Dream castle realizable with a financing amount of €390,000?

I also find the starting position very good. If I were you, I would now start looking for a property. You will probably need 1-2 years for that, unless something catches your eye by chance. In the meantime, keep saving a substantial amount of equity and you will be well prepared when it can finally start.

Thank you very much for the mostly confirming words!

We remain skeptical, especially regarding the land prices. We've heard it makes sense to call the municipalities and have your name put on lists there, and if the municipality has land to allocate, to be called. Has anyone done it this way? Are the land prices usually comparable to the standard land values?

One tip was also actually just to ring the neighbors of vacant lots and ask if they know who is selling the land... I imagine that would be funny too, is that common?

Also: land from the construction companies themselves. Simply inform Weberhaus or elsewhere that we are looking for a plot and then they check?

I also simulated a financing with a 20-year fixed interest period and 2% repayment at the beginning. Then after 10 years at 3.5%. I found that attractive, the only question is whether you can actually get that from a bank.

You can get almost everything from a bank, just not necessarily from every one. (Free) changes to the repayment rate are not uncommon, but also not a given. For example, we don’t have any.

In addition, there is the KFW loan, which promises a significantly lower interest rate than a pure loan from just one bank.

By the way, that is no longer always the case – with us, they would have been more expensive than the bank and our interest rate is rather okay than great in comparison.

We remain skeptical, especially regarding the land prices. We've heard that it makes sense to call the municipalities and have your name put on waiting lists, and to ask to be called when the municipality has land to allocate. Has anyone done it this way? Are land prices usually comparable to the standard land values?

One tip was also simply to ring neighbors of vacant lots and ask if they know who is selling the property... I also find that amusing, is that common?

We did a mix of both.

Weekend, map out, drove around the areas that were suitable. Checked out all the villages, found some, called the relevant building authorities/mayors.

In one town we were excited, called the city and asked for the mayor. Then called him, made an appointment. We liked each other and got the land.

Is that so "old school"?

I know Idstein. Your 300€ per square meter won't get you anything decent. And the problem you have = nice plot at a great price is the same with Weberhaus and co. Building in the region will cost you at least 650k and up.

Why is the kitchen always excluded? That is

Nobody does that. For most banks, it is a piece of furniture that is not financed, so you should set aside equity for it.

That is why we assume a size of about 450sqm for the plots.

Unfortunately, the floor area ratio often doesn't cooperate. With a floor area ratio of 0.2, you may only build 90sqm. House including terrace. That is too little.

Don't let yourself be influenced by the opinions of others.

No one influences anyone here, there are complaints, advice, and opinions.

But it is still enough to start building a terraced house in BW.

I would also take a look at a terraced house, semi-detached house, or a used property. It doesn't always have to be THE single-family house. Especially as a starter property, a terraced house is a good option.