FAQ: Financing

On the one hand, it always depends on your bank, the prime rate, and the economic situation. But there are also a few personal factors that can influence your interest rate:

1. The loan amount

Depending on how much money you want to borrow from the bank, you may have premiums or discounts on your interest rate. For example, some banks charge premiums for loan amounts under 50,000 euros and give discounts for sums of 100,000 euros or more. 

2. The loan-to-value ratio

The loan-to-value ratio is nothing more than the financing share, i.e., how much of the purchase price you want to borrow. The higher the percentage, the higher the interest surcharges at the bank. 

3. The fixed interest rate period

With construction financing, you can choose how long you want to be tied to the borrowing rate. If you select a long fixed interest rate because the interest rate is low, the interest surcharge will be higher.

4. The property value

The bank looks at the property from various points of view to determine the property value. If the bank thinks the purchase price you pay is too high compared to what the property is worth, there is often an interest surcharge.

5. Repayment & term of the financing

The higher your repayment, the shorter the term of your loan. The bank rewards this with a better interest rate. Of course, only if your repayment rate is realistic and you can afford the monthly costs.

6. Employment

As an employee, you often get a better interest rate than a self-employed person. This is because the bank has much less work to do in checking the loan. In addition, the risk that you, as an employee, will face financial difficulties in the meantime is lower.  

7. Your postal code

Depending on where your desired property is located, the bank will evaluate the potential for appreciation. If they feel the value of your property is likely to increase, they will often offer you a better interest rate. In less attractive areas, on the other hand, you may have to accept a higher interest rate.

8. your Schufa-Scora

How reliably do you repay previous loans and other installments? Your Schufa score reveals it. And tells the bank whether they can trust you with a loan. If you have exclusively or predominantly positive entries, that's a good sign for the bank. It does not reflect well on you if you have a negative score or refuse to provide the Schufa information.

9. Commitment-free period & unscheduled repayment

The provision-free period and the unscheduled repayment are special conditions that can be agreed upon with a bank. Some banks will charge a higher interest rate for these extras if you take advantage of these options. 

10. Purpose

Owner occupancy, real estate investment, or commercial rental? Banks want to know why you want to buy a property because there are often different interest rates here. For example, the interest rate is often better for owner-occupancy because banks assume you will take better care of your home than an apartment you sublet. 

11. Special offers at the bank

If the timing is right, you're in luck: sometimes there are specials at the bank that you can snag if necessary. These include special discounts on specific properties, New Year's specials, etc. 

Phew, quite a lot of points. And quite a few banks that you have to compare first. 

How are you supposed to find the best offer? Don't worry: Our Urbyo financial experts will handle it for you. They know their stuff and which banks offer you the most attractive and sensible deals.

👉Are you interested in financing through Urbyo? Then feel free to send an inquiry to: finanzierung@urbyo.com or sign up directly for a conversation.

The loan-to-value ratio is the portion of the property's value that you borrow against. You are therefore "lending" the property. By the way, the loan-to-value ratio does not refer to the purchase price of the property, but to the mortgage lending value - i.e. the value estimated by the bank.

In short, almost all of them. To be able to pick out the best offers for you, we have to know exactly what the market actually has to offer. That's why we work with almost every online bank, cooperative bank, credit union, direct bank, savings bank, insurance company, building society and development bank in Germany. That's well over 1,000 providers. We then filter the results until only the best offers are left for you.

If, contrary to expectations, you find a better offer from one of the few banks that don't work with us, let us know: we'll match it. You can read more about our "Favorable interest rate" promise here.

Are you interested in financing through Urbyo? Then feel free to send an inquiry to: finanzierung@urbyo.com or sign up for a conversation directly.

We want to help all Urbyo users finance a property. While most banks offer real estate starting at 50,000 euros, we already support you with a loan as low as 30,000 euros.
Therefore, nearly all reasonably priced real estate offers in Germany are also covered. 

Are you interested in financing through Urbyo? Then feel free to send an inquiry to: finanzierung@urbyo.com or sign up for a conversation directly.

Proof of equity is always required for financing. But now you don't have to contact your bank directly: It's much easier! 

The proof of equity only means that you provide the bank with evidence of your account balance or your deposit. In the simplest case, these are PDF printouts from your online banking. Just make sure that a date is visible — after all, the financing bank should also be able to understand that the statement is up to date.

To make you an offer that is as accurate as possible, we need you to spill the beans. If we then make you several offers, they are of course non-binding. That means you can reject them at any time. Even if there's really no reason to do so. After all, we promise you the lowest interest rates.

Of course, we depend on you to provide us with correct information. This is the only way we can present you with suitable offers. Making an exact budget calculation can sometimes be a bit nerve-wracking. After all, you are revealing all of your financial information. But it's worth it: because based on your info and the property data, we can tell you with the utmost certainty whether or not financing is possible under given circumstances. Our financial experts will always let you know transparently and comprehensibly which options are available to you based on the conditions.

At Urbyo, you get the best of both worlds when it comes to financing: digital convenience and personal contact.

We have made it our mission to create the most effortless financing process ever. You can use Urbyo to conveniently insert all the data and upload relevant documents for your financing.

But you won't be on your own. We will personally guide you through the process, give you advice and help you choose the right offer. To make it easier for you to decide, we carefully examine all offers in advance. Only the best and most sensible ones are presented to you. That way, there's nothing left that can go wrong.

If you get the best conditions, make your decision with a clear conscience, and feel well taken care of, we've done our job right.

There's no universal answer to that question. Every bank is a little different and has unique requirements, depending on whether you are self-employed or an employee.

Nevertheless, you'd be safe to assume that they might ask for these documents, among others:

- Proof of income and capital
- Bank statements for the last months
- Income tax returns or tax assessment notices
- Current Schufa information
- Documents and information on current loans
- Pension statements or pension information
- Securities
- Building savings contracts
- Documents on the property

However, you can find out exactly which documents you will need for your application from your financial expert at Urbyo. You can listen to more about the documents and the household budget in our podcast episode "Die Haushaltsrechnung beim Immobilienkauf" (German audio only).

Ancillary purchase costs include: 

• the land transfer tax (varies depending on the federal state)

• notary and land registry fees (approx. 2% of the purchase price)

• the brokerage fee, if any

Depending on what else needs to be done to your property and whether you move into the property yourself, there may be additional costs, such as moving or renovation costs. Ultimately, you can expect additional costs of about 10-15% of the purchase price. As a rule, you have to pay these costs for your own home yourself. For investors, however, full financing is theoretically possible. Your Urbyo financial expert can tell you exactly what you can afford.

Yes, you can basically request all forms of financing from Urbyo. This also includes KfW loans or municipal funding programs.

Do you live outside Germany? No problem: We can help you out.

Even if you live abroad, our financial experts are there for you. As long as the property you want to buy is in Germany, banks usually have no problem with international investors.

Although investment properties are our specialty, we're also here for you if you live in or want to move into your apartment yourself.

Whether you need first-time or follow-up financing for your own home, you are more than welcome to contact us.

If you've ever signed a cell phone contract yourself, you know the game: New customers get better offers than existing customers.

So it often pays to switch providers. This also applies to follow-up financing. We'll check your conditions and find the best offers for you.

Generally, we offer all types of loans and development loans. You can find out which ones suit you in a personal consultation with us.

There are many different ways to finance a property: 

• Annuity loans

• Bullet loans

• Repayment loans

• Interim financing

• Forward loans

• Cap loans

• Policy loans

• Home loan and savings contracts

• KfW loans

• Wohnriester/homeowner's pension etc.

Each form of financing has its advantages and disadvantages — depending on your own financial situation and your real estate goals. Speaking from experience, the annuity loan is the most popular approach. By talking to our financial experts, you will quickly find out if this is the right way for you as well. We also tell you more about these loan products in our German podcast, which you can listen to here.

Our services are generally free of charge for you. If you want, you can book additional extras for a fee, but that's not a must. Here's how we earn our money.

Of course! No matter when you need our advice or support, we're there for you.

We not only support you before or during your real estate purchase but also afterward. After all, we also offer helpful services for owners, such as support in choosing a follow-up financing.

The time it takes depends on how quickly you can submit your documents and the necessary information. However, if your data is complete, you will usually receive the best offers from us within 12 hours.

In the case of a debt rescheduling, a notary has to change the land register entry. You can submit the costs incurred in the process to us — regardless of whether the land charge only needs to be transferred or deleted and re-registered.

If you choose a new provider for your follow-up financing via Urbyo, you have several advantages: First, you can usually secure more favorable interest rates than with a rollover. Secondly, you avoid the disadvantage you would have in other cases: Fees for changes in the land register. Depending on the loan amount, these can cost you several hundred euros.

Just send your notary invoice to anfi@urbyo.com, and we will reimburse you the costs after the expiration of the revocation period of the loan agreements and max. 14 days after submission of the invoices.

In the context of follow-up financing, you have the opportunity to continue financing your remaining debt at better conditions — i.e. at lower interest rates and/or a higher repayment rate. The whole process is then called debt restructuring.

In nine out of ten cases, our financial professionals manage to obtain follow-up financing for you, with which you either save money every month or repay the loan amount more quickly - and are then independent again more quickly.

Although the follow-up financing or rescheduling is basically like a new financing request, it has the great advantage that you do not have to turn the (costly) loop through the notary again. At least if you do not borrow more money than the land charge shows.

But if, for example, renovations are imminent, you can also finance them. Just like the ancillary costs. These will then be incurred. Of course, because the loan amount is then higher than the land charge.

In addition to banks, there are other places to borrow money at low interest rates. The KfW Bank or municipalities and communities have different subsidy programs for real estate buyers. In addition, our experts are familiar with all subsidy options and will work with you to find the most favorable calculation.