Real estate financing possible? Hardly any equity, Berlin area

For this house, the additional costs (property tax, water, wastewater, rainwater, garbage, insurance, heating maintenance, and chimney sweep) are about €120/month (excluding gas + electricity).

In our current rental apartment, they are about €250 (excluding heating + electricity).
Here we pay, among other things, for an incompetent gardener, stairwell cleaning – well, elevator maintenance, janitorial service, etc.

And where do you stand if you also book a competent gardener along with garden tools and a street cleaning subscription for leaves and snow, and set aside some money monthly for "janitorial activities with paint, pipe wrench, and silicone"?

I understand your thinking, but let's not kid ourselves: a comfort apartment with these additional costs also has its advantages. It's like booking a vacation: hotel with breakfast or an independent apartment. The latter is initially cheaper when booked, but ends up costing more if I have to buy the same comfort. But you do have the choice to do without.

Sure, overall it does get more expensive, if only because you have to cover repairs yourself or build up reserves. But you can design a lot yourself, and then you (have to) do it yourself – snow shoveling at 5:00 am :mad: Sure, I also pay for the "AI" service in the rental apartment. But we are currently paying for an extremely incompetent gardener, and stair cleaning isn’t great either. We use the elevator too, but the tenants on the first floor pay for it just the same. Regards Olli

What exactly are you talking about? What you describe (Min-Max) also has limits - minimal quality at the highest price. This is solely about the maximum affordable price for large parts of the upper middle class and even upper class.
Your well-known "tight panties" are also made of elastane - they stretch a lot, but eventually the sausage skin definitely bursts.

The tight panties keep stretching more and more. Money is always looking for investments. As long as money exists, there is also fabric for the panties. Some have been waiting for the bubble for years and keep whining. I haven't seen a bursting bubble in the real estate market for 20 years.

the tight panties are stretching more and more. Money is always looking for investments. As long as there is money, there is material for the panties. Some have been waiting for the bubble for years and keep whining. I haven't seen a bursting bubble in the real estate market for 20 years.

Weren't you an IT guy in a bank, or did I remember that wrong? If you had been working in the real estate sector for 20+ years, you would have at least heard of the nearby Switzerland - but that was already 30 years ago. Let's leave Spain aside. Switzerland had very interesting accompanying factors - low interest rates, liberal granting of loans, strong expansion of the money supply, large immigration & the feeling that real estate and land are safe investments. This probably led to a loose doubling of prices in the 1980s. It all seems very familiar.

What goes up, must come down - except for Baron Münchhausen. The only question is which mix of factors will trigger the turnaround..

I might have better explained my intention with my post:

Please do not underestimate the ancillary/operating costs of your own house!

It was mentioned:

...
current warm rent: €1750
...

Furthermore:

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Loans should cost about €1,700 monthly with 3% repayment.
...

Furthermore:

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With an €1800 installment and 3% repayment, you can certainly manage a €550,000 loan.
...

Since the burden in the amount of the last warm rent was "recommended," the expenses of the ancillary costs of the house are added to the burden. And these should not be underestimated.

Since the burden was "recommended" at the amount of the last warm rent, the expenses for the ancillary costs of the house are added to the burden. And these should not be underestimated.

Correct. However, you can still "trick" the budget a bit and partly understand the repayment portion of the loan installment as an asset-forming investment that you would otherwise need additionally as a tenant.

The important thing is simply the total share of household income. Maximum 1/3 for renting, loan installment maximum 0.4 for a well-earning household.