How long did it take you to reach the construction decision?

For vacant properties, notes were thrown into mailboxes,

I wouldn't have expected anything from that in the first place: whoever actually empties mailboxes doesn't check whether the note is a purchase offer or the usual notice of a new hairdresser or a call to find a lost cat.

Without connections in the villages, outsiders hardly get access to the good stuff.

And in my opinion, that's a good thing: functioning village communities also want to remain such, and many newcomers just commute like blinkered tourists from their building plot to work in the district town without caring about the fire brigade or the singing club. So, if you are looking in villages where you have no relatives yourself: forget real estate agents, show up in the village pub, make connections: pastor, undertaker, choir director, shooting king, baker – that’s where the reward is. But you also have to be likeable to them. Snobs with designer handbag SUVs or people who look like they just stashed their tie in their bag like the womanizer at the hotel bar with his wedding ring stand no chance.

I wouldn't have expected anything from the start: whoever even empties mailboxes there doesn't check whether the note is a purchase offer or the usual notice about a new hairdresser or a search request for a lost cat.

Yes, I could have imagined something nicer than constantly carrying those notes ready-to-use in my wallet and dropping them into some stranger’s mailboxes on Sundays without knowing if we would ever hear anything back. We surely would have stopped if we didn’t know a few cases where it actually led to success. You just grab at every straw.

And in my opinion, that’s a good thing too: functioning village communities want to stay that way, and many newcomers just commute like blinkered tourists from their building plot to work in the district town without caring about the fire brigade or the singing club. So, if you’re looking in villages where you have no relatives yourself: forget realtors, make sure to be seen in the village pub, make connections: pastor, undertaker, choir director, shooting champion, baker – that’s where the action is. But you also have to be likeable to them. Snooty people with handbag SUVs or people who look like they just stuffed their tie into their bag, like the womanizer at the hotel bar with his wedding ring, have no chance there.

Everything correct so far. I myself grew up in the countryside and know how things run there. Without involvement in village life, a move wouldn’t have been an option anyway. Even if we may have become a bit more urbanized over time, we're not the type to move there and then never show up at Easter fires, sports festivals, or similar events. With such a preference for anonymity, I’d rather stay in Kassel, where the neighbors couldn’t care less if they haven't seen you for two months, the mail overflows from your mailbox, and the hallway somehow smells weird.

I don't know if it's different elsewhere, but for us it's exactly the same. If you ask a shell builder now, in the best case it will start in 12 months. Therefore, I completely agree with this opinion.

Our general contractor is the shell builder himself. That's why we chose him.

Summer '18 started looking for existing properties, FAIL! The market is a disaster. Thanks to the forum here, I quickly understood that the search would lead to nothing.

By chance, learned through acquaintances about free plots in a new residential area in a perfect location for us. Viewed it, bought the land in autumn '18, since late summer '18 visited show parks, compared a lot and finally chose a smaller local home builder, construction start according to contract March '19, construction time guaranteed until sometime end '19.

I don't think it can go any faster...

Without starting a race: it is possible, at least similarly fast.

Summer 2018 permanent position, from then both civil servants. Future safe. Employer safe.

On Sundays grabbed a map, marked the drivable radius and drove through the beautiful Eifel for two weekends checking new development areas and free plots. Found one in a small town, called the mayor on Monday. Appointment for "getting to know each other" on Tuesday. We liked each other, got the plot for €39/m2.

Found an architect summer 2018, had already collected house plans/ideas before. Went to the architect with them, good feeling, fine tuning.

Construction start February 2018, solid with extras. Setbacks due to weather, deliveries, and lightning strike, moving in October 2018 guaranteed and succeeded. Not everything is finished, still some minor things open at Christmas, but very satisfied.

We certainly would have left it alone if we didn't actually know some cases where it really led to success.

Really? - with slips of paper that fit in a wallet? - the things you find.

Really? - with notes that fit in a wallet? - you never cease to amaze.

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about the format used in these cases. It might be that we would have received more feedback with DIN A1 than with discreet little notes. As I said, that was just one of a good dozen ways we tried in our search. Significantly more responses came from tear-off notes on the notice board in the supermarket, but unfortunately nothing suitable was included in the end. The good ones are given away in advance within the family, among friends, colleagues, etc. With this knowledge today, we could have saved ourselves a lot of searching and driving around.

But I find it crazy that people here have to search for a building plot for years. Thankfully, it's not that bad here. Looked at the land map online, inspected the field and approved of it, sent in the application and after the deadline, the documents came straight away. Notary appointment is in January.