House Purchase - Financing and Valuation - Berlin Area

The time you are now considering, the house for 30-80k€ more is already gone, the market in Berlin is currently crazy

If the house is an energy disaster, it also needs to be renovated. I recently read something that said you are obliged to adapt it to the Energy Saving Ordinance within the first 2 years after the change of ownership.

What about the electrical system, bathrooms, floors? Are the 100 sqm enough?

Consider whether you can and want to afford the hobby "old property." Maybe a condominium is better – I don't read anything about a love for gardens etc.

I would dare to go with the mentioned numbers.
Don't forget to include necessary reserves in the planning, for example for the new heating system.
Heating with oil will also become a bigger burden due to sharply increasing taxation.

Well, 500k compared to 350k valuation by the bank based on the exposé and a few papers is really something. I would also send an appraiser who can seriously tell you what still needs to be renovated.

Hello,

[*
Total net income: 4400/month (currently still 1 earner + child benefit)
[LIST]
[*]We can currently save about 1.8 - 2k/month on average.
[*]Our rent + parking space is about 700 EUR/month


[*]We will probably work for another 30 years
[*]2 children of kindergarten age
[*]Property price: 500K <- From acquaintances
[*]Equity: approx. 170K
[*]Loan amount: 360/370K

[*]The bank would agree to the loan amount. We have calculated with a rate of 1700/month and then the loan would be paid off in about 20 years! -> What is your opinion on the amount of the rate? Too risky?

I find the loan amount compared to equity very good. The rate seems very high to me. That is an enormously large part of the net income. I wonder how you can currently save so much with 2 kids and the net income + child benefit. But if you can comfortably reconcile that with your lifestyle, no problem. To me it seems too risky. If prospectively a second income comes in again, it should be no problem though.

[*]...However, the bank rates the property significantly below the current price. approx. 350K...

That’s where the problem lies, in my opinion. The bank surely has not handled a property from Berlin for the first time. I would take the bank’s valuation of the property value very seriously. Talk to them about where the 150k (!) difference comes from. If the property is really worth only 350k, then you would be paying too much for it. Even if the bank finances it for you, it does not have to be a good deal. I suspect that there is still renovation needed which is currently not considered in the price.

Which bank is that? Maybe they have too little knowledge of the regional market. It was the same with my condominium 6 years ago. The first bank didn't want to continue at all because they valued it significantly below the purchase price. The second bank was not quite as drastic but still below, yet they approved it anyway. Today the condominium has already risen in value by more than 30%... Berlin also had a lot of catching up to do in recent years, at the same time not as much is being sold publicly anymore. That strongly affects market prices but not sufficiently reflected in the statistics.