Three years ago, we were facing the same situation as you and ultimately decided against buying a house because we had too much respect for the monthly installment and the unforeseen costs during the construction and move-in phase. We then chose a condominium, which was considerably cheaper than the houses we had looked at.
The 800 euro monthly installment can, in an emergency, actually be paid from one salary for a while. And we are currently replenishing our reserves every month and have had the apartment renovated exactly as we wanted.
Maybe in a few years we will still buy or build, but at the moment a condominium works perfectly for us. With our little daughter, we definitely don’t have enough time or desire right now to completely set up a garden – the 60 m2 roof terrace is more than enough.
The problem for us, as mentioned, is availability. Many things simply go under the table, and a large part is also used by a few wealthy investors purely as capital investments.
If I were to find a property now where I would say – that fits... I think I would do it and sell the land. Respect for it has simply become way too intense by now.
We had already been searching for about 1.5 years before we were even offered the land, pulling every lever, keeping eyes and ears open... unfortunately, in vain.
Unfortunately, the loss-making business is also a problem for us, and we are just barely holding on to the land because it really is a dream and also one of the last available in the municipality.
But what’s the point... in the worst case, it has to be written off as a learning experience. Still better than overextending financially.
Maybe the architect will also show mercy in the worst case and waive at least a small part of the costs.