Rented apartment as a substitute for equity capital

Hello Dirk,
thank you very much for your detailed assessment!
Since we are friends with the tenant of the apartment (and he himself would not buy), we would be very reluctant to enter into the process ourselves. How long does a "taken-over tenant" have the right to stay at minimum before an owner’s own use can be claimed?

Apart from that, a sale of the apartment would not be realistic in terms of timing for the current situation, i.e., regarding the reservation of the new property...

That said, thank you very much for your answer. Regards!

Just a stupid question, you make the happiness of a new home dependent on a tenant? If he is a friend, he will understand the situation. On the other hand, you can take out a short-term loan to bridge the time until the apartment is sold, that shouldn't be a problem.

Explain to the bank, the apartment is estimated at 90-100 TEUR and the tenant is extremely reliable, pays on time, and takes care of everything themselves.

Giving up such an asset would only be the ultima ratio.

Then the loan at the bank will just be a bit larger, they shouldn’t have any objections to that.

We are nice landlords.
No, of course the option would certainly be one.

The bank would have no objection to a larger loan, no. But I was rather hoping to reduce our monthly burdens by bringing in the apartment, instead of increasing them.
The bank would surely appraise the actual value of the apartment itself.

How long does a "taken over tenant" have the right to stay at least before personal use can be claimed?

If the buyer of the apartment claims personal use, the taken over tenant is out very quickly. Deadlines should depend on the duration of the tenancy. We had exactly this case in the family back then. After the termination, the tenant stopped paying completely, so we evicted her without notice.

Edit: Currently, the situation is reversed for us: we want to sell the now paid-off apartment and invest the money in building a house. Keeping it would only be plan B if the offers are far below our expectations. Keeping it now, while we are "young," would further limit us financially, and in the mid-60s, when you don't need as much, it would bring the extra euro. We hope to sell well.

But I hoped to reduce our monthly expenses by contributing the apartment, rather than increasing them.

The only thing that happens is that you might get a lower interest rate. However, this will not drastically reduce your installment now. That really only happens if you contribute "cash".