What loan amount and how much equity capital should be reported to the bank?

Well, that sounds good. The only question is what base interest rate conditions the Sparkasse has. However, we will soon also visit a local bank alongside a broker. Sometimes you wonder afterwards what comes out of it. Trying doesn’t hurt.

Basically, the statement is correct that at least an offer, e.g. for the terrace, must be available at the time of the loan application in order to have the terrace co-financed? Or did I misunderstand that?

The terrace is part of the building application. The contractor can estimate it, the paths, stairs as well. He has a sense of price for that. That was sufficient for my Volksbank. Karsten

Ah, okay. We just have to see what our bank considers sufficient. You probably can't generalize that. Thanks for the feedback. You are great! We can now classify the financing issue completely differently.

Basically, the statement is correct that at least an offer, e.g. for the terrace, must be available at the time of the loan application in order to have the terrace financed as well? Or did I misunderstand that?

We stated €0 for the outdoor area and that was sufficient.

During the construction period and afterwards, we have already sunk over €30,000 into the house from newly earned money (and a few euros in gifts from relatives as compensation for not provided "own work," since no time/desire or whatever).
Anyone who doesn't have at least €500 left over per month besides the financing and usual additional costs, etc. (maybe reducing the savings rate for the car for a while – for example, I gave up a €15,000 savings rate for my next car) will probably have to finance everything. Some make special repayments after construction, others finance less and pay out of their own pocket later.

The conditions, the type and scope of the necessary offers, invoices etc., all depend on which bank you talk to and especially on how much equity you bring, how much money you want to borrow relative to your income, etc. Our financing, for example, is very solid and secure (after all, a thousand euros remain every month), so the bank was very accommodating to us. With tight finances, this is certainly not possible.

Starting with only 1% repayment during the low interest rate phase would be more than negligent. And as far as I know from my employer, we won't start with that either. It is also completely pointless, because even the lowest interest on a barely repaid loan amount is more expensive than interest on a well-decreasing loan amount. So create a base, gladly save small amounts, and calculate exactly what would realistically be feasible later without overextending yourself. I don't even want to start with lamps and furniture... those are consumer goods. They don't have to be bad just because they were already in the old apartment.

I consider that statement nonsense. Every percentage point more repayment is a very bad investment. Let's do the math: What return do we get from repaying 1,000 euros more? Exactly, the saved interest on 1,000 euros, so let's say at a 1.5% interest rate currently 15 euros per year. But just as well, we could also simply take the 1,000 euros and put them into a well-diversified portfolio. After taxes, certainly about 4% per year is achievable. So that's at least 40 euros. If we now consider compound interest and the savings over several years, very decent sums add up. Of course, one must have the self-discipline to invest the saved repayment and not spend it on consumption.