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

Money invested sensibly will yield significantly more returns than one's own house.

If you approach a property that rationally, selling now is exactly the right move. But then please downsize to a very small cottage, so that you have even more in old age.

If you approach a property so rationally, selling now is exactly the right thing to do. But then please downsize to a very small cottage, so you have even more in old age.

That is exactly my idea right now. Although I get along very well with my pension. Even initially without selling the house. Not having to pay rent helps a lot.

We are actually considering looking for something bigger after not even a year in the new house.

We too have been thinking about making a change since about a year after moving in (so since 2023). So far, we have not found a suitable property or plot of land.

We do not want to get bigger in terms of space, but for us, location would make the price difference. I admire your courage, because €1.6 million is quite a hefty sum, at least for me. I saw a house here for €849k and was already trembling, even though we have significantly increased our income through internal promotions and are slightly above your income level. Therefore, the positive feedback here encourages me to keep looking as well.

In any case, I wish you the best of luck that it works out as you imagine and would be really happy if you report back until the end! Many thanks in advance for that!

What has not yet been answered for me. Why do you want to build even more expensively after such an expensive construction?

What happened, why is there such dissatisfaction

I will not address this here - as already mentioned in the first post - but with a little imagination, several reasons can come to mind, or not?

True, you do not want to address that.

Personally, I can understand ’s question. Because there are plenty of people who first experience a satisfying feeling of fulfillment over years.
And in this case, return on investment is of secondary importance, as it concerns the (feeling of) happiness.

I admire your courage, because 1.6 million euros is quite a hefty sum, at least for me.

Only in your head. After all, the 1.6 million is offset by only 860k in debt. That’s a much better balance than a 400k property with 350k in debt. Even better would be 5 million in debt and 15 million in properties. It’s all relative. Objectively, no courage is needed for this. Anyone can "objectively" sleep peacefully. What could happen? Both lose their jobs and have to sell the house? So what? With the surplus, you can live many years without a job. The one with the 400k property and 350k debt falls straight into a deep welfare hole if he loses his job. Even if he thought before that he could sleep well with a small loan.

Exactly, discipline is required here. It is true that ownership is better than having nothing at all. A forced savings rate, so to speak. In this specific case, it is obvious that there is no overconsumption. Money properly invested will yield significantly more returns than the house itself.

Especially since more than 200k in incidental costs are already sunk into the ground in total. This is certainly not a good investment, but simply a lifestyle decision, and it should be viewed that way. Anything else is wishful thinking.