Selling a property to non-Swiss citizens: Things to know for owners

The Upper Lake Zurich with attractive locations such as Zollikon, Rapperswil-Jona or the picturesque Gold Coast is considered a particularly popular real estate location - not only among Swiss, but especially also among foreigners, local sales offers meet with a lively demand. The varied natural surroundings, the attractive career potential and the favorable tax situation make houses and apartments on Lake Zurich's upper shore attractive to many foreign buyers. If you would like to sell your property in the region, this brings with it a number of implications, which your real estate agent Von Poll Oberer Zürichsee would like to present to you in this article.

The legal situation of selling real estate to foreigners in Switzerland

The legal basis for selling your house or apartment to non-Swiss nationals is the "Federal Law of 16 December 1983 on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Persons Abroad". This is also widely referred to as the "Lex Koller" - named after Arnold Koller, who held the office of President of the Swiss Confederation in 1997, at the time of the last major revision of the law.

The background to the law is to reduce the acquisition of Swiss real estate by foreign investors and in this way to ease the housing situation. For this reason, the purchase of houses, apartments and comparable properties by non-Swiss nationals is subject to different permits, which vary depending on the country of origin:
If the buyer comes from an EU or EFTA state and has a C settlement permit or a B residence permit as well as actual residence in Switzerland, the purchase of first and second homes, holiday homes and multifamily homes is generally permitted. The same applies to persons from third countries outside the EU and EFTA who have a C settlement permit. If, on the other hand, only a B residence permit is available, second homes and apartment buildings may not be purchased, and the acquisition of vacation homes is subject to further scrutiny.

Whoever does not have one of the two permits cannot have a residence in Switzerland, regardless of their citizenship - here, significantly stricter requirements prevail when purchasing residential real estate. For example, main residences and multi-family houses may generally not be purchased, while additional permits must be obtained for vacation homes and second homes. A special situation is also the so-called short stay permit L, which in principle allows the establishment of a residence, but when buying real estate according to Lex Koller usually does not get along without further permits.

For you as the owner and seller of a property in Switzerland, all these requirements are initially secondary, since their compliance is in principle the responsibility of the buyer. Nevertheless, the law affects the potential target group of your sale, since not all foreign prospective buyers are eligible to purchase your house or apartment in Upper Lake Zurich. Your real estate agent Von Poll Immobilien will clarify the legal status of each candidate for you in advance of the viewing, so that no problems arise in this regard when the interest in buying is concretized.

Language, culture, currency: you should pay attention to these differences during the sale

However, a number of special features should also be taken into account in addition to the legal situation if you want to sell your property to a foreign party. For example, there may be understanding hurdles especially with interested parties from outside the German-speaking area. Even an evasion into English is not always possible without problems, so it may prove useful to hire a professional interpreter for the viewing appointments and the contract negotiation.

Possible intercultural differences can also affect the marketing process. Typical behavior and communication patterns, as they are common in Switzerland, can be perceived differently than intended by transaction partners from other cultural circles, and even seem impolite. Especially in the case of intercontinental demand, such misunderstandings are not uncommon: This can range from the simple greeting by handshake, to eye contact during the dialogue, to negotiation behavior - our real estate agents therefore always deal sensitively with the sensitivities of the buyer party and prepare well-founded for the personal part of the marketing.

If it finally comes to negotiating the contents of the contract before the conclusion of your sale, the agreed currency must not be disregarded, in which the purchase price is to be paid. Here you should insist on a clear quantification in Swiss francs in order to exclude a potential exchange rate risk. Especially in the case of high-priced real estate, such fluctuations in the exchange rate can quickly make up a considerable difference in the four-digit range. For this reason, our real estate agents in Upper Lake Zurich advise private sellers in particular to accept payments exclusively in the domestic currency.

As the owner of an apartment, a villa or a house in Upper Lake Zurich, you would like to be prepared in the best possible way even in the case of foreign buying interest and realize a frictionless, successful sale? Trust in the long-standing expertise and the distinctive marketing skills of the Von Poll real estate agents on Lake Zurich! Let us introduce you to our sales services in more detail in a free and non-binding meeting for an initial consultation and send us an e-mail at [email protected]. Alternatively, you can also reach us at +41 44 211 60 09, where our real estate agents will be happy to arrange a personal appointment with you!