See what you can afford in Cologne

To find the best mortgage in Cologne, you should definitely compare different financings. In Germany, there are numerous mortgage lenders with different conditions and interest rates. With a mortgage comparison, you can quickly and easily compare the offers and get a good overview. Even the smallest differences in the interest rate, the repayment rate, or the repayment term can make a big difference to the overall costs.

However, the best mortgage for you should depend on the interest rate and be optimally tailored to your financial situation and your plans for the future. It's best to let our independent experts advise you right from the start. We will help you lay the foundations for your optimal mortgage. Book your free consultation.

The length of the fixed interest rate, the amount of the down payment, and the selected property have an influence on the mortgage in Cologne.

Fixed interest rate: In Germany, you can choose how long you want your fixed interest rate to be. Many buyers opt for a 10-year fixed interest rate. However, 15- and 20-year fixed interest rates are also possible. But banks will make you pay for this with higher interest rates. As a rule of thumb, this means that the longer the fixed term, the higher the interest rate and the more costs you will incur. On the other hand, the remaining mortgage is lower with a longer fixed interest rate than with a shorter one.

Down payment: Usually, if you make a larger down payment, the bank will likely offer you a lower interest rate. If you make a bigger down payment, you will also reduce the interest payment over the life of the mortgage.

The property: The location of the selected property, the purchase price and the bank's assessment of the actual value have a substantial impact on the mortgage in Cologne. The interest rate is mainly defined by the loan-to-value ratio. It sets the required loan in relation to the property value. The lower the mortgage, the higher the equity, and the higher the property value, the better the interest rate.

The fixed interest period gives you planning security. However, it should definitely be adapted to your personal situation. It is either too short or too long for many real estate buyers, and that costs a lot of money.

This is because the bank pays for the security of a long fixed-interest period of 20 years, for example, by charging a higher interest rate. But if you plan to live in the property in Cologne for only ten years and then sell it, your loan will cost you more than necessary. If, on the other hand, you plan to live in your home for twenty years, you should fix the interest rate for longer. Assuming it expires after ten years, you will need follow-up financing. Mortgage rate in Cologne have been much higher in the past, and you may have to pay considerably more for the follow-up financing.

To find the right fixed interest rate for you, you should seek advice from our independent experts. We'll help you lay the foundation for your optimal mortgage. Book your free consultation.

Every federal state in Germany has its own individual purchase fees. These fees are composed of the notary fee, real estate commission, and property transfer tax.

When buying a property in Cologne the notary fee is usually a maximum of 2% of the property price, an amount that remains constant throughout Germany. The use of a real estate agent to acquire a property in Cologne adds a commission of 3,57% to the purchase fees. Newly built projects or properties bought directly from a distributor are typically commission-free. Finally, the property transfer tax in Cologne is 6,5%. Together with the purchase fees in Cologne are either 8,5%, or 12,07%, depending on whether you have used a real estate agent when purchasing your property.

To find out more about how the property transfer tax and real estate commission varies by federal state in Germany, click here.

In Cologne, as in the rest of Germany, the equity you bring in should at least cover the purchase fees. If you only pay the purchase fees with your savings, means that you borrow the entire purchase price of the property from the bank. The amount of the down payment determines what is called the loan-to-value ratio (LTV). The LTV ratio is the ratio of the loan to the value of the property as estimated by the lender. Your down payment is the sum of the purchase fees in Cologne plus the portion of the purchase price of the property that is not covered by the loan.

For a mortgage in Cologne, the additional purchase costs are 12,07% or 8,5%, depending on whether you have to pay a real estate agent's commission or not.

Under certain conditions, it is also possible to finance a mortgage in Cologne without equity. These conditions include, for example, a very good credit rating, a very high income, and an excellent location of the property. However, the bank will charge significantly higher interest rates.

The amount of the monthly loan rate cannot be answered in general terms. It depends, among other things, on the annual repayment, the loan amount, and your income.

However, the rule of thumb is that the monthly payment on a mortgage in Cologne should not exceed 40% of your net income. This can ensure that you have enough money for your living expenses. So if you have a net income of 3,000 euros, your rate should be a maximum of 1,200 euros.

There is no universal answer here either. However, the loan should be paid off by the time you retire, if possible, but should not exceed your income.

The repayment determines important conditions of your mortgage in Cologne, for example, the repayment period and the monthly loan installment. In the case of an annuity loan, the monthly loan rate is made up of the interest portion and the repayment portion. The repayment portion is used to repay your mortgage.

In most cases, annual repayments for a mortgage in Cologne between 2% and 3% are agreed. Hypofriend helps you find the repayment rate that suits you best. Book your free consultation.

Yes! Hypofriend is an independent mortgage broker certified with the §34i GewO supervised by BaFin. We work together with over 750 partner banks to find customers the optimal mortgage in Cologne. Our headquarters is in Berlin, Germany.

At Hypofriend, we have made it our mission to find the optimal mortgage for our customers in Cologne. We are not salesmen. We are economists, engineers, and mortgage experts who together have built Germany’s most objective and advanced recommendation engine for mortgage advice.

The most crucial difference between us and other mortgage brokers in Cologne you will notice is that we ask you a lot of questions, rather than asking you the loan size and the mortgage product that you want. Of course, that is the outcome of the process, and if you already have set your eyes on a specific property, we will ask you those questions too.

But to give you the best financial advice we need to understand the bigger picture: how long do you plan to stay in the house, what is your income outlook etc. We combine it with advanced interest forecasting techniques and financial insights to make suggestions as regards to the choices you can make.

Our consultations are unique in that they take our clients to new levels requiring fresh perspectives. But in the end, it helps you plan for a much sounder and safer financial future. Book your free consultation.

Yes, we do! Due to Hypofriend's unique technology platform, we work with more than 750 lenders across Germany and have the largest selection due to the integration of multiple platforms where lenders offer their products. You can find the German mortgage lenders we work with here. This list covers all major German banks, such as Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, as well as small regional lenders.

Yes! Our service and advice are completely free, from start to finish! Like every other mortgage broker in Cologne, we are paid by lenders to process your mortgage application. This fee is a fraction of a percent of the value of your mortgage. Book your free consultation.

Yes! Hypofriend offers mortgage advice in Cologne and nationwide. We will consult you online using our unique video consultation software. We will walk you through advanced financial insights on your individual mortgage situation and help you to easily understand your most important financial decisions.

To find the best mortgage for you, we compare offers from more than 750 lenders and their conditions across Germany.

To find you the optimal mortgage in Cologne, we will use our unique Hypofriend Recommendation Engine (Optimizer). We will begin by asking you several key questions, which will help us determine which mortgage products could work best for you.

To feed the recommendation engine, we regularly review the mortgage products and conditions, scouring over 750 lenders and their conditions on a daily basis. We then model and estimate their hidden conditions. This is how we know exactly what is out there and can feed these conditions into the recommendation engine.

The recommendation engine was built based on experience gained by our co-founder Chris (Dr. Chris Mulder, if you will) when he worked at the IMF and World Bank to develop models used to guide countries to manage their debt. Our engine combines modern finance theory with practical insights from our team of (mainly German) mortgage brokers.

Combining this lender know-how with given information (like your salary) and projected information (like your salary outlook), we evaluate a range of scenarios and outcomes to see how you will fare under different conditions. We discuss the outcomes and logic of the recommendations with you. Your grasp of the decision is essential. You are different from the average customer, sometimes a little sometimes a lot.

Together with our team of experienced mortgage advisors, you will understand the nuances of your situation and fine-tune your mortgage decision. Book your free consultation.