Purchase opportunity single-family house from the 80s - risk?!

He commissioned the brokers to provide a free appraisal. However, they do not receive the mandate for marketing. (one can think what one wants) Reference value: yes/no .. We know the approximate price before the interest rate increase and political situation quite well.., but currently, what can be set as a "discount"?! I will try to convince the seller (in case the broker suggests a price that is too high) to reduce the price. That is the plan :)

It has already been written here – there is no "the" price. At most, there is a price suitable for you, which you are still willing to pay today. This includes the additional costs for gas and the massively increased costs of money. Then you have to see what you can and want to pay. With that, you can enter negotiations. If you have enough equity and still have chances for a loan, your position is certainly better than last year. Everything else will show itself. Show open interest, find your price idea, and then you can only wait. Maybe someone else will buy, or nothing will come, and the seller will be glad to still have you at hand.

I would simply turn the tables. If you don't agree with the price from the broker, you offer what suits you. Together with the note that the offer [e.g. 3 weeks] remains valid. After that, no longer. Since you were in contact before the broker, a broker commission is basically not due. However, they will move heaven and earth to get their money if you buy it.

with us, the newspapers are full of such free evaluations. That's what the brokers do to find clients.
If the house was worth 600,000 last year, then it still is this year. The chances of finding someone who pays 650,000 have clearly decreased, but it's enough if 2 out of the 50 interested parties from last year remain

that's the problem; and then a kind of bidding process starts. I think good properties in A and B locations are "unfortunately" still in demand. And when I see what some people from friends and acquaintances receive as a "financial boost," then we're out. I can't work and save that much...

Apart from the location, much is not described. Year of construction of the windows and doors, insulation of roof and facade. Scope of the electrical work, etc etc... It can indeed be that the windows still have a U-value of 3.0, are leaky, and the roof is insulated with 8cm of brittle glass wool. Then it will indeed be a renovation.

Roughly, we have budgeted 100k for modernization and partial repairs. Well aware that we will replace the windows: solid wood from the year of construction, and doors as well, prospectively. We would renew the roof insulation ourselves or insulate the attic floor (we don't need the space).

Is that so? I would just say: He can tell you a lot of stories! Of course that can happen. But why should the seller sell to you cheaper if he is promised 50,000€ more? The market still counts, it sets the prices. And he has every right to test the market value. What will very likely happen is that the seller will keep you hanging with warm words that you will get the house if no one else takes it for the 50k more.

Yes, he doesn’t have to do it. That’s clear. We had (do we still have!?) the hope that the owner, as he said, wants to give a young family the chance to buy. And yes, that might just be "bla bla"... It’s really a dilemma, because we really like the house. We really assume that the agents’ assessments will nullify that. Then the house goes to the open market and some buyer with too much money sitting idle buys it for their child (we’ve already had that situation). That’s life, yes, but I find it disgusting :)

You are both probably right - in the end, this means for the OP that the risk of a price increase is probably low, but the risk of the time passing until the seller possibly returns to a realistic price is all the higher. In short, an agent is always a risk factor - just unfortunately one that the OP can hardly influence. Unless he makes the seller a rock-solid offer, for which however many interested parties are too emotional.

What do you mean by "rock-solid offer"? To get ahead of the agents' assessment? I think that doesn't affect the seller. He wants to test the price.