Notary fees. Who should bear them?

I also find the proposal very good. Only the seller's willingness to compromise is very low. Therefore, I hope the agent can mediate there.

Then the agent should teach him that it is only a good deal if it is satisfactory for both. If one feels exploited, it is not a good deal. And about a year should normally be enough for him, if it still takes longer, he just has to pay rent for 1 or 2 months, that is not too much to ask. You also have to pay standby interest. In the end, however, it is always the question of how confident the seller can be to sell his house elsewhere at the same or a higher price. If he is quite sure of that, unfortunately, he has the advantage...

That's how it is, unfortunately... Hope the realtor will be able to make that clear to him.

And just under a year should normally be enough for him, ...

I had this thought too. However, I have often read here that in the current "construction period" delays of one year from the start of construction (and thus the end of construction) are not so rare.

Only the seller would already be making a loss with the notary draft now and he would have problems with his bridge financing. We would give him the amount already in April. Which is a huge advantage for him.

This could possibly still be a small leverage. Let the agent suggest that, due to the constant delays, you no longer consider the payment date of April 2017 justified. If the seller sees his bridge financing at risk, he might possibly move a bit more.

BUT: If the market situation is such that he can find a buyer at any time who agrees to his wishes (early payment, constant postponement or indefinitely delayed date), then you are out of luck.

Therefore, it would be interesting to know where the house is located...

The house is located approximately 5km from Osnabrück.

Alright - the OP is from Osnabrück and wants to build in NRW. NRW is "expensive" territory in many regions. He himself has already written that the demand in the region is high. His trump card seems to be that he would pay for the house 1/2 year in advance, which others have not yet committed to (but perhaps were not asked either).