House construction project with terrible credit rating and almost zero equity capital :-)

With the current income, a nice little house should easily be possible for you.

BUT: Rent only

That way you have everything you want and can. Enough space and you can save for a house in a few years. Everything else is pointless and will not work.

Silly question: Why do you live in such a small apartment? Your life situation is none of my business, but if you can’t even get a grip on your current situation, how is it supposed to be with rosy dreams in the future?

As a sole earner with the income without equity, even if the Schufa is clean, no chance!

For 400k€ there is also no house with a basement of that size including land and all ancillary construction costs.

If then something as an existing property around 200k€ that you can renovate in your free time with your own work (and then only with equity and a clean Schufa)

Everything else is unrealistic!

Maybe I overlooked it, but where do you live? City or countryside?

We live in the countryside and didn't pay 200,000 euros for an existing property of 212 sqm + 100 sqm basement. Built in 1980, only renovated.

It always depends on the circumstances. The negative Schufa is one thing, that should be cleared beforehand; if you then save for 2-3 years as stated and look for existing houses during that time, it should work. But I also see a new build as difficult, even in the countryside. We had planned that too, but would have ended up at a good 400,000 euros for about 160 sqm.

You won't get a loan right now if your Schufa is still that bad. So you should really save the >2k now, and in a few years you can start thinking about building.

How much does a plot cost where you are? 400,000€ for house + plot will not work. With 5 kids, you will need at least 180 sqm, more likely 200. From today's perspective, 400,000€ for the house alone represents the absolute minimum. In 4-5 years, it definitely won't be enough. Outdoor facilities, garages, and other extras are of course not included!

My "unvarnished" opinion, even if you don't want to hear it:

[*]You are born debtors.
[*]The fact that you are making this request here and are currently dealing with a new construction project shows that you have learned nothing from previous mistakes.
[*]You seriously want to misuse the care allowance for your foster children to build up equity. Specifically, you are talking about saving 2.6k. That means you are planning for a seven-person family with 2.9k as living expenses including rent. Minus rent, this puts you at Hartz 4 level. I feel infinitely sorry for your children because for me this means that savings will primarily have to be made at their expense.
[*]400k all in is, of course depending on the location, already far too little for a new build of this size today, I think.

With a suitable financing advisor, you will somehow get the money, I believe. There was this Thomas here in the forum once... I also understand your problem. But one should be aware that it will not be easy given the financial conditions and that the house might have to be sold/given up after all. The consequences would probably be more fatal than the current situation in the small apartment.