Estimate credit limit for property purchase

Dear home builders and buyers,

I have been reading along in this forum for a while and have already received helpful tips about the house. Now I would like to hear/read your opinions or recommendations about my concrete situation. I am in my early 30s, married, both employed, (so far) one child. At the moment we live in a semi-detached house rented, but want to acquire property sooner or later. I tend to prefer a ready-to-move-in existing property with the idea: buy, move in, carry out minor work on the side (after work, on weekends, holidays, etc.). "Handyman projects" are therefore not excluded, provided they are fully habitable. Since I am quite busy professionally, building a house is too stressful for me right now. However, I do not want to exclude it per se. Our rent including cold operating costs is currently ~1400 EUR, and we are permanently able to pay this amount without having to accept restrictions (net equity ~4000 EUR). My idea is to have the same amount flow into a loan for our own house instead of rent. This should preferably be paid off in 20 years, at the latest by retirement, of course. Is there anything fundamentally to criticize about this idea?

We are looking in the Berlin metropolitan area, the prices are rising almost daily here. My observations suggest real estate prices starting at ~300k EUR. I am talking about a 4-5 room house with average standards and some garden around it. What loan framework should we plan for with a purchase price of said 300k including all ancillary costs? Does the rule of thumb of 16% ancillary costs apply here as well? How high would you go with the purchase price given our monthly equity? Unfortunately, 300k is already at the lower limit; I will probably have to increase it a bit. I am also grateful for further tips and suggestions, possibly also property proposals ;).

Regards, Ruska

With a monthly burden of 1400€, about 340K€ credit should be possible, but then it gets tight. Additional purchase costs (property transfer tax, notary, land charge entry) come extra and you need cash for them, in Berlin about 8% = 27K€ plus broker fee e.g. 4% = 13.6K€.
Equity available?

Gibt es grundsätzlich an dieser Idee etwas zu kritisieren?

Nope. Good luck finding a property.

With a monthly burden of €1400, about €340K credit should be possible, but then it gets tight

What exactly do you mean by that?

Additional purchase costs (real estate transfer tax, notary, land charge registration) come extra and you need cash for them, in Berlin it’s about 8% = €27K plus broker, e.g. 4% = €13.6K
Is equity available?

We already have about 10%, per year we should be able to save about €10-12K. If the right property takes a while, we might reach 20% equity.

Nope. Good luck finding a property.

Thanks, I could use that. Unfortunately, the market situation is anything but rosy :(
There are practically no free plots in suitable locations anymore...

Our rent including cold operating costs is currently about 1400 EUR, we are permanently able to bear this without having to accept any restrictions (net equity ~ 4000 EUR)

I don't quite understand that. The cold operating costs will also be incurred in the future with ownership. In addition, there are things that cannot be passed on; such as the maintenance reserve.

What exactly do you mean by that?

You get a loan of about €340,000 for a monthly rate of €1,400. But I just see that operating costs are already included in the €1,400. That means you don’t get a €340,000 loan, but less. Unless, of course, you increase the rate.

I don't quite understand that. The cold operating costs will still be incurred in the future with ownership. In addition, there are things that are not allocable; such as maintenance reserves.

Good point. Instead of just throwing the term around, I would appreciate a guideline value.