House buying - No idea what one can afford

On the topic: We have created an Excel list as an annual overview of all income and expenses. It takes a little effort once, but it’s not that difficult. The list is simply kept up to date, for example when expenses change or when the salary increase comes. Expenses like lunch, gasoline, etc. are included as realistic estimates, which is good enough for us. In any case, this gives us a good and quick overview of our finances: what remains each month, which month has many expenses, etc. The saved money belongs in a daily interest account; it is not speculated with.

We did it similarly, BUT: it is always only a retrospective view! Creating the FC based solely on history is often dangerous. Especially with the first child, so many new purchases come up (balance bike, scooter, bicycle, car seats 1-3, and so on) that you have to plan for somehow. It doesn’t help if you only had €100 in special topics last year. Then maybe 5 friends get married next year instead of just 2, and suddenly you’ve spent €300 more on gifts again. Life is not so easy to plan, so: look at the numbers as a data base and then turn on your brain: What should / will happen in the next years?!

Yes, that can really be worthwhile.

If you can only repay one of the two, that is consumer loans and BAföG, I would rather let the consumer loans run, save up, and then repay the BAföG in one lump sum

So it says repayment 10k limit by law and payment in one lump sum also 10k.

There also seem to be no interest on the 10k, provided the information is correct.

Especially when one has little or no equity and a good monthly income like the OP, it can indeed be more sensible to repay the non-interest-bearing BAföG in installments rather than paying it off in full at once. Of course, you have to calculate this for yourself.
My wife also had the choice back then to repay €10,000 in installments or €8,x thousand in a lump sum.
We did that back then too, but the house construction was still some way off.

However, if instead of 100% financing, it becomes 110% financing and the construction loan increases by €8,x thousand, you will definitely pay the €1,x thousand savings from the early BAföG repayment in additional interest.
I just ran a small example over 10 years with an interest rate difference of 0.2% and a loan that is €8,000 lower. That amounts to a €4,700 interest difference over 10 years.

Yes... good point. The 100% financing always refers to the house value without ancillary construction costs, right?

Here I also read that one has to ask at all whether it is worth saving up the ancillary construction costs first with the low interest rates in order to then finance 100% compared to directly financing 110/120%?

What is your opinion on this?

I see the next status as already mentioned at debt-free, BAföG open. If theoretically one WOULD conclude something immediately at that point; then time would pass until moving in during which money can still be saved. The longer it takes until the final move-in, the more can be saved alongside - possibly a bit less if a child "comes in between". But then rather with a calculation where everything extra is good but not absolutely necessary.

What I do not know right now is from when one has to pledge and repay which amount if one starts construction and can really move in only after period X and does not have to pay rent anymore?

What I don’t know right now is from when you have to borrow and repay which amount if you start a construction and can only really move in after period X and no longer have to pay rent?

The keyword is construction period interest

Yes... good point. The 100% financing always refers to the house value without incidental construction costs, right?

Here I also read that with the low interest rates, one has to ask whether it is worth saving the incidental construction costs first to then be able to finance 100%, compared to directly financing 110/120%?

What do you think about this?

I see the next status as already mentioned with no debt, BAföG open. If at that point you theoretically WOULD take something out immediately; then until moving in time would still pass during which money can be saved. The longer it takes until the final move-in, the more can be saved on the side – possibly a little less if a child "comes in between." But then rather with a calculation where everything additional is good, but not strictly necessary.

You may have to prove your contributed equity at the beginning of the financing when the financing is concluded.

Previously, the 20% equity rule applied. In my opinion, this can be somewhat relaxed with the current interest rates and construction price developments. However, I still do not approve of 110% financings. At least the incidental construction costs should, in my opinion, be paid out of your own pocket.
It should be noted that with a used property, you quickly reach a high loan-to-value ratio more than with a new build, because not all renovation measures are considered value-enhancing.