How to formulate a bid for a property?

Are the property prices low enough that you can and would offer significantly above market price? If not, then as I said, I would name my final price as late as possible and continue searching in parallel.

Sorry is getting more and more crazy. How tense is the market with you? Do you know comparable building plots you can refer to? Otherwise, he wants a lot, can you build freely according to your ideas there?

We are looking in a small area near Frankfurt. Probably everyone knows what the market looks like in and around a big city. There are few alternatives and the prices are accordingly. We want to offer about 20-25% above the standard land value. A statement from a real estate agent some time ago was that the prices for building land are roughly within that range. There is no development plan. Two full floors are important to us. Everyone around has them, so that should not be a problem.

It would be unwise to mention any offers early on without obligation. Unless you can convince him immediately, which is probably not the case.

I would wait, consider my absolute personal limit in the meantime, prepare bank confirmation etc., and seek the conversation when the seller has received other non-binding offers and can say when he wants to make a decision.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Early bid: we can be outbid Late bid: we might be too late One can hope that the seller does not play bidders against each other or, in the worst case, feigns bids. I think I tend to prefer the early bid. Maybe it is high enough for him to accept immediately. Or later he realizes that all the others who come are lower. If someone offers more, we'll just have to live with it. I also don't want to pay an excessively high price just to win the bid. If it fails by a few thousand, it would be a pity, but I can't think of anything to prevent that.

Please do not get your hopes up too high about the property!

Because...

We are looking in a small area near Frankfurt.

and...

We want to offer about 20-25% above the standard land value.

are mutually exclusive.

The standard land values are updated far too slowly. Methodologically. The period used to form local average prices is too long to realistically reflect the extreme price increase of recent years in the standard land value. Too many "old" sales are still included in the calculation.

Just write specifically in the email that you are orienting yourself on the standard land value + X. Before he decides, he should please get back to you so that you can possibly increase your offer.

Deadlines etc. are pointless, he will just laugh if his property is really good (location, condition and proximity to Frankfurt).

PS. we also participated in such a bidding process and the reaction was only: we will not be considered because the bid was way too low. (The bid was also significantly above the standard land value). There was not even the question whether we wanted to increase...