Buying an apartment: Goals, Criteria & Factors – 11-Point Checklist

Buying an apartment: This is what you should pay attention to! – With our 11-point checklist you are perfectly prepared for your property search. Find out here which considerations you should definitely make before looking for an apartment. Always in focus: The big difference between personal use and capital investment. After all, this has an enormous influence on the rest of your goals and factors. What is the difference between A, B and C locations? How does this affect the maximum purchase price and the minimum gross rental return, and what are the respective advantages between existing and new construction? We will help you determine your search criteria!

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Buying real estate from A-Z: preparation, search criteria, buying process and all that, free of charge and online, from experts.

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Buying an apartment, buying a house, owner-occupation or capital investment, yield or investment property? On my new project Immobilien-Erfahrung.de you will now find everything you need to know for your successful real estate purchase! Learn everything you need to know about setting goals when buying real estate, types of locations(A-, B- and C-locations), types of real estate, their yields and more! All online and free of charge! What you absolutely have to pay attention to before you start looking for an apartment. Now on Immobilien-Erfahrung.de:

Checklist: Criteria for your real estate investment

With our 11-point checklist you are well prepared for your real estate purchase:

Real estate as an investment vs. personal use

At the beginning, the question clearly arises: Do you want to live in your property yourself? Or do you want to rent out your apartment as an investment property after the purchase? This is something to think about at the beginning. After all, this not only affects the financing. As an owner-occupier, you will continue to be responsible for the operating costs yourself after purchasing the property. However, if it is a property as an investment, these costs are mainly covered by the tenant and the tax office.

Amount of the purchase price: factors

It is equally important that you set a maximum purchase price for yourself. You should take several factors into account here. These include your creditworthiness, the available equity capital and your mortgage lending value.

Learn more about the important factors including tips and tricks here:

Maximum gross rental return: Formula

What is the minimum rental yield required for the investment to be both profitable and paid off by the tenant? We recommend the following formula for this:

Formula: Annual rent / purchase price * 100

Investors pursue one primary goal, efficient wealth accumulation. Accordingly, the gross rental yield of a yielding property must be high. Learn more here:

Buy rented or unrented?

Of course, you can buy an already rented property just as well as an unrented one. However, if you are purchasing the property for your own use, an unrented property would definitely be more advantageous. If you already have tenants in the apartment, you can terminate the lease after purchasing the property for your own use. The same applies to capital investors. On the one hand you save time by the tenants time and do not have to look for new ones, are however at the same time bound to the rents. So should you buy rented or unrented? Find out all the advantages and disadvantages here:

Location, location, location!

Not only the city is important, but also the neighborhood. Where is the nearest hospital? What is the connection like? Is there a lot of vacancy in the neighborhood? And how safe is the neighborhood? All of this affects not only your on-site living experience, but also the value of the property and the purchase price. So what exactly does A, B and C location mean? How can it be determined and how does it affect the purchase price? Learn more here!

The perfect location

Depending on whether you are looking for a property as an investment or for personal use, the demands on the location also differ. So what are good locations for your personal investment goals?

New construction or existing property?

Both new construction and existing buildings have their respective advantages and disadvantages. The most important question here is: Are you using your property for your own use? Or as a capital investment? Finally, the use of your property also influences your decision. The differences between existing and new buildings, as well as the respective advantages and disadvantages can be found here:

Age of the property: advantages & disadvantages

More than 2,650,000 properties currently located in Germany were built before 1919, and 5,000,000 of them were built before 1949. Some of these properties are real bargains on the market, and their subsequent sale price can be significantly increased by value-enhancing measures. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of buying an older property? Here is a direct comparison:

Size of house and apartment

How big should the property be? In addition to the location and age of a property, its size ultimately plays an important role. One-bedroom apartment or villa with several bedrooms? Bungalow with basement or rather maisonette? Here we compare living space for owner-occupancy as well as for capital investment. Especially for capital investors who plan to rent out their purchased property, the room layout and the number of square meters are important.

Ground lease? Yes or no

Some real estate is subject to a ground lease. But what is a ground lease? Can the costs be tax-deductible or even passed on to the tenant? Learn all about ground leases, how they work and their advantages and disadvantages:

Social binding? Yes or no

In addition to the ground lease, it may be that you will also stumble on the subject of social binding. Everything about your obligations on low-interest loans to the post-commitment period – Is it worthwhile for you to buy a property with social and post-commitment?