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

  • Erstellt am 2025-04-20 22:51:11

HilfeHilfe

2025-04-24 07:04:22
  • #1


Correct, and anyone who can afford 1.2 million for a house might want to aim a floor higher or become choosy. So I have no idea why one would want to correct upwards by 400k under repeated stress within such a short time.
 

Haus123

2025-04-24 07:39:45
  • #2
Everyone as they like. I consider the matter financially nonsense and emotionally risky. But whoever derives so much consumption from it that it is worth it, only to...

I do not know the background of the OP, but especially nordanney is always characterized here in the forum by downplaying professional risks. We once had an Audi couple here who wanted to build one size bigger than absolutely necessary but could only manage the construction with two Audi salaries. Just 1-2 years ago, I was called a heretic for daring to mention that such salaries are neither a given nor secure forever. It is 2025, and Mercedes is currently sending severance offers to absolutely everyone among the 40,000 administrative employees because they simply want to get rid of as many people as possible blindly. And no, not every Mercedes controller or, better said, Excel pusher will earn 4500 net elsewhere for simple commercial tasks that used to require just training. Not every high earner is actually productive; there can be worlds between one’s own feeling and the actual reality. By the way, the 500k severance pay as compensation is only given to the old guard and not the young homeowners, and half of it goes to taxes anyway. Here and there, much smaller ambitions will have to be baked in the future. Oh yes, Bosch is also closing entire plants next door, and the VW drama was well covered in the media. The Chinese are simply cheaper and by now better, and India is increasingly so as well.

Yes, with enough equity, you don’t go into forced insolvency even with a million-dollar house if the job is lost. But the value of the property can also fall (currently, economic uncertainty in the real estate market is still largely offset by inherited money), and combined with the burned purchase incidental costs, a downturn can really hurt, and in the worst case, it no longer necessarily suffices for a nice family-friendly apartment. Better to be done with the loan early and "live" and meanwhile build up good liquidity (stocks), from which you can then also pay for a good education for the children; the million-dollar mansion, on the other hand, sucks up everything as long as it is not turned into cash. If the blow then hits you, it hurts less. Fewer restaurant visits or going on somewhat cheaper vacations may not be nice, but it is bearable. Having to leave the familiar home, on the other hand, would hurt me badly. But: everyone is different, and maybe everything will go well.
 

MachsSelbst

2025-04-24 08:54:11
  • #3
Yes, I am also not a staunch advocate of the idea that you have to be able to finance your house alone, even if one of the two earners drops out. But if in the end 50% of the net household income goes towards the loan and additional costs and you still have no reserves for repairs/renovations included, then that is pretty tight. And above all: without necessity. You already live in a single-family house and pay only 25% of the household net income for it.

In the current economic situation, one should at least consider that a collective agreement does not protect against dismissal. The case at VW just before Christmas 2024 should have been a wake-up call. It went well that time, but what about next time?

And then you have to say clearly that there are big differences in which employees have relatively secure jobs and which do not. As an employee in field service, in shifts, or in development (shortage of skilled workers or nobody wants to do it anymore), I would worry much less than in administration or among people who "maintain processes."
AI will hit hard in the next few years, and there is no shortage of business economists and other academic windbags on the labor market either.
 

Allthewayup

2025-04-24 09:00:31
  • #4


You probably misunderstood the original post. Therefore, to clarify: The new house is already finished and complete. We are not building again, and therefore there is no "repeated stress."
 

nordanney

2025-04-24 09:22:32
  • #5

No, it is not. Actually not. In that segment, you are no longer a normal consumer and there are professional brokers.

I have enough empathy. I just respond rationally.
Once again back to the initial question that derailed the discussion. High risk due to high credit. And I stick to a rational "NO". can sleep very calmly with the wealth. There is no need for existential fears.
Everyone is welcome to express their emotions regarding real estate and high numbers. But those are and remain emotions.

I consider that a bad comparison with downplaying. But for example, you could also compile statistics on severe violent crimes showing that in Germany it is not really more dangerous nowadays than 20 years ago. But the feeling is very different for many people. Emotions.

Definitely.

It’s also different when a broker gladly receives dozens of daily inquiries about apartments. You don’t manage that, you just mechanically work through the requests.
When I broker houses in the seven-figure range, I actually have lists. And the ad in portals costs four figures+. Serious work is definitely invested there.


But it is different if in the end €1,500 per month remains to live on or over €4k. “Tight” with €50k per year for pure living expenses is somewhat presumptuous (that almost means you must earn €100k gross in tax class 1). Others come into the forum and have that as net income, from which house and living are to be paid.
 

nordanney

2025-04-24 09:39:45
  • #6

But you do know how the real estate market looks like in the metropolises and big cities or how it has developed? Despite the crisis, these areas have (almost) been spared and prices have been rising strongly again for some time. Location, location, location – as always.
And if you can’t find an apartment with three-quarters of a million – then you’re unemployed and no longer tied to a location –, then I don’t know either.

The times of secure jobs have long been over anyway.

Then why build or buy at all if you already have a rental apartment that is also appropriately sized? Taking the “concentration risk” of a property without necessity instead of investing your money sensibly?
A house is emotion. But finances should remain rational.
In the end, has to decide what the new house is worth to him (or the two of them). But there is no particular, big life risk.
 

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