Finding property - Unrealistic?

Hello house building forum,

I have been reading along for several years now, as we also want/wanted to build a house someday. So far, we have mostly waited, as on the one hand we moved around a lot due to work, on the other hand we built up capital, and ultimately never really had the "free time" to dive deeper into it. And it is the latter point that this is about.

A few things have changed in the meantime:

[*]I now have a job where I work from home and only occasionally have to go to the office or clients. This gives flexibility/stability regarding location choice.
[*]The children are now 3 and 7, planning is therefore completed, and they are out of the worst for a few years.
[*]In the meantime, we have saved 200,000 in equity, and most months there is an additional 2-3 thousand coming in.

What has not changed over the years at all is the time problem. And looking back over the years, I can say that it will not improve significantly. I have always been very busy professionally, which is also a reason for our fairly decent income. And that will remain so for the foreseeable future. My wife is in a similar situation, mainly because of the children. Sure, there is sometimes some downtime, but besides family time, etc., there is not much more than a few afternoons or weekends here and there spread over the months. You could argue this long and well, but there are just different weightings and compatibilities between work and private life.
We have a good living situation, renting a terraced house. So it is not that we absolutely have to strike immediately now. But over the years I have realized that we will keep waiting as long as we wait for the big change. And in the long run, it does hurt to continue without ownership, paying substantial rent (2,000 per month) and unrealized house dreams.

Over the years, I have read some threads here on the topic of searching for land. It is often recommended there:

[*]Drive around communities, look for empty plots, ask neighbors
[*]Knock on doors, proactively express interest at town halls
[*]New development area tenders, where applicants with local ties are often favored by the scoring system
[*]Wait until something happens with the above
[*]Opportunities through relatives (not applicable in our case)

It is obvious that with these measures you can discover hidden treasures or "bargains." But every situation is different, and in our case I think, on the one hand, it is unrealistic that we would ever be successful with it, and on the other hand, I also think that due to the budget we are not completely dependent on a plot sold below current market value.
We are somewhat selective, but so far it does not get to the point of becoming a problem.

So much for our situation, now to the actual question:
What other ways are there to get a suitable plot of land? On online portals, almost exclusively unusable offers seem to be left. Does it have to be a real estate agent in our case after all? Aren’t they mostly very regionally limited? Is the only help to save even more in order to then hunt with the mightier capital club?

Thanks and regards

Matthias

If you yourselves have little time for the property search, a real estate agent who looks for properties for you might be an option. Ask the municipality if there are currently free plots or if building areas are currently planned. Or look for developer projects that offer the house including the plot for sale. Would an existing property perhaps also be conceivable for you? Where exactly in BW are you looking?

Municipalities partly allocate their spots through auctions or according to a points system that takes children into account, which you do have.

With a rent of 2000€ for a townhouse, I am surprised that 200,000€ for a plot is supposed to get you very far??
Here, townhouses also cost around 2000€ rent, but plots cost about 1000€/sqm. With 400sqm, you are already at 400,000€ plus additional costs, and your saved 200k is just a drop in the bucket.

Is the only solution to save even more to then go hunting with a more powerful capital club?

Certainly not. For landowners who (still) do not consider selling, the reason usually is not that the offers have not yet been immoral enough. This trait rather applies to crackpots who want to sell forty-year-old houses at the original price plus land value development.

Over the years, I have read some threads on the topic of searching for land here.

My Barthel tips will be collected and updated on the web in autumn – for technical reasons only after the book fair.

But every situation is different, [...] and on the other hand, I also think that due to the budget we are not completely dependent on a plot sold below current market value. Although we are already selective, it has not even come to the point where this would become a problem.

Under "Information" in my profile you’ll find how to contact me personally. None of my tips lead to "fools" who would not know the current price potential (or to exploiting it if they do). Rather, they lead to people whose willingness to trade cannot be motivated by money alone. Being selective is, by the way, not a complication but a way to a solution: the best lid fits exactly on the pot – you don’t get there with vague willingness to compromise. Lowering your "standards" only increases the frustration over the absent hunting success.

Does it really have to be a new build? From what you write, you also lack the time to properly oversee the whole thing there. You have to be aware that this is a very intense period. Here, I would rather look for (have someone look for) existing properties that are not too old. Or actually approach a developer.

So much for our situation, but now to the actual question:
What other ways are there to get a suitable plot of land?

Your life and your tension are the target group of property developers. Therefore, I can only advise: look for planned projects and buy a semi-detached house or something like that.
I cannot recommend building a house yourself – even building with a general contractor requires time.