House construction planning

Hello dear forum,

My partner and I want to move into our own home in 2016, at the latest 2017. We are from Saxony-Anhalt and want to build in the area around Halle / Saale. We are both 27 years old and have a small son (1 year). Currently, we pay about €500 cold rent for our apartment. Equity currently amounts to about €20,000; by the end of 2016 it could be about €30,000. Monthly income is about €3,500.

Should we already start looking for a suitable plot of land now or wait until the end of next year to save up a bit more equity? The next question is, where can you even buy a plot of land? We would like to do everything through a prefabricated house provider. Should we also commission them to search for a suitable plot of land? How much house can we roughly afford?

We would like around 125m² living space, approx. 500m² plot.

There are many open questions, and surely more will come :)

Best regards

Hello Alex,

with the current information, you are unlikely to get reliable answers.

What is especially important is how high your monthly expenses are in order to determine what maximum financing is available.

If you understandably do not want to disclose this here in the forum, I recommend that you make an appointment at your local bank – keyword "What can and do we want to afford".

You can buy plots either on the relevant internet portals, from private sellers, real estate agents, or directly from the municipalities / towns.

I rather advise against the idea of having the plot searched for by the house manufacturer – in this case, you usually pay the real estate transfer tax not only on the building plot but on the total amount of the plot and the house!

Best regards,

Dirk

I would recommend looking for a plot of land independently. In Niedersachsen, there is a land exchange where many building areas are listed. Otherwise, ask the municipalities directly, they often have waiting lists.

Ah, that's good to know. I will call our municipality tomorrow right away.

Regarding our expenses:
650€ rent including heating
70€ electricity
30€ internet
150€ insurance
350€ fuel
20€ mobile phone
400€ groceries
500€ miscellaneous
That should be the main part. Loans are not to be repaid.

What do you think of the idea to buy a plot of land now in 2015 (about 30k, could be financed approximately with equity), then save for a year to have about 10k more equity for the house construction? Or rather do everything in one go?!

If you are in the comfortable geographic or financial position to buy the property like that, there is no reason not to buy the property - the bank counts that as collateral when financing. If you get an exciting offer including the property, of course, there is initially nothing against that either. Just make sure that you are not blinded by the pure number of the offer (this also applies later if you plan the house separately), but always question very critically what is being built for you: starting with the way it is built, with which materials, ceiling heights, energy standards, number of power outlets (as trivial as that may sound), etc. etc.

Should we already start looking for a suitable plot now or wait until the end of next year to save up a bit more equity?

If you are sure that you will build and also know where it will take place, then you should start looking for plots today! First, set up a search request on a relevant internet portal (it’s free), regularly read the ads in the local daily newspaper, ask the city/municipality about new development areas — including those in planning. Whether and when you buy depends on: Do you like it? How is the price? Whether you can wait depends on: Will someone else buy your dream plot? Are plots in your dream location more expensive or cheaper in 2016/17 than today? Or the same? Is the real estate transfer tax still the same in 2016 (when are the state elections again, maybe it will be quiet until then ...). Owning your own plot is always (!) better than a plot from a developer. The reasons should be obvious... Your negotiating position is much better as a landowner.