Glossary
Auflassungsvormerkung
Priority Notice of Conveyance. The land-registry entry protecting the buyer between signing and ownership transfer: once registered, the seller cannot validly sell to anyone else or encumber the property against you.
It's the reason German purchases don't need title insurance: after the Vormerkung, even a fraudulent second sale or a seller insolvency cannot displace your claim to ownership.
The notary registers it immediately after signing and confirms it before your money flows — one of several payment preconditions (Fälligkeitsvoraussetzungen) in the standard contract.