Referring to my previous post on historic German farmhouses, can anyone tell me what the process might be for someone to purchase such a dwelling? The scenario I've got in mind is that the owner, a middle-aged single woman and the last of her line, lives in Bremen or somewhere north and is selling the old empty Haus that has been in the family for several generations. She meets the prospective buyer (a nice young man, she thinks) at the property and is happy when he agrees to purchase it as-is. Could he give her a cash down payment in Deutschmarks (this is 1983) and sign a contract for the rest. Or maybe buy it outright for cash? Or did BRD law require inspections, etc., before any cash changed hands? How would the deed be transferred? Would they need a notary or some kind of real estate agent? And would a house that old automatically be under some kind of historic preservation law? Another question: If there's a village nearby, could the new owner keep his presence secret from them? Or is Germany too built-up and close-together for that? It didn't seem like it when I was there in 1989, but I may not have observed well enough. Danke!
