Financing Single-Family House 190 sqm - Loan Choice / Feasibility

My wife wants to improve further in her job. This requires full-time work because otherwise she can't manage her work. I personally work full-time because I want to be debt-free as soon as possible. When he starts school, I will be almost debt-free. Then I can go part-time.

It would be much better the other way around. But it’s your decision. Even when my wife had to do video lessons from home during Corona times, she never sent the little one to school when given the choice. But as I said, to each their own.

It’s not that I think you are harming your child (although the studies regarding children under two are different, but that’s not what I want to get into), I just fundamentally don’t understand why I would have a child if I already know beforehand that I will only see them for three hours a day. Especially the time when they are so small and developing, learning, curious, becoming little personalities – I wouldn’t trade that for any career in the world. Nine hours is just really, really a lot.
I currently work eight hours, my little one will soon be two. Starting in autumn, I will probably increase to 16 hours. I don’t want more as long as she doesn’t go to kindergarten. We have also planned our house and financing in such a way that this is easily possible.

And how much time does your husband spend with your child?

At 7:45 a.m. my son goes to daycare. I pick him up around 4:15 p.m. Usually, we spend one to two hours on the playground. After that, it’s home routine. Around 9-9:30 p.m. it’s bedtime. I go to bed with him. That’s 5 hours, not 3 hours. On weekends I don’t work. I do my sports either when the two are still sleeping or when he is at grandma and grandpa’s. So what.

Your working hours are really a luxury. It also does not correspond to the general standard here (other parents in the daycare). The standard there is 40 hours for the man, 30 hours up to full-time for the woman.

And how much time does your husband spend with your child?

At 7:45 a.m. my son goes to daycare. I pick him up around 4:15 p.m. Usually we spend one to two hours on the playground. After that, it’s home time. Around 9-9:30 p.m. it’s bedtime. I go to bed with him. That makes 5 hours, not 3 hours. I don’t work on weekends. I do my sports when the two of them are still sleeping or he is at grandma and grandpa’s. So what.

Your working hours are really a luxury. They also don’t correspond to the general standard here (other parents at the daycare). The standard there is 40 hours for the man, 30 hours to full-time for the woman.

My husband works from home. Of course, if he didn’t, he would also spend significantly less time with her (could). But if we both wanted to work 30 to 40 hours, we wouldn’t have decided to have a child. In my opinion, that just doesn’t fit together. But of course everyone is different.

Thank you for your many opinions/impressions on the topic of part-time work, parental leave, etc. Ultimately, however, we should not get too caught up in the details of your child-rearing and childcare concepts. We are now increasingly leaning towards the 15 years, for example, even though the security is somewhat lacking. But the interest rate jump for 5 years is already very steep. Besides, I do not think that interest rates will continue to rise as they have in recent months, and I consider a settling at 3.5 - 4.5% likely. This speaks in favor of the shorter fixed interest period when viewed over the term.

Based on 23k for the kitchen, I would even question the one with the mid-range. What amazes me even more is how you can build such a large house for that price, even in Saxony.

Please be more specific regarding the own trades. Only at the carport will you not be able to save hugely.

Unfortunately, prices are rising enormously. That is why a 23k kitchen can now also be considered mid-range. For example, the kitchen manufacturer we selected increased its prices by 7.4% on 01.06., Bora, and Siemens each also by about 8%. If costs explode and exceed the buffer, we would also be willing to cancel the carport completely for the time being.

The carpenter is also taking over the roof truss and the timber construction of our single-story extension (living/dining/kitchen area). Other acquaintances work in drywall/interior finishing and as electricians, so I also hope to be able to assist with these trades. These are not huge levers, but every little bit helps.

If architects cannot do one thing, it is good estimating. (Some can’t even plan well ;).) A financing based on cost estimates is not recommended. The bank certainly won’t either. So, first gather the actual costs, then “let’s see.”

I have already plausibilized the cost estimate for "sewage, water, sanitary" (around 21k net) and the heat supply systems (around 25k net) with a friendly company for building services and bathroom planning. The estimate for the roof was also considered not unrealistic by a roofer.

But there are simply areas where this is quite normal. A friend lives in France, where part-time with children is apparently not so common either. And the OP is from Saxony. It’s probably similar there if I remember correctly.

That’s exactly how it is. The difference between the "old" and the "new" federal states seems enormous to me in this regard as well.

Unfortunately, prices are rising enormously. That is why a 23k kitchen can now be considered mid-range. For example, the kitchen manufacturer we selected increased their prices by 7.4% as of 06/01, and Bora and Siemens each by about 8%.

I think our kitchen is already quite decent mid-range at 15k, with a steam oven, induction cooktop, almost all BSH appliances and one Miele. Lots of storage space. Ordered at the end of April from a small kitchen store in the next small town, so probably not the cheapest. If you add another 50% on top, then even with a 10% price increase it is no longer mid-range but upper class. Or our understanding of mid-range differs greatly. For me, it’s less about the kitchen itself at this point. It’s more a stand-in for the overall furnishings. At 2300€/sqm you have very little room for expensive tiles, elaborate electrical fittings, etc.

My wife wants to improve in her job. This requires full-time work because otherwise she can't manage her tasks. I personally work full-time because I want to be debt-free as quickly as possible. When he starts school, I will be almost debt-free. Then I can go part-time.

And then you won’t go part-time because after fully paying off your debts you’ll still want to build a financial buffer. After that, you’ll want to build another buffer for the child or possible university studies, and before you know it the child has already left the house and has no interest in having the parents around anymore. And then part-time work won’t pay off anymore because you’ll want to build further reserves for retirement and you won’t have any reason to do it...