Can we really afford this, and will the bank support it?

We have always managed with less and hardly made any sacrifices, so I think it would theoretically be doable. Whether it is wise is another matter.

Is the old house being kept and rented out or sold?

It is being sold, as he writes.
Does the new one also need to be renovated, etc. pp?

Price of the desired property in Bavaria: 1.6 million € (no broker involved)

We are actually considering looking for something bigger after not even a year in the new house. And as fate would have it, a listing for a new build in our city has just appeared that caught our eye. I don’t want to go into the background and details now – neither about our desire nor about the property.

This topic is about the sober questions: “Can we afford it and will the bank go along with it?”

Numbers, data, facts: - Price of the desired property in Bavaria: €1.6 million (no real estate agent involved) - Equity in the daily allowance account: €250k - Realistic sale price current house: €1.1 million (of which €450k financed and €440k still outstanding) - Loan 1 = Land: €600 installment (1.67% interest, 3,x% repayment, €70k outstanding from originally €140k) - Loan 2 = House: €1,240 installment (1.3% interest, 2% repayment, €440k outstanding from originally €450k) - In fact, we would have to take out an additional €350k loan. About €100k of that is purchase incidental costs. - Income: €7,600 net (2x permanent contracts, 2x child benefits) – bonuses, Christmas bonus, vacation pay, collective bargaining special payments are another roughly €800–1,000 net per month.

For a year now, we have managed to save about €3,500 to 4,000 each month without even trying (we often eat out, have 3 cars, many trips, etc.).

We are interested in how, especially the finance experts in this forum, see the chances that the bank will take over the two existing loans with top interest rates and whether over 40% of the household income alone for the loans is above the acceptable limit for the bank?

Let’s assume we get an interest rate of 3.5% and 2% repayment for the €350k, that makes €1,604 per month.

That would be €3,444 per month just for loans. Then €500 ancillary costs for the house, let’s round that up to €4k per month. That means we would have €3,600 left to live on plus partly contractually and/or collectively agreed special payments of €600/month (excluding bonuses). That’s €4,200/month to live on. We have always managed with less and have hardly made any sacrifices, so I think it would theoretically be doable. Whether it is wise is another matter.