Commerz Real Mobilienleasing FAQs

Owner position: The rent-to-own concept relates to a contract in which you have the beneficial ownership of the property used during the term of the contract. On the other hand, title under civil law only passes to you upon payment of the last instalment. In leasing, the entire property, i.e. ownership of the property, beneficial and under civil law, remains with the lessor during the term of the contract. 

Accounting: In the case of a rent-to-own agreement, it is already clear at the beginning that you will take ownership of the property at the end of the term. Therefore, the property is immediately capitalised in your balance sheet and depreciated over its normal useful life. When it comes to leasing, on the other hand, you have an option – depending on the form of contract – to take ownership of the property at the end of the term. The property is therefore accounted for and depreciated by the lessor. You can use the associated balance sheet reduction at the lessee to improve your balance sheet figures. 

Value added tax: Under the rent-to-own concept, the full VAT is payable upon payment of the first instalment. In leasing, on the other hand, each leasing instalment is subject to VAT. If you are entitled to deduct input tax, you can claim VAT from the tax office.  

Impact on P&L: All rent-to-own instalments comprise an interest component and a repayment component. The interest component from the rent-to-own instalments and depreciation is recognised in the income statement. The leasing instalments, on the other hand, are operating expenses in full and are recognised in the income statement. 

Public support programmes: In some federal states – especially in the new federal states – funding programmes are linked to the economic ownership of the property. Therefore, you will only receive the allowances or funding programmes for rent-to-own financing and not for a lease agreement. We will be happy to advise you!  

• Financial leeway: with leasing, you have the option of obtaining capital goods without using equity or other own funds directly for your company – without negatively affecting liquidity, existing credit lines and collateral.
  
  
• Balance sheet-neutral financing: Lease agreements never affect your balance sheet. Your equity ratio is protected. This allows you to improve your balance sheet ratios and thus also your credit rating.
  
  
• Tax deductibility: Lease instalments are included in your company’s income statement as operating expenses and are fully tax deductible.
  
  
• Long-term planning security: Thanks to instalments not changing over the entire period of use, leasing offers you a reliable calculation basis and high planning certainty. At the end of the term, you decide whether you want to purchase the leased item, return it or lease it again.
  
  
• Participation in technological progress: shortening the term of the lease to less than the normal useful life reduces the obsolescence risk of your fixed assets. Leasing with short-term contracts is an attractive alternative, especially for items that are obsolete within a few years – such as IT and communication equipment.
  
  
• Individual contract structure: whether you want to invest in systems, machinery, equipment or commercial vehicles or if you want to finance smaller purchases – lease agreements can be tailored to your individual business needs and the leased item.
  
  
• Invest without restrictions: with commercial leasing from Commerz Real Mobilienleasing, you can choose the best products for your company independently and without restrictions. You are not bound to specific manufacturers or suppliers.

Property ownership: With an investment loan, you are usually the owner of the property during the repayment phase. The financed property belongs to the company’s assets at the latest after the final instalment has been paid. In the case of leasing, on the other hand, an object is provided to you by the lessor for use. The lessor remains the owner of the object during the contractually agreed term of the contract.

Subject matter of the contract: with traditional financing, the loan amount is repaid by means of instalments. With leasing, on the other hand, instalments are paid for the use of a property.

Property collateral: Whether collateral is required for the property in the case of an investment loan is assessed on a case-by-case basis. This decision depends on factors such as creditworthiness, intended use and the term. Leasing is a property-based form of financing with the collateral being the property itself. This collateral value of the leased property in turn has a favourable effect on the risk assessment and pricing.

Intention to purchase: in the case of a rental, the lessor provides the lessee with capital goods or intangible assets for use – at fixed monthly instalments and for a specific period. Leasing also includes a financing component – because, depending on the type of contract, it is possible to purchase the property at the end of the term.

Maintenance and servicing: In the case of a rental, the lessor hands over a flawless property at the start of the contractual term. During this term, the lessor is responsible for maintenance and servicing. The difference between leasing and rent is that the lessee has all the rights and obligations that the lessor usually has in the case of a traditional rental. In the case of leasing, the lessee is therefore responsible for repairs and inspections during the term of the contract.

Selection of a property: in the case of a rental, the lessor makes an investment decision with the intention of then being able to inspire a wide range of potential tenants to rent his property. Leasing, on the other hand, takes into account the special requirements of your company and properties can be individually tailored to your business needs.

Most assets can now be acquired through leasing. The basic requirement for a leasing solution is that the asset must be usable by a third party. This means that the leased item must be one that can be used economically by more than one individual, the lessee.
For example:

• Construction: e.g. excavators and front-end loaders
• Manufacturing: e.g. machines, plants
• IT equipment: e.g. PCs and servers
• Medical technology: e.g ultrasound and X-ray equipment
• Commercial vehicles: e.g small vans, trucks, forklifts and company cars

If you already know which property you would like to lease, one of our specialist consultants will be happy to create a direct offer for you in a personal discussion. Simply use our online appointment booking to conveniently arrange your preferred appointment. You can find our contact persons on the page of our locations.

This depends on the contract, which can be structured to meet individual requirements. Three options are available, depending on the leasing model: renewal, return or purchase.

Leasing is firmly anchored among SMEs in particular. Three out of four small and medium-sized companies regularly consider leasing when planning investments. In fact, more than one in two SMEs always and frequently use leasing. However, leasing is not only rooted in the awareness of SMEs, it is even the dominant form of investment for SMEs and competes with other types of financing. For 40 percent of companies, leasing is the first choice for investment plans, with investment loans clearly behind.

But almost one in three small companies and around one in two large companies are also staunch users of leases.

That’s why we at Commerz Real have been a valued partner of German SMEs for over 50 years as a manufacturer-independent leasing provider of the Commerzbank Group. Since the end of 2017, we have also been supporting smaller companies in the business customer segment in implementing their investment plans.

Whether it’s a company car, truck, machine, production facility, office equipment, car wash or dental chair – leasing is indispensable in the everyday life of many companies.

The services sector and the manufacturing industry in particular are strongly represented in Commerz Real’s portfolio, with 46 percent and 38 percent respectively. But for our retail and construction customers, both at 8 percent, leasing was the first choice for implementing their investments in 2019.

Would you like to know whether your property can be financed through leasing? Then please call our service hotline on +49 211 7708–2222 or e-mail us at mobilienleasing@commerzreal.com. Alternatively, you can use our online appointment booking service to conveniently arrange your preferred appointment with a customer advisor.