Self-check · 1 minute

Financing traffic light — how realistic is your mortgage?

5 questions on residence, equity, income, credit record and intended use. At the end: a rough read — green, amber or red — and the one lever that helps most if you land on amber or red.

How realistic is my financing with a cross-border profile?

Five factors decide the pool of banks available: residence/tax status, equity ratio, type of income, credit record and any existing liabilities, and the intended use of the property. For purely domestic cases, the house bank is often enough; with a cross-border profile, residence permit and tax status decide the pool — many standard banks decline these cases outright, even though specialised lenders among the 500+ banks compared finance them without issue. The financing traffic light below places your situation in about a minute — green, amber or red — with a short read on which lever matters most if you land on amber or red. This does not replace a bank review and is not a financing commitment.

Financing traffic light

Your situation in 5 questions

Each answer counts points. At the end: a rough traffic light — not a bank review, not a financing commitment.

Your assessment
Traffic light
Points out of 15

A rough self-assessment, not a bank review and not a financing commitment. Actual feasibility depends on the bank's full review — including the property, creditworthiness in detail, and current terms.

Free

Keep this result — and the right documents

A calculator gives you a number. A financing decision needs the right paperwork ready before you talk to a bank. We'll send you the checklist that matches your situation — free, no sales call attached.

Which documents would help?

Free · 30 seconds · no sales pressure

What's behind the traffic light

Five questions, one rough compass

The traffic light doesn't replace a bank review — it shows which of the five levers is most likely holding things back. At amber or red, it's rarely the whole constellation that's the problem, but usually one single factor: often residence or tax status, because many domestic banks decline cross-border cases outright without reviewing the individual case. These are exactly the cases we compare against specialised lenders.

Green means: the constellation fits the pattern most standard banks accept. Amber means: financeable, but with a narrower, targeted pool of banks. Red means: difficult with standard banks, but not automatically impossible — usually it needs a specialised structure or additional security.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Does red mean financing isn't possible?
No. Red means standard banks usually decline the constellation — not that no bank will finance it. Especially with a cross-border profile, irregular income, or low equity, there are specialised lenders that take on exactly these cases. The traffic light shows which lever to work on first.
Why does residence carry so much weight?
Because it decides which banks will accept the case at all. Many German standard banks decline applicants resident outside the EU outright — regardless of creditworthiness or equity. That's not a creditworthiness issue, it's an internal sales-policy decision of the individual bank.
Does the result change if I increase my equity ratio?
Yes, directly and noticeably — more equity is the lever with the broadest effect, because it both widens the pool of banks and improves the terms. Try different values in the calculator to see the effect.
What if I land in the red on several questions?
Then a personal conversation is especially worthwhile — several weak factors together rarely balance out through a single lever, and usually need an individually structured financing plan instead.

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