ᐅ Condominium or Detached House

After all the feedback that a standard house with 120 sqm (1300 sq ft) and two floors plus land will likely not be available for less than 300,000 euros, and that I should rather focus on buying a condominium, I have looked at a few condos in the past weeks, but none of them were even remotely suitable. I am single and imagine living in about 80 to 90 sqm (860 to 970 sq ft) with three rooms. Prices in the Augsburg surrounding area:

Prices for new condos in rural areas: 3000 euros per sqm (279 sq ft)
Prices for new condos in (small) towns: 3500 to 4500 euros per sqm (325 to 418 sq ft)
Prices for older condos in rural areas: 2500 euros per sqm (232 sq ft)
Prices for older condos in (small) towns: 3000 to 3500 euros per sqm (279 to 325 sq ft)

So, in the best case, I would pay 200,000 euros plus additional purchase costs for an older condo with 80 sqm (860 sq ft), but I would likely need to budget for new flooring, possibly some windows, and potential upcoming repairs to the building’s facilities (underground parking, stairwell). This means the total cost in the best case would be around 220,000 euros for a used apartment with 80 sqm (860 sq ft) and three rooms.

Many sellers of new condos now want 270,000 euros for apartments that will only be finished at the earliest in 1.5 years.

And I keep thinking, this can’t be right??? So I reviewed my budget again and cut some expenses (streaming services, clothing subscriptions, expensive phone contract...). I can afford 1000 euros per month and I have a permanent civil service job.

New plan: a “single house”

a) Buy a plot of land with 300 to 400 sqm (3200 to 4300 sq ft) for 80,000 to 100,000 euros
b) Buy a simple prefab house without luxury, about 90 sqm (970 sq ft) without a basement, turnkey (including additional building costs, painting, and tiling) for 180,000 euros.

My questions to the community here:

1. Do you think this plan is realistic?

2. How would you proceed?
Would you meet with the well-known prefab house manufacturers?
Or local construction companies first? Or an architect?
[Feel free to send recommendations or warnings via PM]

3. Is there an aspect I seem to have completely overlooked or forgotten?

Thank you very much in advance.

Try searching on Google for some typical floor plans of 90 sqm (970 sq ft) houses. Compared to an apartment, you have to accommodate all the technical installations yourself, and you usually don’t have a basement space, which is often separately available with an apartment. This is just to help you understand what can be achieved in a 90 sqm (970 sq ft) house.

Look. Is this enough for you? It would cost around 130,000 in Schleswig-Holstein. They don’t build these in Bavaria. But you can use the floor plan as a template for a builder in your area.

Regarding point 3.
Yes, you are ignoring all the answers you have received here over the past 2 years.

Have you ever had a financing consultation?
It also matters what a lending bank calculates as your living expenses allowance. If you bring home a net income of 2000, you will not be granted a loan with monthly repayments of 1000. (By the way, the advice was also given that if small expenses like mobile phone bills or subscription services have to be cut just to make ends meet, the house does not necessarily improve your quality of life.)

Then there is the aspect that only one income is available as security.

Your equity of 30,000 covers the kitchen, purchase-related additional costs for the plot, and a buffer. That means a 100% financing!
The Danwood house with 84 sqm (actually turnkey, but without satellite dish and mailbox) costs just under 115,000. The foundation slab is 15,000, totaling 130,000. Transport costs are estimated at 5,000... -> 135,000.
Additional construction costs 40,000... -> 175,000
Outdoor landscaping must be included in the calculation: a modest 7,000 for driveway, terrace, and lawn seeding... -> 182,000
This gives you an energy regulation-compliant house without any fancy technology, without roller shutters, with two utility outlets in the kitchen and one in the bathroom. An outdoor socket or water tap is apparently also not included?! And the exterior plaster will be affected by algae after 3 years.
On top of that comes the cost of the plot of land from... x.

Best regards,
Yvonne

Thanks to everyone for the critical and constructive feedback, as well as the house proposal from Danwood and the floor plan from Nordlys. I am aware that my goal might not be entirely achievable, especially considering the earlier assessments from this forum.

However, buying and renovating an old condominium costs almost as much as a new condominium or, theoretically, a small house. If I come to the conclusion that a proper small house in my area is simply not feasible for around 270,000 euros (±20,000 euros), then I will put the whole matter on hold for now.

My income is well above 2,000 euros (±2,000 US dollars) net, so I assume that a loan repayment of 1,000 euros (±1,000 US dollars) should not be a problem. But of course, I will need to discuss this in detail with the banks.

You can theoretically get a loan of more than 220,000 for €1000. However, as the sole borrower, banks are usually reluctant to approve it.

Therefore, you should have a meeting with your bank before proceeding with further planning.

Regards, Yvonne