American coming to Germany. Where to buy around Ramstein-Messenbach?

It is unlikely that you'll find somebody on this forum who is familiar with Ramstein, a small and rural place despite the USA airbase located there. For a more cosmopolitan lifestyle, consider the nearby city of Kaiserslautern. (Jobs and business opportunities are also more likely to be found there.)
In my opinion it is unwise to buy a property right after arrival in a new country - after all, you don't know yet how things will work out and if you'll really stay for the long term (selling after less than 5 years is costlier than renting!). In addition, you might not get a bank loan without some financial record in the country.

Thank you! Maybe renting is better! Can you tell me what is the average for renting a house?

Gary

Lloydg2000 wrote:

Thank you! Maybe renting is better! Can you tell me what is the average for renting a house?

Gary

LLoyd, unfortunately Beppi's remark is rather off the mark about not finding someone here that can help.  I've happened to live in the area for several years and was/am quite familiar with the area. 

To answer your question though, where is the best place to buy/rent.....well that's quite subjective and broad.  The same can be said for costs.  It depends on what you are looking for of course!  Are you going to be working on one of the installations in the area?  What do you need to be close to?  With more information, I might be able to give more insight.

Romaniac
Expat.com Experts Team

I don't know the area but have a couple comments about getting property. Unlike America where owning a house is normal, most Germans live in apartments in cities. Many own their apartments, similar to a condo type of ownership in the USA. To have a free standing house with some yard in a mid to large city in Germany is VERY expensive.  And land is so expensive that many choose to build multiple dwelling houses, living in one part and renting out the other part(s) as apartments. The rental income should more than make up for the additional cost.

Where free standing houses  are more common is in small communities. Many suburbs of bigger cities have many row houses. One then lives in close proximity to the neighbors and has a minimal yard but without having to actually live in the same building as others. But by building the houses adjacent to the next, the size of the property is minimalized, saving costs.

The disadvantage to small communities, like Beppi mentioned, is that they can be boring and not close to working opportunities but if one works at home or is willing to commute then it might come in question.

There are often older houses in smaller communities that cost a fraction of the cost of what one would pay in a good sized city. If one is handy at renovating, then one can invest one's time in a house and maybe fix up an ugly duckling bought for cheap. A typical scenario might be to get a smallish house and put on a new roof with windows and good insulation, converting the attic into more living space and greatly improving the house's insulation level. 

The red flag for me is that you have a child. Many really small communities have lost so much of their younger population that go to the bigger cities for better opportunities that some no longer have a local school or a decent supermarket. Having to get your kid off to a school in another town can be a pain. So paradoxically, the places most likely to find a great deal on a house will be the most difficult for schools. So make sure you check out the education possibilities before committing to a community.