Bank does not accept own contribution

At our place, no personal labor was recorded back then. We did the ceilings, floors, walls, and drywall ourselves. Also installed interior doors, partially new windows, etc. Nothing was credited because the bank didn’t want to finance most of these items anyway (they were covered by equity), and I also believe they didn’t believe that we a) would do it properly and b) really do it ourselves (2 academics, 2 children). In the process, I alone certainly... well... I think I invested about 600 working hours, my husband maybe another 200. Personal labor is always nice and good, but not every bank agrees and not always to the same extent.

Was really surprised that 30 TEUR were accepted for me. Originally, I only wanted to declare 10 TEUR. But I also have a multi-trained craftsman in the family.

that didn’t cost 120k and sorry those are "handyman" tasks. Everyone probably does such rough work at some point I also did lots of things alone as a roofer because for small jobs you can’t even get someone from eBay

According to the user I quoted, but not everyone does that, not everyone dares to actively intervene in the objects/walls. I could also have saved 5000 € with the electrician. Chasing slots, second-degree brother-in-law = electrician pulling all the cables for me, plastering over and the local electrician my father-in-law knows from church would have also inspected the stuff, but I didn’t want that, I had it done cleanly on invoice by a professional company. Theoretically, you can also smear 2 or 3 mm of plaster on the wall, but it looks crappy then, everyone has to decide for themselves. I got all the craftsmen quite quickly through connections, that was already good. Laying parquet will be done now by myself.

Thank you thank you thank you!
So many answers. I didn’t expect that.

Some are very negative regarding our skills. Yes, we work at desks in our jobs, but on the other hand, I have also seen craftsmen sitting at computers. Why should one limit their skills to their profession?
Since early childhood, I have always worked with my hands, among other things I helped reroof a garage with my father on my 10th birthday, renovated bathrooms completely 5-6 times (including moving walls, all installations). Also, my family is quite capable and have built almost everything themselves (that was a while ago). So, we can manage it and we are not naive: there will be costs for craftsmen that we will still need to call. We will at times curse the idea and the project. But we are really excited about it because I need physical work as a balance to the office job and finally want to build something of my own permanently and not just renovate or do things for others. During the construction phase, we will live at my parents’ house and have no pressure. I expect a construction period of 9 months until the building site is livable, but it can also take 12 months.
The approximately 3 months that I am taking off should be enough for earthworks, shell construction, roof and windows. After that, dependency on weather, material on site, etc., is not as high. Then my partner and I can spend about 80 hours per week on the construction site, but by move-in time, we will put in almost 100 hours together per week.

It would be great if at least the motivation and skills were not questioned. The bank will certainly do that and we need to somehow convince them.

We are hiring an architect who will occasionally check in on the important topics. Otherwise, we want to do everything ourselves except sewage, house connections, and maybe heating/ventilation. The construction type is a 1.5-story timber frame house.

To clarify: The 400,000 EUR includes the outdoor area with pool and sauna. We come to 280,000 EUR (of which 50,000 is for outside + 10,000 for the garage) because practically all hourly wages are eliminated, which account for about 50% of the costs. With the 120,000 EUR savings, we hope to be fairly realistic. The house is just under 145 sqm and for 220,000 EUR, that is not extraordinarily cheap either.

We asked friends, but they built in the parents’ garden and financed everything themselves. Another couple who did almost everything themselves managed without mortgage financing and in the end had to get about 30,000 EUR over a normal consumer loan. Therefore, there is no experience in our circle of friends regarding a high level of own effort and bank financing.
For me, it is important to find the bank that will go along with this or how to make it clear to them that we can do it.

Thanks again to all contributors!

One more thing about the bank risk: I understand that there is a risk that the execution is not so good, that there are deficiencies, etc. On the other hand, the bank is not financing 400,000 but 280,000 EUR. That means our working time that we invest is the bank's buffer. That's not little now. How can I see how much risk is too much for the bank or present it better?

With all due respect, that is very naive and romantic thinking and above all calculated. 9 months construction time? I put in 0 personal effort and my general contractor needed 10 months until completion. What happens if someone or even YOU falls ill? If I were the bank, I wouldn’t finance this fairy tale either!