In short
Payotte ranks companies, never individuals: real estate agencies, valuation companies, architecture firms and mortgage brokers. One firm will be selected per trade and per area, on a 100-point grid based only on public data: Google reviews (35), age of the company (30), declared and checkable permit, registration or register (15), local anchoring (15), bonus (5). It is the grid used in France, Belgium and Canada. The ranking is never paid.
Google reviews: 35 points
Rating and number of reviews on the establishment's Google listing, recorded with their date. Formula: 11.229 + 3.696 × ln(1 + number of reviews) + 6.075 × (rating − 4.8), capped between 0 and 35. The record is attached to the establishment only if the area and the name match and the establishment is not closed.
Review floor. The 85/100 tier and above requires a rating of at least 4.0 out of 5 and at least 10 reviews. Below that, the total is capped at 84.
| Rating | Reviews | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 4.5 | 10 | 18 |
| 4.8 | 10 | 20 |
| 4.8 | 50 | 26 |
| 4.9 | 100 | 29 |
| 5 | 300 | 34 |
Age of the company: 30 points
The age of the company, counted in full years from the date the business was registered, read listing by listing from the date declared by the company and from public sources such as the commercial register (Handelsregister), where the firm has an entry. It is not the experience of an individual. Without a readable date, the criterion is worth 0 rather than an estimate.
| Age of the company (years) | Points |
|---|---|
| 3 | 9 |
| 7 | 15 |
| 12 | 21 |
| 17 | 25 |
| 22 | 28 |
| 27 | 30 |
Checkable permit, registration or register: 15 points
15 points if the firm displays on its own website its permit, registering body or register, and an identifier (permit, registration or membership number) you can check yourself with that body; 12 points if the permit, registering body or register is displayed without an identifier; 0 if none is displayed. The listing reads "declared, checkable with" the body, with a link to its search page where one exists. Payotte does not verify on your behalf: it copies no register.
| Trade | Where you check it yourself |
|---|---|
| Real estate agent | The trade permit under § 34c of the Trade Regulation Code (Gewerbeordnung, GewO), issued by the competent authority. There is no public register of these permits: the firm states its permit and the authority that issued it, and you cannot look it up in a register. Ask the agent for the permit and the issuing authority |
| Property valuer | Public appointment and oath (öffentlich bestellt und vereidigt), listed in the expert directory of the Chambers of Industry and Commerce (svv.ihk.de), or another certification that the firm names, to be checked with the certifying body |
| Architect | The entry in the list of architects of the state chamber of architects (Architektenkammer) of the Land. Entry in a chamber's online list is not compulsory for its members, so ask the chamber if a member does not appear in it |
| Mortgage broker | The permit under § 34i GewO and the registration number in the intermediaries' register (Vermittlerregister) of the Chambers of Industry and Commerce (vermittlerregister.info), where the number can be checked |
When the number displayed is that of an individual (an agent or an architect of the firm, for example), the listing does not copy it: it states only that the permit, registering body or register is declared and where to check it.
Local anchoring: 15 points
Establishment unit in the area (8), pages devoted to the area (3), activity figures published by the firm itself (2), languages or specialisation useful to the area (2).
Bonus: 5 points at most
Media (2), awards (1), video (1), publications (1), professional association (1).
No notaries
Payotte does not list, rank or select any notary in Germany, because under § 1 of the Federal Code for Notaries (Bundesnotarordnung, BNotO) notaries are independent holders of a public office, not a trade like those above.
Selection rules
- Companies only. A sole trader has no listing: the business is indistinguishable from the individual.
- A name that is not that of an individual. A firm whose name contains a first name or a surname is not selected, unless it itself displays a neutral trading name.
- At most 3 listings per company (identified by its Handelsregister number or, without one, by its company name and address), including for large networks. Elsewhere, the place goes to the next candidate if it reaches the threshold; otherwise it stays vacant.
- Address checked against the actual area, not the postal code: one postal code can cover two areas.
What a firm's listing will publish
The company name, its legal form and, where it has one, its Handelsregister court and number, the address of the establishment, the trade and the area, the declared permit, registration or register and where to check it, the score out of 100 and its breakdown, the Google rating and number of reviews recorded (with their date), the age of the company, the firm's website and telephone. No individual is named: neither manager, nor agent, nor valuer, nor architect; no personal email or telephone, no review text, no photo.
The ranking is never paid
No firm can buy its place or its recommendation. A firm can correct, complete or have its listing removed, free of charge; a correction changes the score only if the grid above provides for it.
Thresholds
85 points and above: top tier, subject to the review floor. 70 points and above: listing selected. From 50 to 69: published with the mention "partial". Below 50: not published, the place stays vacant.