Getting a Mortgage in Germany on a Fixed-Term Contract

Why banks care — and why they disagree with each other

A German mortgage is underwritten against decades of expected income. A befristeter Vertrag introduces a question mark exactly where banks want certainty: will the salary still be there in year three? Different banks answer that question differently — and that disagreement is your opportunity.

Roughly three policy camps exist across the market:

1. Hard no: befristet means declined, regardless of context. (These are the branches that told you to "come back later".)
2. Conditional yes: accepted if the remaining term exceeds a threshold (often 12 months), or if the contract is with the public sector, a university, or a large employer with visible Entfristung practice.
3. Holistic: the contract is one factor among profession, industry demand, employment history and equity. An IT specialist on their second fixed-term contract with 30 % equity reads very differently from a first job with three months of history.

Walking into two random branches samples two random camps. Comparing 450+ banks samples the whole distribution — and finds camp 2 and 3 systematically.

The special case everyone is in at some point: Probezeit

The probation period (usually the first six months of a new job) is the most common hard filter in German mortgage lending — most banks want it completed, full stop. Three practical consequences:

• If your Probezeit ends soon: prepare now, submit immediately after. We assemble the complete dossier during the waiting weeks; the day your probation ends, your application is bank-ready. This converts dead time into speed.
• If you just started a new job after years of employment: a few lenders will look at your continuous employment history rather than the technical probation status — a strong profile can bridge it.
• If you are job-hunting and house-hunting simultaneously: sequence matters. Signing a new contract restarts the clock; sometimes closing the financing first (or the job first) is a strategy question worth thirty minutes of planning.

What actually strengthens a befristet application

• Equity above the comfort line. 25–30 % of the price plus purchase costs changes the conversation with most conditional-yes banks.
• A second borrower with permanent income. The household view often decides — even a modest permanent salary alongside yours can flip the outcome.
• Profession and employer context. Chain contracts at universities, public-sector positions, doctors in residency, IT roles in demand: banks with holistic policies price the realistic continuity, and your job market matters. Say it explicitly in the application; I make sure it is said.
• Entfristung evidence. An employer letter noting the intention (or track record) of converting contracts is worth real basis points.
• Clean, complete documentation. Befristet applications get scrutinized more, not less. A gap-free dossier signals exactly the reliability the contract type puts in question.

The befristet dossier — what your file must contain

A fixed-term application is won on paper. Beyond the standard set (passport, residence permit, last three payslips, bank statements, SCHUFA), your file should include:

• The full contract chain — every previous employment contract, showing continuity. Three consecutive fixed-term contracts with rising salary tell a story one contract cannot.
• An employer letter on conversion prospects or contract renewal practice. Most HR departments write these routinely if asked; almost no applicant asks.
• Proof of profession-level demand where relevant — for regulated or shortage professions (medicine, engineering, IT), your qualification documents work as continuity evidence.
• A clean equity statement — where the down payment sits, documented, today.

I assemble and pre-check this file with every befristet client before any bank sees it. The difference between a declined and an approved fixed-term application is, more often than anyone admits, the completeness of exactly these documents.

Wait or apply? The honest decision framework

There is a version of this page that ends with "apply now, always". That would be sales copy, not advice. The truth: if permanency is months away and likely, waiting typically improves both approval odds and conditions — and we can use the time to complete Probezeit, grow equity and pre-assemble your file. If permanency is uncertain or distant, waiting costs rent, exposes you to price and rate changes, and gains little. The decision is a calculation, not a feeling — income, timeline, market — and it is exactly what the free initial consultation is for.

The path from here

I'm Hendrik Benevides, multi-bank mortgage advisor in Munich-Pasing (Postbank Finanzberatung AG, 5.0★ / 54 WhoFinance reviews), advising in English, German and Portuguese. Fixed-term cases are regular work for me, not exotic ones: the pattern is always the same — realistic assessment, the right subset of 450+ banks, a dossier built to answer the continuity question before it is asked.

Book the free consultation (no SCHUFA impact): we compute what is possible on your current contract, what changes after Entfristung, and which path costs you less. Then you decide — with numbers.