money is determined.
Purchasers without a residence or a principal office in Germany are obligated to deposit an additional cost security of ten per cent (10%) of the purchase price, at least, however, € 2,000.00, with the Auction House or an Auctioneer appointed by it provided the Auctioneer does not waive this security or lowers it in the individual case. At first, this security serves for securing the payment of the Notary's costs, then for the payment of the tax on the acquisition of real estate and finally for all other costs and fees for the execution of the Agreement. The Auction House and/or the Auctioneer are instructed to settle these claims from the mentioned security. Upon completion of the transaction, account has to be rendered with regard to the cost security and a possibly resulting credit balance has to be refunded to the Purchaser. Until that time, this assignment is irrevocable. The Notary, the Auction House and the Auctioneer shall be irrevocably authorized to request the submission of the notice on the tax on the acquisition of real estate and other cost accounts and notice on fees and - in the case of request - accept them.
7.) Every sale shall take place in the age-related condition of the real property and, provided that nothing has been agreed upon to the contrary in the individual case, as the Object is, which means under the exclusion of any and all claims and rights of the Purchaser on the ground of defects as to the quality of the real property and the building. Excluded from this are claims made on the grounds of injuries threatening life, bodily injuries and health damage if the Seller is answerable for the failure to comply with his duties (if he is in breach of duty). In addition, claims and rights on the grounds of damage, which is based on intentional or grossly negligent breach of the Seller's duties, shall be excluded. A legal representative's or vicarious agent's breach of duty shall be equivalent to breach of duty by the Seller. If movable things are sold together with the real property, the legal regulation applies, however, claims for damages by the Purchaser on the grounds of a defect as to the quality are - with the aforementioned exceptions - excluded and, as regards the legal period of limitation, reduced to one (1) year. To the extent that such movable things which are sold together with the real property are used movable things and are sold at public auction according to § 383 para 3 German Civil Code, the comprehensive exclusion of claims and rights applies in deviation from this as is the case for the sale of immovable things according to the sentences 1 to 4. Insofar as the Seller has made representations on and assurances relating to the Object and his actual and economic circumstances vis-à-vis the Auction House or the Auctioneer, these shall be effective to the benefit of the future Purchaser.
The Purchaser may assert rights therefrom directly against the Seller but not against the Auction House or the Auctioneer. This also applies to possible fraudulently concealed defects.
Without setoff against the purchase price, the Purchaser takes over possible easements according to § 9 GBBerG (Land Register Correction Act) independent of whether they are already registered in the land register or not as well as easements which are subject to old legislation and not registered in the land register.
The Auction House and the Auctioneer shall be liable towards the Seller and Purchaser for the preparation and conduct of auction sales in accordance with the legal regulations. Insofar as the Auctioneer or the Auction House rely on representations and documentation of third parties, they shall be answerable only for the correct transmission of the mentioned documentation but not for its objective correctness. This also applies to a possible transmission of identification codes according to §§ 139a ff. AO (Fiscal Code) through them. Facts with regard to which there is a duty to furnish particulars will be passed on by the Auction House merely as a messenger. Their disclosure in due time for inclusion in the offer text shall be exclusively incumbent on the Seller.. Claims and rights of the Seller and the Purchaser as well as of Bidders and Interested Bidding Parties on the grounds of failures of the Auction House or the Auctioneer to comply with their duties - especially on the grounds of consulting with regard to assessment issues or on the grounds of defects as to the quality of the Object - shall be totally excluded. Excluded from this are claims made on the grounds of injuries threatening life, bodily injuries and health damage - if the Auction House and/or the Auctioneer are answerable for the failure to comply with their duties (if they are in breach of duty) - and claims based on intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty. A legal representative's or vicarious agent's failure to comply with their duties shall be equal to the Auction House's and/or the Auctioneer's failure to comply with their duties.
The Auction House and the Auctioneer do not guarantee that bidders wishing to submit bids over the telephone will be able to get through.
The Auction House and the Auctioneer shall be under no obligation to make the Objects which will be put up for Auction safe for persons or vehicles. This applies especially to inspections. Only and exclusively the Seller shall have the duty to either make the Objects which will be put up for Auction safe for persons or vehicles or clearly identify possible risks.
8.) If the purchase conditions for the individual objects provide for the take-over of existing liens by means of their deduction from the purchase price (highest bid), the Seller, the Auctioneer, and the Auction House do not assume any liability for the approval of the assumption of indebtedness by the creditors. If the approval for taking over the debts is refused, the Purchaser shall be obliged to pay the relevant portion of the purchase price with other outside or own means within a period of four (4) weeks after having received the refusal regarding the assumption of indebtedness.
The mortgage money balance of such encumbrances - to be determined by the Auction House - at the fixed transfer date shall form the basis for the final settlement of the purchase price. Possible balances resulting thereafter between the deposited and the actual cash portion have to be compensated by means of direct payment between Purchaser and Seller and shall not be taken into account by the Notary within the framework of handling the contract.
9.) Through the Auction House, the Auctioneer shall make the following determinations regarding the Object on behalf of the Seller:
Insofar as the Auctioneer communicates the above mentioned details regarding a) through c), neither he nor the Auction House assume any liability for their correctness. If the Auction House has not obtained the details regarding b) from the competent bodies until the auction sale, this shall be made known by the Auctioneer. An obligation to conduct additional inquiries does not exist. Regardless of this, the Seller shall be obliged to point to possible obligations on his own initiative and he shall possibly be directly liable to the Purchaser for the failure to comply with this duty. Between the auction sales and the date of the economic transfer of benefits and burdens, the details regarding the rents and operating costs can either change because of the vacancy of the Object in the time in between or reletting of the Object.
10) The transfer of the Object shall take place, provided no agreements to the contrary have been made in the individual case, on the first of that month following the contractual depositing or payment of the cash purchase price.
The Seller shall be obliged to bear all current public dues and private expenses of the real property until the fixed transfer date and all costs for developments such as roads, the sewer system, etc. existing on the transfer day. The Seller shall bear dues, possibly existing and not paid for or in arrears on the transfer date, or development costs relating to development measures until the auction date. Development costs for measures which are carried through after the auction date shall be borne by the Purchaser. If the Seller has already made payments for periods after the transfer date, the Purchaser shall be obliged to repay them. The Purchaser has to refund the costs of heating oil or other fuel possibly available on the transfer day to the Seller.
With the transfer the Purchaser also assumes all civil and public duties to maintain safety with regards to the property and exempt the Seller from the fulfilment of these duties.
11) The accepted purchase price shall (by deduction of a possibly previously made bidding security) be deposited - at the Purchaser's option - in a trust account of the Auctioneer appointed by the Auction House or in a trust account of the Notary who officially records the purchase contract or the bid acceptance records - provided that nothing different has been laid down in the purchase conditions for any individual object - within one (1) month from the date of the auction sales.
The payment of the purchase price shall be effected when the correctly ranking registration of the priority notice in favour of the Purchaser and - insofar as encumbrance authorizations have been granted - when the recording of possibly required financing liens takes place or is guaranteed and the official and other approvals, certificates, consents and evidence which are required for the fulfillment (with the exception of the tax clearance certificate and possible authority-confirmations of the Purchaser) as well as negative certificates for possibly existing legal rights of first refusal are available. For partial areas also cadastral documents on the creation of the property to be purchased and the certified identity declaration have to be available to the Notary.
If encumbrances have to be cancelled in the Land Register, the Auctioneer or the Notary may withdraw the sums required for the cancellation including the thereby incurring court costs from the deposited purchase price.
The bank fees for the trust account have to be borne by the Seller who shall also be entitled to the interest on the deposited money provided that nothing has been agreed upon to the contrary in the individual case.
A separate trust account shall be opened at a credit institution for every object.
The Auctioneer has effected insurance coverage for the trust accounts which are kept by him.
If the Federal Office for Central Services and Unresolved Property Issues [Bundesamt für zentrale Dienste und Vermögensfragen] or the Federal Railways Fund [Bundeseisenbahnvermögen] are the Sellers, the Purchaser shall be entitled - also without special mention thereof in the purchase contract - to pay the purchase price directly to the Seller and to waive the entry of a priority notice: In such a case, the Federal Republic of Germany shall be obliged to promptly confirm the receipt of the purchase price in writing to the Notary who notarizes the purchase contract and/or the bid acceptance records. The Notary shall then apply for the priority notice only if requested by the Purchaser in writing.
12) a) Every Purchaser shall be obliged to promptly confirm his obligation to pay the purchase price and the commission to the records of the Notary who officially records the purchase agreement and to agree that measures of immediate execution be taken against all his assets, i.e. because of the purchase price vis-à-vis the Seller and because of the commission vis-à-vis the Auction House (plus interest on arrears in each case) and to irrevocably instruct the Notary who officially records the auction sale to deliver an executionable copy to the Seller and/or the Auction House. If the Purchaser is no longer present, he shall bring after this declaration immediately before a Notary. In case of being in default of payment, the Purchaser shall be obligated to pay interest on arrears in the amount of five percentage points (5%) or - if no participant is a consumer in the sense of § 13 German Civil Code - eight percentage points (8%) per annum over the then valid basic discount rate to the Seller provided no higher damage due to default is proven by the Seller.
b) With the acceptance of these auction sale conditions, Seller and Purchaser herewith authorise the Auction House to accept possible deadlines according to §§ 280, 281, 323 of the BGB (German Civil Code). In the case of deadlines fixed by using this power of attorney, the extension of the final deadline shall at least be three (3) weeks. The Auction House shall pass on every deadline received by it to the last communicated address of the addressee.
c) In cases in which the purchase price does not exceed € 1,000.00, the Seller shall have, in cases of delayed payment, the right to rescind from the contract also without setting a time limit. The Auction House will be authorized to accept such a declaration of rescession with effect for the Purchaser. The Seller's claims for damages will thereby neither be excluded nor reduced.
13) If Objects are put up for auction sale with regard to which the Auctioneer himself participates as a Co-Owner or with regard to which he is a Partner of the Owner, he has to announce this at the beginning of the auction sale.
14) The Seller shall pay the costs incurring for the cancellation of encumbrances in the Land Register which are not taken over, possible assessment balance charges incurring for paying out the purchase price in partial amounts, and assessment charges which incur only as a result of the cancellation of encumbrances and the costs incurring for his confirmation(s) of authority and/or approval(s).
The Purchaser shall pay the following:
a) The proportionate commission (surcharge) of the Auction House. For a purchase price of up to € 9,999.00 this commission amounts to fifteen per cent (15%), for a purchase price of € 10,000.00 to € 29,999.00 ten per cent (10%), for a purchase price of € 30,000.00 to € 59,999.00 eight per cent (8%), and for a purchase price as from € 60,000 it amounts to six per cent (6%) - in each case plus value-added tax at the relevant applicable statutory rate. The commission is earned, due, and payable at the notarization of the bid's acceptance and/or of the purchase contract independent of the further handling. A claim for the return of the commission shall be excluded with the exception that an approval required for the effectiveness of the contract will definitely not be granted.
b) Fees for the notarization of the purchase contract and/or bid acceptance records, conveyance, and the entire execution including its approval(s) and confirmation(s) of authority as well as the depositing (insofar as these do not have to be borne by the Seller in accordance with Clause 14, sentence 1).
c) Costs of land register registrations and the cancellation of the priority notice, of extracts from the land register, authorities' fees, realty transfer tax, and costs incurred by other possibly required approvals.
15) The commission for the Seller amounts to: see individual agreement. If the purchase price is deposited in a trust account of an Auctioneer, the latter shall be entitled to directly withdraw the commission at the time at which the Notary is authorized to make the payment. If the purchase price is deposited in a trust account of the Notary, the Notary shall pay the commission directly to the Auction House at the time the purchase price is paid out. Should the purchase price be paid directly to a Seller, the latter shall be obliged to pay the commission to the Auction House immediately upon receipt of the purchase price.
16) If a prospective purchaser requests expert opinions on the objects which are put up at auction, the Auctioneer/Auction House is going to charge € 10.00 for every short expert opinion and € 15.00 for every standard expert opinion, plus value-added tax at the relevant applicable statutory rate for both types of expert opinions.
17) It is pointed out that the conveyance of the real property in the Land Register is dependent on the presentation of the certificate on the non-existence or the non-exercise of a right of pre-emption in accordance with § 28 of the Building Code, possible further legal state regulations, and the tax clearance certificate; in case of areas which are used for agricultural purposes also on the approval in accordance with the GrdstVG (Property Dealings Act) and in case of the acquisition of parts of areas on the availability of the cadastral documentation and - to the required extent - the approval for partition and as regards real property in the Five New German Laender - to the required extent - on the approval in accordance with the GVO (Real Estate Transactions Ordinance).
If an existing right of pre-emption is exercised, the Seller shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract vis-à-vis the Purchaser.
The Notary who records the auction sale handles the execution of the purchase contract and obtains the therefore required certificates, approvals and, if applicable, the cancellation documentation from the creditors made known to him. This Notary shall also supervise the time at which the payment (time at which the Notary is authorized to make the payment) and transfer (time at which it is possible to realize the transfer of title in the land register) are authorized and, in case a charging authorization is granted, the exercise of same. He shall request necessary confirmations of power of attorneys and verify their applicability for the land register.
He is authorized to request the submission of land register extracts. He shall also be authorized to accept any and all approvals to include their possible communication to other parties to the contract and to accept such communication for the relevant other party to the contract.
Withdrawal can be declared in writing vis-à-vis the Notary notarising the purchase agreement, with the latter being authorised by all participating parties, in recognition of these auction sale conditions, to accept declarations of withdrawal with regard to the purchase agreement.
The Seller and Purchaser are obligated to immediately inform the Auction House, the Notary notarising the purchase agreement and the contract partner about every change of their address. They are also obligated to immediately advise the Notary notarising the purchase agreement about their identification code according to §§ 139a ff. AO (Fiscal Code).
18) If nothing has been agreed upon to the contrary in the individual case, the following regulations apply to the notarization and handling of the Contract and/or the accepted bid:
a) The notarization is done regularly in such a manner that subsequent to the auction sale a purchase contract is notarized under the exclusion of § 156 German Civil Code and under setting aside the effects of the acceptance of the highest bid. If a Purchaser is no longer present after the acceptance of the highest bid, the Notary present at the Auction Sales sets up bid acceptance records in accordance with § 15 Notarization Act, also in such a case the contract shall be brought about with the acceptance of the highest bid according to § 156 German Civil Code and the notarization. If according to § 15 of the Notarization Act, a notarization also does not take place, the acceptance of the highest bid shall be notarized as unilateral declaraction of the Auctioneer.
b) The application for the recording of a priority notice protecting the transfer of title and the conveyance shall be notarized by the Notary and be presented to the Land Registry if the cash portion of the purchase price is deposited with the Auction House or the Notary who records the auction sale and no regulations exist which exceed the payment conditions in accordance with Clause 11) and the fulfillment of which is not guaranteed. The condition for the registration of a lien is thereby regarded as being pursuant to the contract only if and to the extent that the Seller has granted a charging authorization and the Purchaser has made the declarations required for the registration of the lien to the records of the Notary who records the auction sale and/or the bid acceptance records and if all approvals, possibly required for the registration, are available. If the purchase price is paid directly to the Seller, the written confirmation of the Seller on the receipt of the purchase price supersedes the depositing. In such a case, application for the priority notice may be dispensed with if requested by the Purchaser in writing.
c) Also without depositing shall it be possible to approve the registration of a priority notice if the Purchaser approves of the cancellation of this priority notice in the land register and places it at the disposal of the Auction House in case the Seller withdraws from the contract on the grounds of the Purchaser's delay in payment or puts forward claims for damages instead of requiring performance; in addition, assignment of the ownership procurement claim and/or the expectant right on the grounds of a prohibition of assignment shall be excluded and this shall apply likewise in individual cases when decided by the Auctioneer.
d) The application for the transfer of ownership shall be filed when the cash portion of the purchase price is deposited in accordance with b) and when possible indebtedness-assumption approvals have either been assured or granted and/or the Seller has confirmed the receipt of the purchase price in writing.
19) Place of Jurisdiction: Local Court Charlottenburg or Regional Court Berlin if no other place of jurisdiction is imperatively prescribed by law.
Berlin, January 2011
DEUTSCHE GRUNDSTÜCKSAUKTIONEN AG
Michael Plettner
Chief Executive Officer
Publicly appointed Property Auctioneer
certified by the Senator for Economy