House buying - No idea what one can afford

So I don't see the 3,200 Euro bill for the project that way. That would mean putting all the money left over for 30 years into it, then you couldn't save anything for vacations. And over 50% of the net income for the house also somehow doesn't sound good, right?

Of course I have the documents, it's not like I throw everything away... they're just in a box with everything that is not thrown away.

I gathered from your posts:

[*]You have 6,000€ net income.
[*]You pay 1,200€ rent including utilities.
[*]You have 700€ in loans every month.
[*]And you could save 1,000-1,500€ if you wanted to.

You also shouldn’t spend the entire 3,200 completely on rate + ancillary costs + reserves. But that is the carrot that seems achievable according to your posts. If you set aside the money for 12 months starting today, you will know if it was realistic.

By the way,

I can well imagine that many “non-academics” are better organized in such matters... for me, Monday to Friday only consists of getting up, working, and going to bed. Many things just get left undone. With a child even more so, since every free minute then belongs to the child.

I am at home from 8 p.m., get up at 6:30 a.m. That's not an excuse, others have it too, but we are not the best at it.

Building or buying a house definitely requires quite a bit of time. You must not underestimate that.

Henrik just goes to your local bank and get advice on what you could afford. Then we'll see further.

Prepare yourself that a good banker will say the same thing. Pay off loans and then take out a mortgage.

The worst-case scenario for me would be that after paying off the small loans you get a 110% financing because of very good income.

How high are the small loans and how realistic is it to pay them back within 12-18 months?

So being an academic is a nonsense. I shouldn’t have said that. Completing a degree isn’t really difficult nowadays... I just wanted to create a basic foundation as an image to show that we both have normal incomes and a decent degree.

I can well imagine that many "non-academics" are better organized in such matters... for me, Monday to Friday just consists of getting up, working, and going to bed. Many things just get left undone. With a child even more so, since every free minute then belongs to the child.

I am home from 8 pm, get up at 6:30 am. That’s no excuse, others have that too, but we’re not the best at it.

I have to say something about academics. I did an "Jodeldiplom" in the evening. (that’s what colleagues call it). I now earn my 85K a year. Without a high school diploma but with a Jodeldiplom.

You shouldn’t get a big head about it. There are skilled workers in industry who also bring home 70-85k.

So being an academic is a nonsense. I wish I hadn’t said that. Finishing a degree is not really difficult nowadays... I just wanted to create a basic foundation as an image, so you can see that we both have normal incomes and a decent degree.

I can well imagine that many "non-academics" are also better organized in such matters... for me, Monday to Friday only consists of getting up, working, and going to bed. Many things just get left behind. Even more so with a child, since every free minute then belongs to the child.

I am home from 8 PM, get up at 6:30 AM. That is no excuse, others have that too, but we’re not the best at it.

When do you actually want to take care of the house? I won’t even start on the garden. Well... I’m asking myself that question too. I also have a 60-70 hour week. I haven’t found an answer to that yet. Except maybe: pay for a cleaning service, gardener/landscaper, window cleaner, etc. You probably just lack the necessary money for that alone...

Hello ,

I haven’t read the entire thread (only pages 1-3 and 10-11) – I don’t have the time. Therefore, it’s possible that my answer has already been given to you on the other pages.

I think the majority of users responding here have no problem with the affordability concerning income and financing amount. The problem is rather the fear that you won’t manage to fundamentally change your lifestyle from one day to the next. You wrote at the beginning that you have "normal" living expenses of 1,000 - 1,500 euros. But it does happen more often that the expenses rise to 2,000 - 2,500. Considering that you have not saved any equity, this "happens more often" is probably the rule, and the 1,000-1,500 is rather the exception (I also include vacation under "living expenses").

There are simply doubts whether you will manage to permanently switch and keep your living expenses permanently at the "normal" level you described. Whether you can do this, you have to clarify for yourself. For this, you should sit down calmly together and talk about it calmly, without emotions. It must be clear to you, as well as to your wife, that with the purchase/renovation of the house, your previous life is over. Incidentally, this also includes that you sometimes cook yourself (I manage this almost daily, even though I am out of the house for more than 13 hours a day including the commute).

Occasionally, a tip has been given here that you should take to heart: Keep a household account. You don’t have to record every single position from shopping individually, but you can also summarize them (e.g., groceries XXX). Such expenses as clothes, shoes, etc. should appear individually. That way you see where the money goes (including cash withdrawals). But – and this is much more important: Either you learn "spending discipline" with the household account or not. If you don’t learn it – forget the house thing.

Oh yes: Get rid of the consumer loans – as soon as possible.

PS: I also need suits and appropriate shoes – daily. However, usually one new suit purchase per year is enough for me (also “gladly” sometimes for > 500 euros from the tailor), because the other suits can still be worn after 3-5 years (possibly even longer). And honestly – who needs more than 5 suits?

Hello,

you already have one child and want 1-2 more children. Do you believe that both of you will work full-time with 2-3 children at home? What will they do all day? Sit in the school daycare until the evening? I couldn’t imagine that for my children. If I were you, I would save up first and later see how much you can still afford with children.

Best regards
Sabine