Still possible to withdraw from loans after June 21
It is still possible to withdraw from a large number of real estate loans. The end of the withdrawal period only concerns loans that were concluded between November 2002 and June 2010.
GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London conclude: On June 21, 2016, the withdrawal period for real estate loans concluded between November 2002 and June 10, 2010 came to an end. This means that it still remains possible to withdraw from real estate loans that were taken out since June 11, 2010 if the consumer was not properly informed about his withdrawal options. Flawed or inadequate guidance on the right of withdrawal can also be found in more recent loan agreements. If this is the case, the affected consumers are still able to benefit from the current low interest rates and restructure their debts under favourable conditions. Interim interest has also experienced another significant decline since the middle of 2010, with the result that it is possible to obtain considerable relief from the interim interest for these loans as well.
If these loans have already been prematurely paid off with an early repayment penalty, the latter can be reclaimed from the banks following a successful withdrawal.
As in the case of legacy contracts, a successful withdrawal presupposes that the bank or savings bank made use of flawed or inadequate guidance regarding the right of withdrawal. As a consequence, the withdrawal period never commenced and it is still possible to this day to withdraw from the loan agreement. These agreements continue to benefit from what some call a “perpetual” right of withdrawal. Arguments put forward by the banks such as that the right of withdrawal was exercised in bad faith or forfeited have already been repeatedly rejected by various courts. In fact, the legal situation is clear in most cases. If flawed or inadequate guidance has been used pertaining to the right of withdrawal, it is generally possible to withdraw from the loan agreement. Lawyers who are experienced in the field of banking law can assess whether the conditions for withdrawal have been met.
Consumers who gave timely notice of their withdrawal from real estate loans concluded between 2002 and 2010 cannot automatically assume that the bank in question will accept the withdrawal. In the event that they do not, one then has the option of reaching an out-of-court settlement with the bank or enforcing the right of withdrawal in court.