Final Stretch For Loan Withdrawal
Those who still want to withdraw from real estate loans concluded between 2002 and 2010 should take action now while the right of withdrawal is on its last legs. This get-out-of-jail-free card is set to lapse shortly.
GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London conclude: With interest rates having fallen sharply in recent years, withdrawing from a real estate loan that was taken out years ago is now an attractive prospect. The low interim interest can give rise to five-figure savings. Having said that, anybody who does not wish to “give away” this money ought to act quickly, as time is beginning to run out for those interested in withdrawal. Now that the legislature has restricted the right of withdrawal with respect to real estate loans concluded between 2002 and 2010, this option only remains open until June 21, 2016.
Consumers who still wish to withdraw from their loans should also take care to ensure that notice of withdrawal is received by their bank or savings bank in due time and that this can be verified, because the deadline will expire on June 21 at exactly 12am. This means that notice of withdrawal needs to have been received by the financial institution in question by June 20 at the latest, but preferably a few days beforehand.
Withdrawing from a loan is always a promising endeavour if the bank or savings bank used flawed guidance on the right of withdrawal, since this generally means that the fourteen-day withdrawal period never commenced and withdrawal is therefore still possible to this day. Banks and savings banks made particularly frequent use of guidance on the right withdrawal that deviated – albeit in some cases marginally – from the respective standard guidance in cases involving real estate loans concluded between 2002 and 2010. That, in turn, has paved the way for this get-out-of-jail-free card.
Typical indications of flawed guidance include ambiguous information concerning the commencement of the withdrawal period, e.g. by using the word “frühestens” (no earlier than / at the earliest) or footnotes. Notwithstanding this, it is not easy for a layperson to recognize whether guidance regarding the right of withdrawal satisfies the legal requirements. Lawyers who are experienced in the field of banking law are able to quickly assess if this is the case as well as establish whether the conditions for a successful withdrawal have been met. However, given that the deadline is set to expire soon, action ought to be taken now.