Practice financing: case reports with an overseas link
Real, anonymised case reports from our work — how financings succeed that first banks initially reject. People, places and individual figures have been changed to protect privacy; each case is an individual case and not a guaranteeable statement for other projects. Practice financing in Germany follows its own logic — separate from a standard home mortgage.
What do the case reports show about financing German property with an overseas link?
They show how German properties get financed although the first bank said no, with a residence abroad, foreign-currency income, cross-border commuting or a return to Germany. What solved it was almost never a better rate, but the bank whose lending rules treat that constellation as a regular case. A case report is not a promise for other projects.
By topic
Residence abroad (Residence abroad)
Spain, Dubai, USA — financed despite a residence abroad.
Cross-border commuters & neighbouring countries (Commuters & neighbours)
Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Italy.
From practice
A rejection tells you about the bank, not about you: Almost everyone who reaches this page has been through the same thing: they approached a bank, were turned down, and drew the wrong conclusion — that the purchase is not financeable.
It almost never is. A rejection means that one particular lender could not fit one particular case into its rules. Those rules are not a law of nature. They are an internal policy, and they differ so widely between houses that the identical constellation produces a refusal at one bank and an approval at the next.
For internationally mobile buyers this matters more than for anyone else, because the reasons for refusal are usually structural rather than financial: which law governs the contract, whether your residence permit outlasts the fixed-rate period, whether your income can be documented in a form a German bank recognises, whether your equity can be traced to its source.
What a single case shows — and what it does not: Anonymised, but not invented. Names, places, professions and individual figures are changed so that no one is identifiable. The structure of the case — the obstacle, the route around it, the order of the steps — is not.
Not a prediction for your case. Creditworthiness, the property, your residence, your income type and the timing all decide. What worked in one case can fail in an apparently similar one because of the third detail.
Pick the field closest to your own situation. If none fits, that is not a rejection — the hardest cases are usually the ones without a category yet.
Financing with a residence in Spain (Residence Spain · Investment)
An investment property in Düsseldorf despite living in Spain — three rejections, then the commitment.
Income from Switzerland (Commuter · CHF income)
A home near Freiburg with income from Switzerland — the place of residence was not the problem.
Financing with a residence in Dubai (Residence Dubai)
An international career in Dubai and German property — no contradiction.
Financing with a residence in the USA (Residence USA)
Why a six-figure US income alone is not enough — and how it succeeded anyway.
An entrepreneur from the Netherlands (Netherlands · Investment)
Two rejections, then a Dutch entrepreneur financed his investment property.
A Swiss dentist finances in Germany (Switzerland · Dentist)
Despite excellent creditworthiness, no financing at first — and why.
A US investor & the source of funds (USA · Source of funds)
Not the money, but the origin of the money became the real hurdle.
A pilot with variable income (France · Variable income)
A flat in Munich despite fluctuating pilot pay.
An entrepreneur from Italy (Italy · Entrepreneur)
Why German banks read Italian balance sheets differently — and how it succeeded.
A software developer from India (India · Skilled worker)
Why a top salary alone does not guarantee financing.
A couple from Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
Why even bank employees can fail with their own financing.
A family from Austria (Austria · Chiemsee)
A detached house on Lake Chiemsee — why residence mattered more than income.
A job in London, a home in Germany (United Kingdom · Brexit)
Brexit and a job in London — almost the end of the home-ownership dream.
Tax-free income from Dubai (Dubai · Tax-free)
Tax-free income, high savings, two rejections — then Munich worked out.
A manager from Singapore (Singapore · Employee shares)
Why employee shares almost caused the financing to fail.
An engineer from Japan (fixed-term) (Japan · Fixed-term contract)
Why a fixed-term contract almost ended the home-ownership dream.
Emigrants without a SCHUFA record (South Africa · No SCHUFA)
Why a missing SCHUFA record was not the real problem.
A heart surgeon from Brazil (Brazil · Doctor)
Why the German employment contract alone was not enough for the bank.
An entrepreneur from Israel, Munich (Israel · Start-up exit)
Why a seven-figure account balance alone does not guarantee financing.
Frequently asked questions
Why is a bank rejection usually not the end of the plan?
Those rules are not a law of nature. They are an internal policy, and they differ so widely between houses that the identical constellation produces a refusal at one bank and an approval at the next.
How do I find the case closest to my situation?
Pick the field closest to your own situation. If none fits, that is not a rejection — the hardest cases are usually the ones without a category yet.
Are the case reports on financing with an overseas link real cases?
Yes, they are real, anonymised case reports from our work. People, places and individual figures have been changed to protect privacy. Each case is an individual case and not a guaranteeable statement for other projects.
Your case not here yet?
Almost every situation with an overseas link is solvable. Describe your situation to us — the initial call is free. FAQ on financing from abroad
Related pages
which bank finances a practice and a home?
Doctor mortgage in Germany: home and practice loans, doctors living abroad. 650+ banks compared, bank-independent, §34i. Free consultation.
Germans living abroad: can you still finance a property in Germany?
Germans living abroad buying property in Germany: all countries of residence, equity, documentation and how the mortgage actually works.
which bank fits your case?
Mortgage broker under § 34i GewO: over 650 banks compared, from ING and DKB to Sparkasse and Allianz. As a rule, the financing bank pays the commission.
Editorially responsible: Olga Nikushkina — owner, §34i GewO (German mortgage brokerage), adviser register D-W-132-ZUCB-95. Specialised in German property financing with an international dimension: non-residents, foreign-currency income, cross-border workers, expats. Siegfried Perini is entered in the German intermediary register under this licence as a person directly involved in brokerage and advice (§ 11a GewO), active in real estate since 1992. Not legal or tax advice.