ᐅ No building plot available due to new EU local residency model?
Created on: 11 Nov 2017 21:49
H
Hanneshickel
Hello everyone,
We are a family of two who have been searching for a building plot east of Munich, about 50-70km (30-45 miles) away, near the upcoming A94 highway, for several years. We have applied multiple times to local municipalities near us for a plot under the local resident model, but each time we were rejected due to too few points or because our equity or income was too high. We have too few points because we don’t have children. Since we have been searching for a long time, we have saved around €130,000 (about $140,000) and can save about €15,000 (about $16,000) more each year. However, here you are not allowed to have more savings than the plot would cost (mostly around €150-200/sqm (about $140-190/sqft), so approximately €120,000 (about $130,000)). Also, you are not allowed to earn more than the municipal average, which as a couple is about €80,000 (about $85,000) gross. We, however, earn almost double that gross, so together we have a net income of around €6,500 (about $7,000) per month (both earn roughly the same).
Therefore, our only option is to buy a plot privately. But prices here are extremely high compared to municipal land. We are talking about €500-700/sqm (about $460-650/sqft), so quickly around €300,000 (about $320,000) just for the plot. Then I estimate construction costs of about €400,000-500,000 (about $430,000-540,000) for a 160 sqm (about 1,700 sqft) house with a basement, double garage, and a simple building shape. That means approximately €700,000-800,000 (about $750,000-860,000) in total.
We don’t feel confident financing this amount, as it would easily mean paying over €2,000 (about $2,150) per month for the next 30 years. If one of us takes time off work due to having children, then there would be too little left for living expenses. Or is it now normal to finance this much for a house? My pain threshold is currently around €1,800 (about $1,950) per month for the mortgage.
What do you think?
What other options do we have to get affordable building land?
Or should we forget about building and only look for existing houses?
Thank you and best regards,
Hannes
We are a family of two who have been searching for a building plot east of Munich, about 50-70km (30-45 miles) away, near the upcoming A94 highway, for several years. We have applied multiple times to local municipalities near us for a plot under the local resident model, but each time we were rejected due to too few points or because our equity or income was too high. We have too few points because we don’t have children. Since we have been searching for a long time, we have saved around €130,000 (about $140,000) and can save about €15,000 (about $16,000) more each year. However, here you are not allowed to have more savings than the plot would cost (mostly around €150-200/sqm (about $140-190/sqft), so approximately €120,000 (about $130,000)). Also, you are not allowed to earn more than the municipal average, which as a couple is about €80,000 (about $85,000) gross. We, however, earn almost double that gross, so together we have a net income of around €6,500 (about $7,000) per month (both earn roughly the same).
Therefore, our only option is to buy a plot privately. But prices here are extremely high compared to municipal land. We are talking about €500-700/sqm (about $460-650/sqft), so quickly around €300,000 (about $320,000) just for the plot. Then I estimate construction costs of about €400,000-500,000 (about $430,000-540,000) for a 160 sqm (about 1,700 sqft) house with a basement, double garage, and a simple building shape. That means approximately €700,000-800,000 (about $750,000-860,000) in total.
We don’t feel confident financing this amount, as it would easily mean paying over €2,000 (about $2,150) per month for the next 30 years. If one of us takes time off work due to having children, then there would be too little left for living expenses. Or is it now normal to finance this much for a house? My pain threshold is currently around €1,800 (about $1,950) per month for the mortgage.
What do you think?
What other options do we have to get affordable building land?
Or should we forget about building and only look for existing houses?
Thank you and best regards,
Hannes
Hanneshickel schrieb:
I would like to know what kind of jobs some people here have if they only have a 5-minute commute. If you work as a cashier at REWE, then you can move to any village with a REWE, Aldi, or Lidl. However, if you have a specialized qualification that not every small local store hires for, you usually need to work in a larger city. Looking at your issues, it seems people working at REWE might have managed their situation more cleverly...
Hanneshickel schrieb:
So, back to the topic:
Where can I find building plots? Even if money wasn’t an issue, I can’t find anything here. Absolutely nothing within a 30km (19 miles) radius. That can’t be right.I won’t go into commuting in detail, as you’ve already covered everything necessary from my point of view.
I already wrote something about the topic further up, maybe it got overlooked.
First of all, the bad news: yes, it CAN definitely be that way. If not, there are only a few options, even if I repeat myself:
- Hire a dedicated real estate agent
- Visit (new development) areas, look for building gaps, ask neighbors who owns the land
- Alternatively to asking neighbors: find out the owner through the local building authority / planning office or a notary
- Once you find the owner, approach them properly (we wrote a handwritten letter on decent paper and dropped it in their mailbox)
- Ask around in local clubs, volunteer fire departments
- Consider looking for plots with existing buildings, factor in demolition costs
- Put up notice boards with phone numbers at local supermarkets, bakeries
- There are reportedly also very insensitive people who look through obituaries — certainly a method I would never use
Even though many of these approaches may not seem very promising, the situation won’t improve if you do nothing.
Alternatively: reconsider your situation fundamentally. Does it really have to be building a house? Maybe rather
- An apartment
- Existing property with (core) renovation
- Wait about 5 years until some follow-up financing situations collapse
As harsh as it is, forcing the issue probably won’t work — unfortunately, you need a lot of luck… and I wish you that, as I know your situation only too well — just about 200km (125 miles) north of you.
ypg schrieb:
Based on over 30 years of experience in work and professional life. Certainly not just my opinion. If it were only my opinion, I would make that clear. Well, I can only offer 20 years of professional experience, but I can also share my perspective on commuting. Most of the time, I have commuted and have generally managed it quite well so far.It’s not all black and white. There’s more to the topic than just the distance.
My worst job was actually the closest one. The atmosphere simply didn’t fit, and my supervisor was really difficult.
Now, with two small children, I work 30 hours a week and have to drive 63 meters (39 miles) one way, and it still works very well. Even with ongoing construction. Would a workplace closer to home be better? Certainly, yes. But I can’t find anything here that comes close to my current job. My responsibilities are excellent, I earn more in 30 hours than I would working 40 hours elsewhere (thanks to IG Metall), and I am very flexible with my working hours. If a child is sick, I can work from home. If I have appointments or need to leave early because of a child, I’m allowed to do so. I either take time off later or work from home afterward.
Well, I do work longer hours three days a month, but then my husband or mother-in-law helps out.
Also, regarding the distance, it depends on the route. For the 63 km (39 miles) one-way drive, I need 35 minutes (my husband takes 45 minutes [emoji23]). The highway is usually clear and can be used freely. Some people have half the distance but take just as long.
I must admit, heavy traffic would stress me out, though.
And someone else might completely struggle with this. Everyone just handles it differently.
ruppsn schrieb:
I dare say that I know much better for myself what I need and what I don’t. Because, surprise, I definitely know myself and my life circumstances better than you!Me, me, me...
I don’t recall replying to you.
ruppsn schrieb:
Your 60 years of YOUR professional experience won’t help you here. The arrogance of thinking you know better from a distance, without knowing individual circumstances, says a lot. Referring to others sharing the same presumptuous view doesn’t help either...
In case it hasn’t reached you yet: people are individuals with very different, individual (sic!) needs. Anyone who hasn’t understood this after 30 years might want to keep the “work/professional experience” card in their pocket...Maybe read everything I write or just stay silent! For example, post #59, where I talk about commuting.
If you don’t need opinions from certain people like me or others here, then please stay offline!
You’re free to keep your opinion — absolutely!
I am not arrogant, but your words toward me are full of hostility.
I kindly ask you to block me from your view so you don’t have to read nonsense from me. Otherwise, be quiet!
Eldea schrieb:
Well, I can only offer 20 years of professional experience, but I can also share my perspective on commuting. I have spent most of my time commuting and have generally managed it well so far.I have commuted as well.
ypg schrieb:
For example, I don’t find commuting bad: 60 minutes on public transport goes by quickly. A 40-minute car drive from the suburbs to the city center is normal for us.I consider it normal. I definitely didn’t enjoy the stress on the highway and in the big city, but I only realized that afterwards.
Hanneshickel schrieb:
Where can I find building plots? Even if money were no object, I can’t find anything here. Absolutely nothing within a 30km (18.6 miles) radius. That can’t be right.Actually, it can be, and that’s exactly why local priority schemes exist—because well-paid city dwellers want to pay as little as Jutta from Lidl in the village for building land.
Building land has been a limited resource for years. With your criteria, you’re simply too late. It’s not necessarily advisable to desperately jump on the bandwagon now and possibly overstretch yourself or commit to a framework that doesn’t fit well.
I repeat: Where does the urgency come from? Because “everyone” is building? Because interest rates are low (you already figured that one out, right?)?
If it’s such a big concern for you, my advice is to reconsider “specializing.” Try something new—after two years you can specialize again. I gave up my first specialization because being a specialist also involves risks (besides family and location issues) and I’m now more of a generalist. I know if I ever have to change, there are options here, not just one.