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For whom building loan contracts are worthwhile

2020-08-24T03:01:10.376Z


Building society savings have long been considered solid - both as a form of savings and to finance property. But permanently low interest rates have changed that. Is there still a reason for home savings?


Building society savings have long been considered solid - both as a form of savings and to finance property. But permanently low interest rates have changed that. Is there still a reason for home savings?

Berlin (dpa / tmn) - 2019 was not necessarily the best year for building societies - at least at first glance. Around 1.7 million new home loan and savings contracts were concluded last year, as statistics from the Association of Private Building Societies show. Overall, however, the number of new contracts fell by 1.9 percent compared to the previous year.

However, the statistics also show: The home loan and savings amount for new contracts has increased by 2.5 percent. From the point of view of the association, this confirms a tendency: Today customers tend to use the contracts for real estate financing and less often only to save.

For association spokesman Alexander Nothaft, the reasons are obvious: A building society loan agreement offers customers planning security over a long period thanks to the advantageous interest rate. "The interest guarantee goes hand in hand with a purposeful build-up of equity," says Nothaft. "More equity means less debt, means less credit burdens."

Bausparen works in two phases

Basically, Bausparen has two phases: In the savings phase, the saver pays in a monthly amount. He receives interest for the credit. Once a certain amount has been reached, the contract is ready for allocation. The saver can then have the money paid out.

At the same time, the financing phase begins: the customer can now apply for a cheap loan. He agreed the conditions for this before the savings phase. He can use it to buy or build a property. However, he does not have to apply for the loan.

Bauspar contract also offers flexibility

With his regular savings, the building society saver shows that he is actually able to meet such a long-term payment obligation, explains Nothaft. This may help with the later creditworthiness check of the banks. In addition, a home loan and savings contract offers flexibility through the possibility of special repayments at any time.

Alexander Krolzik from the Hamburg Consumer Center assesses building society contracts a little more critically. In his opinion, a contract is not worthwhile in most cases because the credit interest is well below the inflation rate. According to the Stiftung Warentest, many building societies actually only pay 0.10 to 0.25 percent on the credit.

Bauspar sum must fit exactly

The acquisition fee and often annual fees also go down from the low interest rates. These costs are often higher than the ultimate profit, explains Krolzik. Running costs such as account management fees would also reduce the return.

It is therefore important for consumers: Building society savings are only worthwhile if the contract is optimally tailored to their own goals, explains Stiftung Warentest. If, for example, the home loan and loan amount is too high in relation to the savings rate, the home saver has to wait a long time before his contract is allocated. On the other hand, if you save more than necessary, you run the risk of losing part of the loan entitlement with some tariffs.

Government funding makes contracts interesting

Government funding can make building society savings attractive to some. "If savers conclude a Riester building society loan agreement, they can receive allowances for their savings contributions and the repayment of their loan," explains Stefan Hüllen from Stiftung Warentest. "Every eligible person can also deduct Riester contributions of up to 2100 euros per year as special expenses." However, the prerequisite is that the contract is actually used for real estate financing.

Instead of the Riester subsidy, building society savers can often also receive the state housing subsidy. Building society savers usually only get this if the contract is used to build, buy or modernize a property.

However, there is one exception: if you are under 25 when you sign the contract, you can use the money freely. He or she gets the bonus anyway. For this, savers have to pay in at least seven years and they are not allowed to earn too much - the annual income limit is currently 25,600 euros.

From 2021, however, the premium and the income limits will increase. The grant is then given to everyone whose taxable income is less than 35,000 euros per year.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 200821-99-255448 / 2

Information from the Stiftung Warentest (partly chargeable)

Annual reports of the Association of Private Building Societies

Source: merkur

All life articles on 2020-08-24

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