ᐅ Building a House – Where to Start?

I have found a house in excellent condition very close to me for about €225,000, including notary and other fees. I could finance it with a mortgage loan, paying around €800–850 per month. That would leave me with approximately €1,100–1,200 for utilities and about €400–500 as a monthly reserve. Additionally, I still have building savings contracts running, which bring in around €275 per month. If a larger expense arises at some point, these contracts could be canceled or used as collateral at favorable interest rates, depending on the situation. I think it’s a good option, especially considering it is only about 1 km (0.6 miles) away from me as the crow flies. The living space is about 100 m² (1,076 sq ft), with a guest toilet and a basement. There are 4 rooms in total. Shops are right around the corner, and my commute to work would remain the same, so I would save on increased fuel costs.

Please send me the link, Ralf

I honestly think that saving a bit beforehand can’t hurt before jumping into the fun part. I’m about to turn 33, and my girlfriend is 30. Naturally, having children is something we’ll need to consider soon. I find it really difficult to find something suitable. The problem with the Jüchen area is that my girlfriend has to commute to Neuss, and I have to commute to Hilden. We do have a car, but only I can drive it since I have a driver’s license. If you consider that the Jüchen to Hilden route is roughly twice the distance of my current commute, it doesn’t make much sense if I end up spending an extra 150-200€ per month on fuel. It’s really not easy to find something around here.

But just to say one thing: This is a really great forum with very friendly and helpful users! I want to thank everyone who contributes here. I just wanted to share that.

P.S. The frustrating thing is that a decent warm apartment (rented) here costs around 850€ ± 100€.

Ralf J. schrieb:
I found a house in excellent condition very close to me for about €225,000 (including notary fees, etc.). I could finance it with a construction loan at monthly payments of around €800-850. That means I would have total monthly costs (including utilities) of about €1,100-1,200, and still have a reserve of around €400-500 per month. Additionally, I have building savings contracts that continue to run and generate another €275 per month. If something major comes up, these contracts can be canceled or used as low-interest loans, depending on the situation. Considering that the house is about 1 km (0.6 miles) as the crow flies from me, I think it’s not a bad deal. The living area is about 100 m² (1,100 sq ft), with a guest toilet and basement. It has 4 rooms. Shops are right around the corner, and my commute to work would remain the same, saving on extra fuel costs.

I'm not the biggest expert on real estate offers, but I’m experienced at reading them, and I have to bring you back to reality:
The energy demand for the house built in 1965 is 301.8 kWh/(m²*year), which puts you in energy efficiency class G — the lowest rating — meaning you will face disproportionately high energy costs with the existing heating system (ERH). The offer doesn’t mention when the oil heating system was replaced. Therefore, I assume it was never replaced or is more than 30 years old. This means it must be replaced by 2015. Any other missing information would have been more encouraging.
Since the house looks well maintained both inside and out (unfortunately, the photos are very small), this supports my suspicion about the heating system:
The buyer must factor in renovation and modernization work.
Photos of the bathroom and kitchen are missing, but from the guest toilet photo, you can already see an outdated 1960s standard. This might be acceptable for a guest toilet but could be very unpleasant in the main bathroom. You can verify this during the open house, as well as the kitchen, which most likely does not include a fitted kitchen but instead individual units (fitted kitchens were not common in the 1960s). You should already budget for modernizations, which would add to the overall cost. Also, the garage is not included in the purchase price and is separately priced at €10,000.

The example calculator gives you a comparatively favorable monthly payment, but I adjusted it upwards: €199,999 + €10,000 for the garage (without modernization costs).
I calculated over 20 years without equity. Additionally, I simulated a higher loan interest rate by 0.5%, assuming a repayment rate of 2.5% instead of 2.0%, resulting in monthly payments just over €900. This simulation is somewhat distorted because loans are always individual and the calculator assumes an optimal average. I rated you more conservatively because your equity is very low.
If I include necessary renovations for the kitchen (€5,000) and heating (€10,000), the costs come to about €950 monthly, and keep in mind you still have old plumbing and electrical installations as well as outdated tiles.
I’ll stop here because there are better financial advisors than me and more users who understand old technology and building structures. You are heading towards a loan exceeding 100% financing, which is not cheap.

Nevertheless: without any doubt, from the photos, the house appears very well maintained!
But a professional surveyor should always inspect a house that old before you sign anything... because they often discover further costly defects such as external stairs, foundation/basement, moisture issues, roof insulation, and so on.

Best regards,
Yvonne

Ralf J. schrieb:
But I think it’s not bad considering it’s about 1km (0.6 miles) away from me as the crow flies.

Ralf J. schrieb:
The problem with the Jüchen area is that my girlfriend needs to get to Neuss and I have to go to Hilden. We have a car, but only I can use it because I’m the only one with a driver’s license. Considering that Jüchen to Hilden is about twice the driving distance compared to before, it doesn’t make sense if I end up spending an extra 150-200€ per month on fuel. It’s really not easy to find something around here.

Well, your current location shouldn’t really matter because you usually have to make compromises when it comes to property and real estate. Most people who appreciate the advantages of living in the city still have to build or buy their home in the commuter belt about 30km (20 miles) outside the city limits, even when they have a substantial down payment of 30% or more. I looked up Neuss and now I understand @Bauexperte’s suggestion about Jüchen… near Düsseldorf… Often people switch from using a car to public transport, and yes, someone without a driver’s license might feel stuck in a small town because they can’t easily get around.

Ralf J. schrieb:
p.s. The frustrating thing is that a decent heated apartment here costs around 850€ ± 100€ (rental unit).

But don’t forget that when you own a home, you have to pay property taxes and waste disposal fees quarterly, you have additional insurance costs, and there are always bills from hardware stores or contractors to pay. It’s not the same as paying rent. Renting also has its advantages!

Ralf J. schrieb:
But just to say one thing: This is a really great forum with very friendly, helpful users! I want to thank each and every one of you who contributes here. I just wanted to get that off my chest.

Thank you on behalf of everyone