Is it still possible to optimize construction financing?

First of all, thank you very much for the many responses.
Regarding the strict financial separation. This division takes place in exactly three areas:

[*]Rent payments (basic rent, additional costs, electricity)
[*]Jointly assessed insurances (e.g. legal protection)
[*]Household money (groceries, costs for pets)

The background is that my girlfriend insists on not being a burden to me and therefore wants to contribute accordingly.
In all other areas, things are mixed, so sometimes I pay and sometimes she does. So everything is uncritical.
It is clear and also known to us that this will loosen up, for example, with children. But the (separate) breakdown is initially a first attempt at a cash audit that is necessary anyway.
There is nothing to clarify in this form regarding our "internal relationship." If we buy a house, it will be registered jointly. Whether we are married by then remains to be seen. Neither of us places value on necessarily being married, as this status does not change anything about our relationship. However, we will definitely take this step if a child is on the way – simply for form’s sake, but then we will only celebrate in the closest circle.
Why do you believe that waiting will not be worthwhile? Because of the currently low interest rates, which can basically only rise, or because the supply in Magdeburg is so low? I am currently not worried about the interest rates. Due to the massive purchase of government bonds by the ECB, interest rates will probably remain low for the foreseeable future. Acquiring a property without commission would of course be great, but where do you find such properties? On the usual large portals, there are hardly any properties available commission-free. If you have tips for that, please share them.

Why do you think waiting won't be worthwhile?

In my opinion, it will not get cheaper. And not every day do 10 new great properties come onto the market -- when you have found "yours," strike! You are most likely to find commission-free ones in the newspaper (Volksstimme).

Briefly about the internal relationship (it's your thing, I don't want to go into detail here). I'm by no means concerned with your relationship or the size of a possible celebration. I just mean that one could certainly reconsider the civil law aspects. Marriage is just a contract under the Building Code. If you want to spend >> 100,000 euros together, then briefly think through the what-if scenarios beforehand. And then secure yourselves contractually (again: marriage is such a contract, whether it suits you or not is another question).

In my opinion, it will not get cheaper. And there aren't 10 new great properties coming on the market every day -- when you find "yours," strike! You are most likely to find commission-free ones in the newspaper (Volksstimme).

Since I am generally very new to the topic: Even though it is certainly very difficult to name a number at all, because it is individual after all: How long does it take on average, or based on your experience, to find a suitable house?

Reason for my question: I spoke to our financial advisor the other day, with whom we have all our insurances and investments. Due to the costs my girlfriend will have for further education in the next few years, we have postponed the house purchase a bit and now want to move in in about 5 years. This also extends the saving phase. Since I currently only invest €100/month in a fund savings plan and therefore it won't work financially, I will make a corresponding adjustment. The monthly savings rate will be increased to €250/month. At the same time, from 07/01/2015, I will also save €200/month for a new car, because if we move into the house in 5 years, my car will then be 12 years old. The form of investment is still unclear here, but I have a good advisor in hand. But now back to my original intention: This plan with the longer saving phase only works if it is realistic to find, buy, and move into a suitable house within, for example, a year. Is that realistic or does one have to expect several years for the house search? Your comment, Bieber0815, makes me suspect something like that.

Link removed; please observe the forum rules! Thank you Building expert

How quickly you find a house cannot really be said in general terms, as it depends on several factors such as the region in which you are looking for a house (it is more difficult to find something affordable in urban areas than, for example, in a village), how much budget you have available, whether and if so how much you might want to renovate/modernize, and what demands you generally have on the property (are you someone who quickly settles for something or do you search until you find the perfect property).

Due to the currently low interest rates, it is further complicated by the fact that the used property market is quite swept clean (at least if you do not want a dilapidated or fixer-upper property).
We also initially wanted to buy a property and searched for almost 1 1/2 years; during our search, we increasingly expanded our search area and gradually relaxed our search criteria but still found nothing suitable (as mentioned, in our desired area in Baden-Württemberg, the property market is simply swept clean), so we decided to go for a new build.

You can also be lucky - in 2011 we started looking for a house in June, discovered one in August and viewed it, and in November we moved in. In Cologne. But that is probably not the norm. However, the luck factor does exist.

That's true, the luck factor also exists

Especially if you are aiming to buy a house only in 5 years, the real estate market could look completely different by then, but no one can predict that very accurately right now.