Can we afford a house?

Our house isn’t any bigger either. However, we are getting a basement. The consideration (which we also made) is always this. Now you are young and just the two of you. 140 m² without a basement and a little green space behind the house is wonderful. But what will it look like in 5 years or so? Maybe planning children? Then the 140 m² of living space will probably still be enough, but I think the usable space will get tight. And a big garden for the summer is not bad either.

As I said, that always depends on your area. What you read here is that the plots of land can be extremely expensive. For us the consideration was easier because we only paid about 53 € / m².

What you need to consider in advance when choosing the provider has been well described by the building expert on his page. It didn’t quite fit for us, but it will definitely help you in your decision-making and gives valuable tips.

Regarding affordability, we did it like this:

Open a spreadsheet, a cup of coffee, and the bank statements from the last year. Then first enter everything that goes out each month. Then everything that goes out annually divided by 12 (then you have about the cost per month). Similarly, everything that occurs quarterly / semi-annually.

After that, I would start noting what you otherwise spend on groceries, leisure, etc. each month. That also goes on the list.

Then you first have a rough overview of what is needed each month.

You subtract that from your net income. From that, I would set aside at least 150 € / month to build reserves for repairs, etc. And finally another 100 € / month for insurance, etc.

What is left over then you could use as a basis for financing. An independent advisor can surely quickly calculate what you can finance with that amount.

We have discovered a new interesting building area. In Duisburg Bergheim, ten Brinke is building several houses (with basement+garage), half of them are already standing. However, the turnkey price of a semi-detached house without extras amounts to about €230,000 + notary and property transfer tax. Since we have a large circle of acquaintances and many craftsmen are involved, we want to carry out various tasks ourselves, e.g., floors, sanitary installations, partly electrical work, or paving work. The attic could also be converted by ourselves in a few years. We hope to save maybe €20,000 this way...

Best regards Scheffe

There are certainly ways to finance this. The question is just whether you can afford to pay for it.

As Marit already writes, if there is no equity, where do the >3000€ net per month go?

As an example from us. I created the above-mentioned list for us.

Since we currently live rent-free, if we have a house we still have to reckon with the following additional costs (I don’t know your situation now, maybe you already have these costs every month):

- Water / electricity -> 100 €
- Insurance -> 50 €
- Phone / Internet -> 30 €

per month. Then monthly reserves for garbage collection, chimney sweep, heating costs, property tax, ... about 140 € / month

And as already said. There is nothing set aside to buy a washing machine when the old one breaks down

So far, two independent financial advisors have already verbally promised me financing without equity. I could also imagine that the house bank will reject a loan without equity, but this will be determined next week.

Sure, Dr. is checking everywhere to get his commission. And forget about the interest rate without equity. You will soon need 150% capital. Incidental costs? Outdoor facilities? Why hasn’t anything been saved so far?

Depends on the bank, some also finance 100% debt capital. Of course, with higher interest rates. If you have the chance to borrow a little equity capital within the family, this usually has a positive effect on the interest rate. And if you manage to save the money for a year, you can also quickly repay 10000-20000€ in two years. So, refrain from vacations, clothes, etc. for a while.

Hello,

We have discovered a new interesting building area. In Duisburg Bergheim, ten Brinke is building several houses (with basement+garage), half of which are already completed. However, the turnkey price of a semi-detached house without extras is about €230,000 + notary and property transfer tax.

This offer price is already more realistic, although you should know that this Dutch company constructs its shell a bit more sparsely and can therefore offer these prices. Ten Brinke has developed the former Buckau site in Grevenbroich; you should take a look there on a weekend and ask some of the homeowners about their experiences.

Since we have a large circle of acquaintances and many craftsmen among them, we want to carry out various works ourselves, e.g. floors, sanitary, partly electrical work or paving. The attic could also be converted by ourselves in a few years. We hope to save maybe €20,000 this way ...

Partial electrical work is not possible; either you take this trade completely out or it remains entirely in the contract; the same applies to sanitary work, except for fixtures. For both, one of your acquaintances should have a master craftsman title in the respective trade, because only masters are allowed to connect. If you plan to convert the attic yourself, you should not skimp on the staircase; installing it later not only creates a lot of dirt.

Best regards