Principles that Guide Our Work

Information on the content of real estate listings:

Our real estate listings and property particulars (exposés) as well as any other information about the properties are based on the information provided by the seller, landlord or a third party. We do not verify its accuracy and completeness and therefore assume no liability for the information.

Confidentiality

Any information about the properties we present to you is confidential and must not be disclosed. Unauthorized disclosure of the information is deemed a violation of data protection provisions and of our trade secrets and may therefore result in legal claims for compensation.

The activities which we carry out within the scope of the mandate given by you are subject to the following General Terms and Conditions. Where the subject matter of the transaction is the purchase of a single-family dwelling or condominium, the General Terms and Conditions shall only apply to you if you have agreed to the payment of commission. Otherwise, we, in our function as a real estate agent, act exclusively on behalf of the other party to the purchase agreement.

General Terms and Conditions

1. Amount of Commission

Unless otherwise provided for in the listing or introduction or otherwise agreed upon, we will charge the following rates:

a) for closing a purchase agreement for real estate, we charge a commission of 3.57 % of the notarised purchase price, incl. statutory value-added tax; for the purchase of a single-family dwelling or condominium, only the commission agreed upon in text form shall apply;

b) for closing a tenancy or lease agreement for commercial property with a term of 10 years or more, the tenant or lessee shall pay a commission of 3.57 % of the 10-year gross rent (gross rent = net rent + operating costs), incl. statutory value-added tax. This shall also apply if the tenant is provided with an option for a 10-year term, irrespective of whether or not the tenant exercises this option;

c) for closing a tenancy or lease agreement for commercial property with a term of more than 5 years and less than 10 years, the tenant or lessee shall pay a commission of 3.57 % of the total contract rent, incl. statutory value-added tax;

d) for closing a tenancy or lease agreement for commercial property with a term of up to 5 years and for indefinite tenancy or lease agreements, the tenant or lessee shall pay a commission of 3.57 % of the gross monthly rent, incl. statutory value-added tax (with regard to the agreed rent / for tenancy agreements providing for stepped rent, the average rent of the fixed-term contract shall apply);

e) if the amount of the commission has not been specified in the agreement or if the respective provision is invalid, the commission rate customary in the respective place shall be deemed agreed upon unless the transaction involves the purchase of a single-family dwelling or condominium by a consumer or the rental of an apartment.

2. Payment of Commission

Payment of the commission shall be due when a purchase or tenancy agreement has been closed. The commission shall be paid immediately but no later than 10 days from the date on which the invoice was issued.

3. Working for Both Contracting Parties

We may also work for the respective other contracting party to a purchase or tenancy agreement, which is subject to a commission. It is our goal to close the transaction in the interest of both parties.

4. Previous Knowledge, Giving Up the Intention to Enter Into an Agreement

If you have already learned from another source of the opportunity to enter into a contract with regard to the property which we present to you, you shall notify us about this fact within one week. If you fail to do so, you shall be obliged to compensate us for any expenses which we have incurred as a result of your failure to notify us accordingly.

The client shall immediately inform us if they no longer intend to close the envisaged real estate transaction. This will help to avoid unnecessary costs.

5. Prohibition on Disclosure

All information about the opportunity to enter into a contract for a particular property is meant just for you. Disclosure of the information to third parties shall be prohibited. In the event that the information has been disclosed and the agreement is being entered into by a third party, you continue to be obliged to pay the commission we agreed upon.

6. Economic Identity

You shall also be obliged to pay the commission if the real estate transaction is closed by a company with which you have any legal or economic ties, or by a relative through whom you benefit economically from the transaction.

7. Breach of Contract

Should you violate any of the obligations that you have as the client you shall be liable to pay compensation and put us in the position we would have been in if you had not breached the obligation. Any expenses arising within the scope of preparing the transaction shall be reimbursed. We shall have the right to charge the actual amount of the unnecessary expenses that arose. Alternatively, we may charge a lump sum not exceeding € 500.00. If we do so, you are allowed to provide evidence that no damage or diminution in value has occurred or that it is significantly lower than the lump sum determined by us.

8. Liability of the Estate Agent

Our liability shall be limited to wilful intent and gross negligence, provided that no major obligations are concerned. This exclusion of liability shall not apply to damages from injury to life, body, or health caused by a negligent breach of duty on our part, or by a wilful or negligent breach of duty on the part of a legal representative or another person acting on our behalf. We recommend consulting a tax or legal expert for tax and legal advice.

9. Privacy Policy

We will keep your personal data confidential as required by data protection regulations and our Privacy Policy. It is possible to visit our website without providing personal data unless it is explicitly requested. We will collect personal data when our services are being used.

The controller responsible for the collection and processing of your data (Article 13(1)(a) GDPR) is … (full name of the real estate agent, incl. contact details such as address, phone number, e-mail).

The data protection officer (Article 13(1)(b) GDPR) is (if available) … (their full name, incl. contact details such as address, phone number, e-mail).

Scope and purpose of the data processing (Article 13(1)(c) GDPR). We will collect the following data for the purpose of performing our services on your behalf: title, first name, last name, address, e-mail address, phone number (landline and/or mobile), information on the remuneration agreed upon, information on the property sought or offered, and information which, after you have engaged us, will be necessary for buying or selling or renting or letting a property; if there is a serious interest in closing a transaction: date and place of birth as well as nationality. When entering into the final negotiations, we are legally obliged to make a copy of your identity card. We will collect this data for the purpose of identifying you as the one who engaged us and being able to carry out the mandate properly, for the purpose of corresponding with you, invoicing you, settling any claims under the agency contract and meeting the documentation and record-keeping requirements pursuant to the German Brokers’ and Commercial Developers’ Ordinance (Sections 10 and 11 MaBV (Makler- und Bauträgerverordnung)) and the German Anti-Money Laundering Act (Sections 8 II, 11, 12 GwG (Geldwäschegesetz)).

Legal basis for the processing of your data (Article 13(1)(c) and (d) GDPR). The collection and processing of your data is done at your request and is admissible for the purpose of processing and performing the mandate given to us pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) GDPR, for the purpose of our legitimate interests pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (verification of claims), and pursuant to Article 6(1)(c) GDPR for the purpose of complying with our legal obligations pursuant to the German Brokers’ and Commercial Developers’ Ordinance (MaBV) and the German Anti-Money Laundering Act (GwG) (see above).

Storage and disclosure – Your data will only be stored in Germany. (Note to user: Please verify!) In order to initiate contract negotiations as agreed upon (purchase/rent, etc.), we will disclose your data to the future principal contractor, to the person mandated with preparing the contract (notary public, attorney, or property manager) or another real estate agent acting within the scope of a joint business, and, to the extent that the information on the property is disclosed in the customary advertisements, to the addressee of the ad to the extent that the information has been published. To the extent that there is a legal obligation to do so, we will disclose the data to public authorities at their request. Apart from that, we will only disclose the data collected upon your consent (Article 13(1)(e) and (f) GDPR).

Period for which the data will be stored – We will store the personal and property-related data collected for the purpose of carrying out the mandate until the end of the statutory retention period pursuant to the German Brokers’ and Commercial Developers’ Ordinance (MaBV) and the German Anti-Money Laundering Act (GwG) (5 years after the end of the calendar year in which the mandate ends). We will subsequently delete your data unless we are obliged to store the data for an extended period of time (accounting documents 10 years, business letters/mails 6 years) pursuant to Article 6(1)(c) GDPR to comply with record-keeping and documentation requirements under German tax and commercial laws (General Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung (AO)), Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch (HGB)), you have given consent to store your data for an extended period of time pursuant to Article 6(1)(a) GDPR, or, to the extent that it is necessary to review and provide evidence of any claims under the contractual relation, which have not yet been settled, until the end of the limitation period.

Your privacy rights – You have the right of access (Article 15 GDPR), to rectification (Article 16 GDPR), to erasure (Article 17 GDPR), to restriction of processing (Article 18 GDPR), to object (Article 21 GDPR) as well as the right to data portability (Article 20 GDPR). Limitations do apply to the right of access and to erasure pursuant to Sections 34 and 35 Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz (BDSG)). Furthermore, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority pursuant to Article 77 GDPR, Section 19 Federal Data Protection Act. You may withdraw your consent to the processing of personal data at any time by notifying us accordingly. This shall also apply to the withdrawal of any declarations of consent which had been given to us before the GDPR has come into effect. Please note that the withdrawal has an effect on the future only.

Right to object pursuant to Article 21 GDPR – You have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time to processing of personal data concerning you which is based on Article 6(1)(e) GDPR (data processing in the public interest) and Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (data processing based on the balancing of interests). If you object to the processing, we will no longer process your personal data unless there are compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims. An objection is not subject to any formal requirements. It is sufficient to send an e-mail to the following address (fill in e-mail address here).

10. Miscellaneous

Any provisions other than those stipulated in our General Terms and Conditions and ancillary agreements shall be effective only upon our written confirmation. Conflicting terms and conditions shall hereby be rejected.

Should any provision of our General Terms and Conditions be ineffective, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected. Any provision which may be invalid shall be replaced by such legal norms and rules which come closest to the meaning and economic purpose of the original provision.

11. Jurisdiction

If our client is a business person or if their residence is not located in Germany, the place of jurisdiction shall be Berlin. The laws of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply.

Version of 19 February 2021.