Before you even pay for your new house, you’ll feel like you’ve already given most of the purchase price to the notary for various papers, documents and signatures. They all go towards ensuring the house will belong entirely to you and your creditors, but his bills quickly become tiresome. Expect to shell out between 1% and 1.5% of the purchase price on the notary, who bills on a sliding scale according to the price of the property. You’ll also have to pay 3.5% Grunderwerbssteuer or property acquisition tax. The corresponding tax office will send you a bill shortly after the notary has added you to the property’s title. You’ll also be required to pay a quarterly property tax, but it will work out to just a fraction of your home’s value. The bank may also ask you to pick up the cost of an appraisal, which will be about €150. During an appraisal, someone will look at the property and find recent sales of similar flats or houses in the same area to determine whether or not you are paying too much. The bank wants to ensure that if you don’t make your mortgage payments, it’ll be able to sell the property and recoup its loan.