ᐅ Finding the right home – but how?

Hello everyone,

First of all: Yes, I know this is a home construction forum, but since I haven’t found a suitable forum about home buying (if one exists, please let me know), I’m simply asking here:

My girlfriend and I are planning to buy an existing property within the next 3 to 5 years. The key criteria are pretty clear:
- Semi-detached house or end-of-terrace house built from 1995 onwards
- 100–150 sqm (1,076–1,615 sq ft)
- At least 4 rooms
- Basement
- Plot size not too big, but not too small (roughly 300–500 sqm (3,229–5,382 sq ft))
- In good overall condition
- Budget up to about 200,000 euros
- Location: Magdeburg or the surrounding area

Due to the low interest rates, the market seems to be very quickly bought up. At least, that’s what my search alerts on the major portals (immobilienscout24, immonet, immowelt) and banks show me.

Does anyone have experience with how to find suitable properties that are not listed on the big portals? I get the impression, or suspect, that the really good and fitting houses never make it onto the portals, and what is listed is basically just what nobody wants.

Of course, we are aiming to find a property without agent fees, which seems even more difficult. Would it make sense, maybe even now, to contact an estate agent who could propose suitable houses as soon as they become available, or does that not make much sense?

Thanks in advance for your support.

instigater schrieb:
Would it maybe make sense – even now? – to contact a real estate agent who would suggest suitable houses to us as soon as they become available, or does that not make much sense?

Hiring a real estate agent now for a house purchase in 3 to 5 years?

What’s the point?

In case this already finds THE house we want, we would be ready to buy immediately. Also, I was just told that the market is currently practically sold out, so I can well imagine that even a real estate agent might need some time to find something suitable, right?

Well then... so not within 3 to 5 years after all.
Searching for a used property usually takes about 2 years or even longer. However, the financial aspect should be clearly defined and secured so that you can make a quick commitment. If arranging financing will only be possible in the coming years, I would advise against it to avoid unnecessarily burdening the real estate agent and your own nerves.

Let’s put it this way: definitely within 3 to 5 years. If a great property is found earlier, then gladly before that. Ultimately, the entire process would mainly differ based on the amount of available equity.

The question I have is: does working with a real estate agent significantly speed up finding a suitable property, or is that just a misconception? Considering the timeframe, there is basically enough time for independent research, but it is questionable whether many of the good properties are sold privately before being publicly listed.

On the one hand, you are giving yourself the answer – on the other hand: just try it out, so you don’t have to guess 🙂