Phew, things are really heating up here. My opinion on the topic "Sympathy with home sellers": Quite possible, it happened to us as well. There was a second interested party who would have paid more, we got the house for €10,000 less because the chemistry was right. Especially with older people who are not dependent on the last €10,000, I consider such behavior not unrealistic... since I have experienced it myself. There are simply people who want to have a good feeling when they sell their life's work. Our previous owners come by every other week to check the progress of the renovation. Regarding financing: Surely there are some financing experts here, but that does not mean that the opinion of all potential real estate financiers is represented here. A very good friend of mine, self-employed and without equity, managed to put together financing that many financing advisors had previously torn apart in the air. Eventually, he found someone who financed his property including the renovation – the interest rate is over 3% due to the risk... but they did it. Whether one is happy with such financing is something everyone has to decide for themselves...