Medium-term house construction project with wife and 2-3 children

So this means that the property belongs to us and we then (virtually) finance the house 100% with the property as collateral?

For the bank, it is practically irrelevant whether you bring your equity in cash, as bank funds, or in the form of a burden-free property. The advantage of being a property owner is being able to plan and build independently of the developer. As a condition, development plans and/or building obligations must be observed. Therefore, before purchasing, the basic buildability according to your own wishes must be clarified.

That sounds good so far, thank you very much.

I think we should be able to buy a plot of land without any problems during that time. So that means the plot belongs to us and we then (virtually) finance the house 100% using the plot as collateral? By the way, my father and I can do a lot ourselves. He is already retired but a talented craftsman (flooring, plumbing, tiles, electrical work, etc.) and has done almost everything himself on both of my parents’ house construction projects. However, he would certainly enjoy a construction holiday, something different than playing with model trains

I am not as good as my dad but can paint, do floors, and plumbing (install sinks, etc.). Such personal contributions can be counted as equity, but to what extent approximately? 10,000 EUR? 20,000 EUR?

For the flooring, it probably depends on what is laid, click laminate or large-format tiles.
If you calculate an average of 30.-€/m², that’s just under 5000.-€ for 150m².
Plumbing depends on whether you do everything completely yourself (which would be risky for me, since if there is a material defect, you could then prove where the water damage comes from), or just the final installation. That, if anything, is in the low four-figure range. Electrical work accounts for somewhat more again, depending on the effort (without KNX, probably between 5-10 k€). That’s always hard to say, one person “earns” more on the material, another sells the material cheaply and has higher labor costs.
Drywall installation is also quickly significantly four-figure, but it’s no fun either.
We never got quotes for painting since almost everyone does that themselves???

Berlin und Umland da sehe ich 2000/qm und ab 150qm Wohnfläche. eher als untere Grenze für einfachen Standard....rechnet eher mit 2500-3000

Thanks for the info. That actually surprises me quite a bit, I've seen such values for Munich in other threads. Assuming we were to build a bit east of Berlin in Brandenburg (we like Strausberg), would one pay that much there? The average income is rather low there, isn't it? Were those real offers you had?

Thanks also to everyone for the info about equity. Then we plan to do nothing ourselves except the small stuff.

The real estate market in Berlin has practically exploded in recent years... everything is being built on any free spot...

Low-income earners are simply moving to the surrounding areas... but no one there is inactive either...

The order books of home construction companies are full... and you might get a larger plot, but the house you want to build there is just as expensive as in Munich and elsewhere...

Hm, I didn't expect it to be this intense right now. Let's see how the market looks in 4-5 years and whether rising interest rates will ease the market in the surrounding area a bit (which I assume). We have to save anyway for now

Hm, I didn’t expect it to be this intense right now. Let’s see how the market looks in 4-5 years and whether rising interest rates will ease the market in the surrounding area a bit (which I assume). We have to save anyway first

But the interest rates would have to rise.. I don’t see that currently. If interest rates rise = the EU falls. Basically, there are only two possibilities: continue as before... or very, very strong inflation. That’s a problem anyway..

You definitely won’t get the house in the picture for 2000 EUR per sqm. The glass surfaces around the corner alone cost a lot of money. In 4..5 years, construction prices will also continue to rise well. Basically, none of this matters right now because you don’t really have a choice anyway. Saving a certain amount of equity is certainly very good and also a must. You just have to somehow “park” the money sensibly in case of inflation.

Regards, Steffen