Construction financing in a few years

I would start gathering all the documents for the bank and the real estate agent/seller. Nothing is as frustrating as the experience of not getting a dream house because someone else had all the documents at the agent’s office within an hour. Friends of ours lost out on two houses for this reason - when they were then able to provide the agent with a small "who we are" exposé with photos of themselves and their children and current financial information, it worked.

Definitely think about whether you want to live close to your family. Especially if they are willing to support you with the kids.

I know this from two US returnees in my circle of friends:
Both had their children in the USA. The women did not work there. When the kids were between 2 and 4, they returned to Germany.
The women quickly got bored in Germany and wanted to work again. After a while, the culture here simply catches up with you. When instead of Desperate Housewives all the women in the neighborhood want to work, the women also want to do something again.
And that’s when having family nearby is worth its weight in gold. Even if it’s only a part-time job for the woman...

Living close to our parents is ultimately an important reason why we came back at all. Therefore, we already have an ideal target region, but at least in terms of the job, we are currently flexible. Regarding having financing documents, our "profile," etc. ready: that would certainly be sensible, we will tackle that. Since we would probably only become active in exceptional situations within the next 12 months, I am not sure to what extent banks/advisors would already cooperate without a clear region or even a specific property. But I can ask around! Thank you all.

Financial brokers, as well as the banks themselves, are willing to discuss a potential financial framework with you. Even without a suitable object. And when you have an overview, you can strike if a gem falls right in front of you. It was the same for us. We had the bank appointment 2 days prior, and we were already drooling in front of our dream property. We were not in a rush, but it was reassuring to be able to act immediately.

Welcome to Germany. We returned 2 years ago. However, we had completely different conditions. We spent 10 years in America, also with a return migration in between. We had already built the house beforehand. Having a point of reference and the security to be able to go back to DE without any problems if all else fails was important to us. If there is interest, we could exchange ideas.

Basically, I think, to look into the future, if we experience a Green chancellorship, then building will become extremely difficult.

There is no ban on single-family houses, but in Baden-Württemberg you can hardly build anymore because there are hardly any plots left. Building permits are de facto no longer granted. So to speak, a ban through the back door. The same is reported from parts of Hamburg.

So if Green politics take hold, both the building law as well as the development plans and the designation of residential building plots will be adjusted correspondingly defensively.
Existing properties like detached single-family houses will probably become unaffordable, which they already are today.

Vote Green and then complain. I can’t really feel much sympathy for the people of Baden-Württemberg in this regard.

What will happen when interest rates rise, by the way, one doesn’t even want to think about. At 6 percent mortgage interest and current prices. Wages would have to make huge leaps. It would then hardly be affordable anymore.

But most of the time, things turn out differently than you think. And Frau Baerbock is not chancellor yet. Hope dies last.