Existing property - appraiser, financing, negotiating...

You know your financing limits or should know them. I once got offers from Interhyp, they said I should give them the data before the first viewing, so they can already prepare an initial offer in parallel, to see if that fits. If the owner or the realtor doesn’t like the appraiser, then the matter is over for me. That sounds to me too much like something is being hidden. We were once with an appraiser at a second appointment at a house and right after us there was another viewing appointment. They then took it immediately and the appraiser was “for nothing,” still I would do it that way again. Depending on the area, you can forget about negotiating, you have to know for yourself how it is where you are. If everything fits, commit to the seller, usually a preliminary contract is then made, privately maybe just a handshake (?). In my area, everything goes very fast, sometimes houses are bought directly at the first appointment, that was all too fast for us.

Thank you - yes, at the first appointment I also wouldn’t take the expert along yet - it’s just annoying when everything then takes a long time, both the expert and scheduling the appointment as well as the financing etc. until you can actually buy.

But I guess you have to learn and go through it, and after a first concrete bank check you will also know where you stand, etc.....

Hello Henrik,

it's not as difficult as it sounds. The best thing is to find a local architect if you have no plan at all. If damage is suspected that requires an expert to get involved or the architect can also assess it but needs to invest more time, you can't (quickly) buy anyway – unless you buy a pig in a poke.

If others are faster, that's just how it is.

We also took easily 1.5 years from the first property viewing to purchase and in the end, it was worth it.

Best regards
Dirk Grafe

theoretical order:

1. basically clarify whether the (house) bank would lend money. with a good "starting position" (2 full salaries, permanent contract outside probation period, good credit rating, etc.) you can skip this step. but it doesn’t hurt and you can already get the basic financing situation from the bank’s perspective.
2. be clear about how much you want/can spend
3. visit houses alone
4. if you like the house, express interest and clarify further steps with the owner/agent. possibly have the house reserved.
5. then visit the house a second time with an expert, with reservation this should happen fairly quickly (1 week?, depending on what you negotiate with the owner)
6. negotiate the final price based on the expert’s documents. consider supply/demand. make a commitment (if it has to be made at this point) only with the condition of financing approval
7. take the expert’s documents and the necessary paperwork to the bank and request a concrete offer. possibly inquire with other banks
8. make a decision, possibly visit the house a third time and maybe clarify things. e.g. about "loose included objects" (or cheap) like tools, garden equipment, kitchen, etc., then close the deal.

hm what is the purpose of such a forum if you are not allowed to ask anything here? This is really such a German forum phenomenon, it never happens to me with foreigners, there you are rather helped twice as much than having such introductions.

What problem do you have? You ask a question, 3 users answer you!
And which answer don’t you like that you speak badly about this forum? :mad:

Basically, if you might have to act quickly, i.e. with existing properties (or good plots), you should have already spoken to your bank beforehand. The bank wants to get to know the customer and with data in hand, namely the income structure, they can already set the financing framework.
It is also not wrong to consult an expert in advance and ask how much lead time they usually have with their appointments, so that you know what to expect.

What problem do you have? You ask a question, and 3 users answer you! And which answer do you not like that you are badmouthing this forum? :mad:

I am to blame for that. I had written something at first, then changed my mind and deleted it again. Sry