Equity when buying real estate: budget and reserve
How much of your capital can you use without touching the reserve? Calculate the remaining financing requirement using your own numbers.
Calculate equity and financing requirements
Adjustable example values, not market data or bank terms. The calculation runs only in your browser; inputs are neither stored nor transmitted. No calculation of your personal tax.
Your result
Our own calculation based on your inputs and the stated assumptions.
- Calculated financing requirements
- 265.000,00 €
- Available equity after setting aside the reserve
- 65.000,00 €
- Available equity
- 65.000 €
- Financing needs
- 265.000 €
- Liquidity reserve
- 15.000 €
Bars show the amounts of your entries in relation to each other. Negative values are marked with minus signs.
The financing requirement is a budget difference, not a loan commitment. The reserve remains untouched. Interest, monthly affordability and banking requirements are not calculated here.
Calculation method and other values
- Purchase budget including additional costs
- 330.000,00 €
- Untouched liquidity reserve
- 15.000,00 €
- Remaining capital surplus
- 0,00 €
- Equity share in the purchase budget
- 19,7 %
Scenario calculated. Results are in the Your Result section.
Four pieces of information for a comprehensible budget calculation
Record the purchase price, the total additional purchase costs, your actually available equity and the reserve that should remain untouched. You can first break down the additional costs using our NRW additional purchase costs calculator. You should not treat non-liquid assets or committed but not yet available funds like cash without checking. The calculator assumes neither a bank interest rate nor a flat-rate required equity share.
Formula: Deduct reserve first
Usable equity = available equity − liquidity reserve. Purchase budget = purchase price + additional purchase costs. Calculated financing requirement = maximum of 0 and purchase budget − usable equity capital. If the usable capital exceeds the purchase budget, the remaining surplus is displayed separately. The reserve is not quietly used up for financing; if it is higher than the total equity, the entry is invalid.
Example for an apartment: Financing required instead of a bank offer
At a purchase price of 300,000 € and additional costs of 30,000 €, the purchase budget is 330,000 €. Of 80,000 € equity, 65,000 € is available after setting aside a 15,000 € reserve. The calculated funding gap is 265,000 €. Usable equity is around 19.70 % of the total purchase budget. All amounts are example assumptions. A bank may assess security, mortgage lending value, income and individual costs differently; this result is not a financing commitment.
What is missing in a personal reserve planning
Think about moving, necessary purchases, unexpected repairs, and ongoing living expenses during an income gap. Avoid double counting: If a planned renovation is already included in your one-off additional costs, you do not have to record it completely in the reserve again. There is no minimum reserve that suits all households. Your actual income, fixed expenses and risks are crucial for sustainability.
From the lack of capital to the monthly burden
The financing requirement alone says nothing about the monthly loan payment. Get a specific offer with the interest rate, repayment, fixed interest rate and other costs. Then check whether the loan rate, ownership costs and reserves fit your household budget. Future interest or salary increases are not assumed. The linked construction financing guide helps with structuring the documents and questions, but does not replace an individual credit check.
Related tools and background information
Data sources
Official source · Our own calculation · Our own analysis · DDORF estimate → Methodology
- Our own calculationOur own calculationOur own calculation based on your inputs and the stated assumptions; not a loan offer.View source
- Official sourceGNotKGDistinguish statutory fees from a budget allowanceView source(opens new window)