Terra Fidelis

What Terra Fidelis does

Terra Fidelis GmbH is a privately held German real estate company founded in 2021 and headquartered in Willich, Germany. The company commercializes a 990-year hereditary building right (Erbbaurecht) model, purchasing residential and municipal land and granting long-term land use rights to property owners and developers. This structure separates land ownership from building ownership, with the stated effect of reducing equity requirements by 20-50% and lowering monthly financial burdens by 10-20% versus conventional full bank financing. Contracts are registered in the German land registry (Grundbuch), giving the Erbbaurechtsnehmer full rights to renovate, rent, sell, bequeath, or take out building loans, plus a guaranteed option to repurchase the land at market value at any time during the 990-year term.

The company's operational backbone is an AI-supported property valuation system — the KI-gestützter Grundstückswertermittler — that processes millions of data records and property-specific factors to determine market values of land for built-up properties in real time. The tool is described as achieving precision beyond standard land value indicators and is validated in practice by certified property appraisers. Supporting the customer-facing motion is an online Vergleichsrechner (comparison calculator) that models monthly cost differentials against traditional financing, alongside dedicated service pages for the four primary use cases: Haus kaufen (buy a house), Haus bauen (build a house), Grundstück verkaufen (sell land while retaining house ownership), and Infrastrukturprojekt (municipal housing and public infrastructure projects).

Terra Fidelis generates revenue through two streams: annual recurring Erbbauzins (ground rent) calculated on property value at contract conclusion and CPI-indexed every three years, and one-time land purchase transactions. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the company website, supplemented by financing partnerships with German retail banks (Sparkassen, Genossenschaftsbanken, major banks) that underwrite construction loans for properties held under Erbbaurecht, and with German institutional investors (Großanleger) that provide project-based refinancing for new acquisitions. The stated service geography is Germany-wide. Headcount is reported in the 1-10 range, and the managing director is Dr. Christian Derichs. No external funding rounds, M&A activity, or revenue figures are disclosed.

Name

Terra Fidelis

Legal name

Terra Fidelis GmbH

Website

https://terrafidelis.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Terra Fidelis is a German private real estate company that purchases residential and municipal land and grants 990-year hereditary building rights (Erbbaurecht), serving home buyers, home builders, existing homeowners seeking liquidity, and German municipalities developing housing and public infrastructure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Willich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Erbbauzins (Ground Rent): The primary revenue stream comes from annual ground rent (Erbbauzins) charged to property owners who hold the hereditary building right. The rent is calculated based on the property value at the time of contract conclusion and adjusted every three years according to the consumer price index. This creates a long-term, recurring revenue stream for the duration of the 990-year contracts.
2. Land Purchase Transactions: Revenue from purchasing land at market value and creating hereditary building rights, with the option for property owners to repurchase land at market value at any time. Terra Fidelis buys the property and provides long-term land use rights.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Terra Fidelis purchases land and grants 990-year hereditary building rights (Erbbaurecht) to property buyers and homeowners, separating land ownership from building ownership. This model reduces equity requirements by 20-50% and lowers monthly financial burdens by 10-20%, while also serving German municipalities for affordable housing and infrastructure projects.

Product overview

Terra Fidelis offers a unified platform centered on the Terra Fidelis Erbbaurecht (hereditary building right) product with a 990-year lease term. The portfolio includes four main service offerings: Haus kaufen for buying existing homes, Haus bauen for new construction, Grundstück verkaufen for property owners selling their land while retaining house ownership, and Infrastrukturprojekt for municipal housing and infrastructure projects. Supporting the core offering is the AI-supported Grundstückswertermittler (property valuation tool) and a Vergleichsrechner (comparison calculator) to help customers understand cost advantages. The Erbbaurecht model separates land ownership from building ownership, enabling significant capital relief while granting full control over the building to the Erbbaurechtsnehmer.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Terra Fidelis Erbbaurecht (Hereditary Building Right) The core product is a 990-year hereditary building right (Erbbaurecht) that enables property buyers to finance only the building while Terra Fidelis purchases the land, reducing capital requirements and monthly financial burdens. The building right includes a guaranteed option to purchase the land at market value at any time.
• Haus kaufen (Buy a House) Service for purchasing existing homes using the Terra Fidelis Erbbaurecht model, enabling buyers to finance only the building with 20-50% less equity and 10-20% lower monthly total costs.
• Haus bauen (Build a House) Service for building new homes on land purchased by Terra Fidelis under the Erbbaurecht model, providing financial freedom to concentrate on construction while the 990-year hereditary building right secures land usage.
• Grundstück verkaufen (Sell Land) Service allowing homeowners to sell their land to Terra Fidelis while retaining 100% ownership of the house as an Erbbaurechtsnehmer, providing immediate liquidity while maintaining full control over the property.
• Infrastrukturprojekt (Infrastructure Projects) Service for municipalities to realize housing and infrastructure projects (schools, kindergartens, public buildings) with reduced financial burden through the 990-year Erbbaurecht model, converting tied-up capital into liquid funds.
• Grundstückswertermittler (AI Property Valuation Tool) AI-supported property valuation system that determines the current market value of land for built-on properties in seconds using innovative algorithms that draw on numerous factors from multiple databases, achieving precision beyond standard land value indicators.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20-50% less equity required for home purchase
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• German Banks (Deutsche Kreditinstitute)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGerman banks and financial institutions provide mortgages and construction loans for properties under Terra Fidelis hereditary building rights. Terra Fidelis supports customers by connecting them with German major banks familiar with their hereditary building right model. Banks finance the building portion while Terra Fidelis holds the land.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• ImmoScout24: Germany's largest online real estate marketplace, connecting buyers, sellers, and renters of residential and commercial property. Comparable to Terra Fidelis as a dominant German digital real estate channel where Terra Fidelis's offerings are also surfaced to buyers, though ImmoScout24 operates as an aggregator rather than as a principal or Erbbaurecht issuer.
• Instone Real Estate: A German listed residential property developer focused on multi-family housing in metropolitan areas. Comparable as a participant in the German residential real estate market that also engages with Erbbaurecht-structured municipal and developer projects, though as a developer rather than as a principal land lessor.
• Wüstenrot & Württembergische (W&W): A large German financial services and real estate group active in mortgage lending, residential construction finance, and property development. Comparable as a financial counterparty that funds German homebuyers — including, in some programs, Erbbaurecht-backed transactions — and therefore both a potential channel partner and a competitor for the customer relationship.
• Deutsche Kreditbank (DKB): A large German direct bank with significant residential mortgage and construction-finance activity. Comparable as a primary lender to German homebuyers — including those purchasing under Erbbaurecht — and therefore as a channel partner whose lending policies materially affect Terra Fidelis's customer demand.

Direct peers

• Stiftung trias: A German land trust that issues Erbbaurecht (hereditary building rights) primarily for sustainable, community-oriented housing and land conservation. Most directly comparable to Terra Fidelis on the Erbbaurecht mechanism and German market focus, though with a non-profit, sustainability-driven mandate rather than a commercial 990-year model.

Emerging players

• McMakler: A German PropTech-enabled real estate brokerage that combines digital tools with local agent networks for residential transactions. Comparable as a technology-forward player reshaping how German residential real estate is transacted, though McMakler operates as an intermediary rather than as a principal land lessor.
• Vermietet.de: A German PropTech platform providing digital property management and landlord services for residential portfolios. Comparable as a tech-enabled player operating in the German residential real estate stack adjacent to Terra Fidelis's home-buyer and homeowner segments.
• Bauwerk Capital: A German project developer active in residential and mixed-use development, including projects structured on Erbbaurecht land. Comparable as a real estate actor that uses Erbbaurecht as a structuring tool in the German residential market, though primarily as a developer rather than as a long-duration land lessor.

Others

• GLS Bank: A German ethical-sustainability-focused cooperative bank that actively finances Erbbaurecht projects, particularly for community-oriented and ecological housing. Comparable as a financing channel for Terra Fidelis's customer base and as an institutional enabler of the Erbbaurecht market in Germany.

Regional players

• Bundesanstalt für Immobilienaufgaben (BImA): The German federal real estate agency that holds and manages federal real estate, including issuing Erbbaurecht on its portfolio. Comparable as a major issuer of Erbbaurecht in Germany at scale, though as a public-sector entity serving federal policy objectives rather than a commercial operator.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Terra Fidelis