Buying a house with a child on the way – still financially feasible?

Please consider in your financial planning that [Elterngeld] is subject to the progression proviso. With tax classes 3/5, there will definitely be a back payment.

[Kitagebühren] will definitely exceed your 300 euros monthly in the following years.

With us, they sometimes want around 100,000 euros for houses ready for demolition. Not Munich city center, a backwater with less than 40 euros per square meter land value.

Requirements for the house are, in my opinion, down-to-earth. Living space: 110m² - 130m², preferably with a basement. With a utility room on the ground floor, more living space. Plot: 300-500m². Small garden, space for herbs, grill, terrace, nothing fancy.

So, I also made an effort and simply searched in Grevenbroich. I am actually wondering now if you expect to find a 2-4 or 10-year-old house with your requirements or at the price of 350,000. Everyone who owns such a house... let’s say up to 10-15 years old... wants to get back what they invested in building the house. And that is definitely more. So I see things differently and also see potential houses. Yes, you have to put quite a bit into a house from '68, but that is time-limited and would still be “included in the price.” Also, one should not outright dismiss terraced houses and semi-detached houses.

ancient junk (70s and older) for significantly less than €200k but a bottomless pit

Every day a fool gets up.

As much as I enjoy reading your comments, something like this really puts me off. You have to invest quite a bit of money, yes, (replacement of windows and heating, bathroom renovations, electrical work, not to mention floors and kitchen) but this fact does not make a house junk. And it doesn’t have to take forever either if you don’t want to do it all yourself. Besides, I would like to see you when the new generation calls your house junk in 15 years, even though everything is still fine. Be glad you’re not able. You are now the owner of a new build and everything else is sh**. That’s how it reads.

A house is a shell on a foundation. The walls and the roof structure should last a hundred years – the interior can be replaced.

So, I also made an effort and simply searched in Grevenbroich.
I’m really wondering now if you expect to find a 2-4 or 10 year old house with your demands or the price of 350,000. Anyone who owns such a house... let’s say up to 10-15 years old... wants to get back what they put into building the house. And that is definitely more.
So I see it with different eyes and also see potential houses. Yes, you have to put quite a bit into a ’68 house, but that is limited in time and would still be "included in the price."
Also, one should not dismiss terraced and semi-detached houses right away.

As much as I enjoy reading your comments, such things really put me off.
You have to put quite some money in, yes (replacing windows and heating, renovating bathrooms, electrical work, not to mention floors and kitchen), but this fact doesn’t make a house junk. And it doesn’t have to take forever if you don’t want to do it all alone.
Apart from that, I’d like to see you if the new generation calls your house junk in 15 years, even though everything is still fine.
Be glad that you’re not able. You are now the owner of a new building, and everything else is sh**. That’s how it reads.

A house is a shell on a foundation. The walls and the roof structure should last a hundred years – the interior can be replaced.

Don’t overreact , I’m not doing so either.

I would have also liked to take a resale property from the early 2000s. So who is talking about 15 or 25 year old houses? Not me!

As I wrote, I see houses that are older (meaning older than the 70s, which I also mentioned) or 50 years old as in need of complete renovation. Which they are, after all.

This is not meant to disparage the effort required for construction nor the strength needed for maintenance including financial aspects over the years.
But it is what it is. Painting and wallpapering after 50 years is not enough.

Depends on the condition of the maintenance and how much one wants to change about the house before moving in.

I know houses from the 70s and 80s that are not complete wrecks. They are lived in, maintained, theoretically a can of paint is enough. The rest is redone when broken.

Most people replace new floor and wall coverings before moving in, regardless of how old the house is.

I would not call a house from the 70s a demolition, but things like water pipes or electrical work can definitely need to be done, and these tasks are not exactly low-effort. These are also things that have nothing directly to do with the normal state of maintenance.