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

Hmm, the targeted plot price is definitely too low. Even in Taunusstein, you won't get anything for that price per square meter. We have now purchased in Hofheim at 1350 € per square meter, the plots get small very quickly..., even in the surrounding area prices between 700-1200 € were rather "normal". If you move behind Idstein into the sticks, it might work.... Don't forget the commute to work, the highways and country roads are hopelessly overcrowded during rush hours and will cost you a lot of (life) time....

I know Idstein. Your €300 per sqm won’t get you anything decent. And the problem you have = nice plot at a great price, Weberhaus and co have the same. Building will cost you at least €650k upwards in the region

That naturally varies a lot from place to place, at least if you look at the standard land values. Certainly in Idstein. You won’t find anything under €400-500/sqm there. That makes roughly between €250k and €300k for a 600 sqm plot. In the surrounding area it looks very different again.

Then the question is how many compromises we want/have to make. We don’t know that precisely yet ourselves and it will become clear when we drive around the area this weekend and get an impression. (I know the area, but not from the perspective of "building a house")

For those who know the area: under 35 minutes to Limburg/Wiesbaden/Bad Soden/Höchst/Rüsselsheim/Usingen is our guideline. Also “relatively” close to a train connection (it doesn’t have to be directly in the town but also not 10 km away).

That basically puts you just north of Bad Camberg. 5 more minutes on the highway means €30k less for the plot. At least that’s how it feels to us.

Hmm, the targeted plot price is definitely too low. Even in Taunusstein you won’t get anything for that sqm price. We just bought in Hofheim at €1350 per sqm, plots get small quickly... Even in the surrounding area prices between €700-1200 were rather “normal”. If you move out into the sticks behind Idstein it might work... Don’t forget the commute, the highways and country roads are hopelessly congested in rush hours and will cost you a lot of (life) time....

Sure, in Hofheim you get nothing for that. Taunusstein is also still very close to Wiesbaden, especially.
Regarding commuting: I currently live in Mainz and need 25 minutes by car to the workplaces in Wiesbaden/Rüsselsheim etc which are much closer as well (train is unfortunately no option with my work hours). So you almost inevitably spend that time in the car. Finding work in Limburg/Idstein/Usingen would not be difficult and would actually be shorter than currently.

Unfortunately the floor area ratio often doesn’t work in your favor. With a floor area ratio of 0.2 you are allowed to build just 90 sqm. House including terrace. That is too little.

Good to know, thanks. Although such a 100 sqm buildable area (without terrace!) really is minimal and I wonder how all those people in the new housing estates with 450-550 sqm plots do it...

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

We currently don’t see that as an alternative. Alternatively, we would rather move again and postpone building the house.

And that is exactly the question. Prefer to wait another 5 years and then recalculate with a bit more equity and salary (taking the risk that interest rates have risen, but then if you’re lucky the purchase price falls). Or do it now but not in Idstein but in the Bad Camberg area.

It depends on our impression when we see it and the real plot prices.

We want, even though I understand it may come across differently, not to rush it. If it’s not the right thing, we’ll move, wait 5-6 years and recalculate then. We just don’t want to spend money on moving now to then build a house in 2-3 years.

We have now purchased in Hofheim at €1350 per sqm, so the plots get quite small very quickly....., even in the surrounding area prices between €700-1200 were rather "normal".

Wow! It doesn't surprise me anymore that I have met several former Southerners here in the far north in a small town near the Baltic Sea with holiday vibes 365 days a year and land prices of €200/sqm. They sold their 20-30 year old houses for a good million and bought something comparable here for half the price. They then went into early retirement/part-time work in their mid-50s with the difference. PS: There are hospitals here too

For those who know the area: under 35 minutes to Limburg/Wiesbaden/Bad Soden/Höchst/Rüsselsheim/Usingen is our target. Also "relatively" close to a train connection (it doesn’t have to be directly in the town but not 10 km away either).

Basically, that puts you just north of Bad Camberg. 5 more minutes on the highway means 30k less for the plot. At least that’s how it feels to us.

Hi Johannes, unfortunately, I think your calculation is still unrealistic
North of Bad Camberg, you’ll never get to Höchst/Rüsselsheim etc. in 35 minutes, unless you drive at 3 AM on a Saturday... keep in mind that the A3 around the Wiesbaden interchange and on the Frankfurt-Limburg section is more or less constantly congested. We commute by car from Bodenheim near Mainz to Frankfurt and plan/need about 1 hour each way. At 2 AM it would be 35 minutes. Everything that’s in reasonable range of an S-Bahn connection is expensive again. As for land prices: forget about the official land value. As you’ve already noticed, plots are scarce to non-existent and the market is totally overheated. We bought in Lörzweiler (!) for 640, the official land value was something around 420. Bodenheim is already at 900-1000 and because eventually no one can or wants to pay this madness anymore, people move exactly where you want to move, so it also gets more expensive there monthly, to put it bluntly. I would either calculate with significantly more or wait until the bubble bursts and save in the meantime. Or look for existing properties, as was already mentioned. Fortunately, you’re not under pressure... that’s already a good prerequisite.

The "problem" nowadays is that you can hardly save additionally what becomes more expensive over time. Land prices have already reached dimensions that were unthinkable 10 years ago. And a real end is not in sight. Additionally, the following effects come into play: - New developments become more expensive: This even drives up the price to be paid despite basically stable land prices. - Construction costs are rising - and this will remain so for a while. - Interest rates are still historically low - they can basically only go up. I consider the probability that interest rates will be higher in a few years to be very high. They certainly will not be lower (or the probability for that tends to zero). I am of the opinion that anyone who can "strike" today should do so. Something can always happen. Of course, it must be calculated thoroughly. If from now on you cannot save significantly more than just a few hundred euros additionally each month, the future construction project will not be cheaper overall, but more expensive.

I am of the opinion that whoever can "strike" today should do so. Something can always happen. Of course, it has to be calculated. If from now on you cannot save significantly more than just a few hundred euros extra every month, the future construction project will not be cheaper in the long run, but more expensive.

Are there actually posts here in the forum from 11 years ago? They would probably look exactly the same. - Back then not in Germany, but rather Southern Europe and the USA - but the pattern was and is always the same. Whoever buys now, although they actually cannot or do not want to, but is AFRAID they won’t be able to later, should question that strongly. Fear is never a good advisor.