Mistakes when buying real estate: You should avoid them at all costs!

Emotional real estate purchase, a too special property in a bad location and the purchase of a house for personal use – the list of possible mistakes is long. Learn here what you should avoid at all costs!

Error: Poor location of the property

One of the most consequential mistakes is buying a property in a bad location. Demand is low, renting is difficult and the risk of vacancy is high. Large cities in sought-after B locations are best suited. Even a little outside the major cities, in the Speckgürtel, real estate investment is worthwhile. Here are the best locations at a glance:

• Buying in major cities (not metropolitan areas in top A locations)
• Metropolitan areas, the famous Speckgürtel, with good B-location
• Cities in demand with B location

Error: Your real estate is too specific

The more special your property is, the more difficult it is to sell or rent it later. A chic loft with a view of the skyline or a designer villa on the edge of the forest sound tempting, but are nowhere near as sought after as an average 1-3 room apartment on the edge of town. Our tip: So before you start looking for real estate, get to grips with the different types of houses and apartments and their demand and don’t invest in a property that is too fancy.

While each property on the market has its own individual charm, it may not be as easy to resell later:

Mistake: Buying property for personal use

One of the most basic mistakes beginners make is buying a property for their own use. After all, it is not tenants and the tax office who will then pay off the property, but you yourself. This makes owner-occupancy the most expensive form of housing. That’s why we recommend investing in a property as a capital investment first and only then in owner-occupation.

Reading tip: Personal use or capital investment? Advantages and disadvantages

Mistake: Buy house as the first property

Similarly, as with owner-occupancy, you are left with 100% of the costs when you buy a house. So for your first property, do not invest in a house, but in an apartment. As a homeowner, you must always bear all costs alone. However, if you are an apartment owner, these costs are divided among the parties.

Mistake: Emotional real estate purchase

You have dealt with the topic of real estate investment, the different location types and property types and clarified the question of investment or yield property, and suddenly you stumble upon an apartment that reminds you of your childhood? The important thing here is: Never buy a property based on your emotions. Stay true to your strategy and goals and think rationally about the purchase.

Mistake: Resale value not in view

When purchasing your property, also think about the resale value. After all, you should not make a big minus after a later resale. Here, above all, the location again plays an important role.

Here is the comparison of the 3 types of location and their increase in value:

• A-location: Annual increase in value of 4-6%.
• B-location: Annual value increase of 1-2%.
• C-location: no increase in value (possibly small decrease in value)

Error: Buy due to the top equipment

If you buy a property because of its features, you may even end up flipping it unnecessarily when you buy it. Instead, you should apply the strategy of ‘buy and flip’. So you buy a property cheaply, renovate and refurbish it and thus make a profit again when you resell it. After all, you cannot increase the square meters of your property, but you can always improve the facilities.

Buying real estate: Learning from A-Z

If you want to learn even more about the individual sources of error, then take a look at our guide:

• Mistakes when buying real estate (external)

If you want to learn even more on the subject of buying a property, whether owner-occupied or capital investment, numerous articles, guides on the subject of rented vs unrented, as well as checklists, all free and 24 hours online available, with us!

Apartment, house, apartment building, everything for real estate beginners!

Now new on Immobilien-Erfahrung.de:

• Buy property: learn – external

Definition: What is a ground lease?

You have found a house or an apartment building you are interested in, but it is located on a leasehold land? Or you have found a suitable property and it is subject to a ground lease? What does this mean? Simply explained, hereditary building rights mean that the right of ownership and the right of use are permanently separated. A distinction is made here between two parties: The ground lease provider and the ground lease taker. The ground lease holder leases the land and is then allowed to use the land in return for an annual ground rent.

Here is a summary of the ground lease:

• Ownership and usage rights permanently separated
• 2 parties: ground lease grantor and ground lease taker
• Leasehold in return for building rights

Advantage of a ground lease: Favorable purchase price

Of course, a ground lease has both advantages and disadvantages. Probably the biggest advantage is that the purchase price here is significantly lower than usual, since the purchase price for the land itself is omitted. Leaseholders also benefit from reduced ancillary purchase costs.

The purchase price of a property on leasehold land is significantly lower

Disadvantage: Monthly ground rent

In return for being allowed to use the land, you have to pay a monthly or annual ground rent to the owner of the land. In addition, the mortgage lending value of your property decreases significantly because the value of the land is constantly decreasing while the ground rent incurs costs.

The two disadvantages of a ground lease at a glance:

• Payment of the ground rent causes costs
• Collateral value of the property decreases

Conclusion: Is a ground lease worth it?

Buying or building a property on leasehold land therefore brings different advantages and disadvantages. While you can enjoy a low purchase price, a regular ground rent is incurred at the same time. And the mortgage lending value of the property also decreases.

You can now find even more facts and tips about ground leases on my new project for real estate buyers (Immobilien-Erfahrung.de):

• Ground lease (external)

If you want to learn even more on the subject of buying a property, whether owner-occupied or capital investment, numerous articles, guides on the subject of rented vs unrented, as well as checklists, all free and 24 hours online available, with us!

Apartment, house, apartment building, everything for real estate beginners!

Now new on Immobilien-Erfahrung.de:

• Buy property: learn – external