Financing property in Germany: residence in the Netherlands or Austria
Euro income, no conversion right — the Netherlands and Austria are among the more accessible non-resident constellations. What still gets checked closely.
Is financing from the Netherlands or Austria easier?
Noticeably so, for two reasons that reinforce each other. Both are euro countries, so the conversion right under §503 BGB does not apply, and income arrives in the same currency as the loan. That removes precisely the two points on which cross-border files usually fail: the conversion obligation and the safety discount applied to foreign-currency income. It is still not a standard case. Residence abroad remains an exception for the bank — identification, service of documents, evidence and the question of a German settlement account all arise unchanged. The range of institutions is wider than for non-euro countries but clearly narrower than for a borrower living in Germany. In practice that means terms close to domestic level, with a limited number of houses willing to look at the file at all. Anyone planning the purchase from Amsterdam or Vienna should therefore start with the choice of lender, not with the property.
NL/AT residence at a glance
Why the Netherlands and Austria are easier constellations
Anyone living and working in the Netherlands or Austria has two advantages over other tax non-residents: no conversion right (both are euro countries) and income in euros — which makes the assessment considerably simpler for banks.
Even so, it is not a standard case. A residence abroad remains a special case for banks. The choice is larger than for foreign-currency countries, but smaller than for residents. I find the right bank for your constellation.
What banks check closely despite a euro residence
- Stability of residence: how long in NL/AT already? A temporary posting or a permanent centre of life?
- Employer: a Dutch/Austrian company, or a German company with a foreign posting?
- Intention to return: some banks factor this in; less relevant for investment properties
- Creditworthiness / SCHUFA: a SCHUFA score may be missing — alternatives: a Dutch BKR extract or an Austrian KSV report
- Notary appointment: EU free movement makes appearing in person easy
Financing from other countries
Elsewhere in the EU
Living abroad.
View page → ResidenceUnited Kingdom
Living abroad.
View page → OverviewAll countries of residence
Living abroad.
View page → ResidenceSwitzerland
Living abroad.
View page → ResidenceUSA & Canada
Living abroad.
View page → ResidenceUSA, UK & Asia
Living abroad.
View page → ResidenceUAE & Dubai
Living abroad.
View page →Living in the eurozone removes the biggest obstacle
Of all cross-border constellations, the Netherlands and Austria are the most straightforward — and not for the reasons people expect. It is not proximity, not language, not the single market. It is the currency.
The statutory conversion right under § 503 BGB arises when a loan is not denominated in the currency of the country where the borrower lives. If you live in Amsterdam or Vienna, you live in a euro country — so a German euro loan is already in the right currency. No conversion right, no additional obligation on the bank, no reflexive rejection. That reflex is precisely what blocks German nationals in Switzerland, the UK or the Gulf.
What remains: you are still a tax non-resident once your German residence is given up. Rome I, service of documents and the documented creditworthiness assessment under § 505d BGB all still apply. But one obstacle is gone — and in practice it was the tallest.
Three points that trip up otherwise clean files
- Unfamiliar income documents. A Dutch jaaropgave or an Austrian annual payslip looks nothing like a German Lohnsteuerbescheinigung. No problem for a lender who knows the case — a hard stop inside an automated application process.
- Cross-border commuters are a different case entirely. If you live in Germany and work in the Netherlands, you are tax-resident in Germany with foreign income — a far easier constellation, with a much wider field of lenders. Do not assume the two are interchangeable.
- Double taxation treaties. Rental income from German property is generally taxed in Germany. That is not the bank's concern — but it is yours, after tax. We work with pre-tax figures; the tax assessment belongs with your tax adviser.
The bottom line: this is the widest field of lenders of any cross-border case. Not every bank will say yes — but enough remain that a genuine comparison is possible.
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