House construction financing - Assessment of the financing framework for house construction

Thank you very much for your feedback, which fundamentally supports us in our planning!

We will see what municipal properties will hopefully be available to us in the end and - if possible - of course look at the price. Ultimately, however, we have to be happy to get anything at all and cannot be too choosy.

PS: Regarding OGS, I have already inquired as well. Currently, with our income, we would be paying €221 monthly plus catering costs. Fortunately, this is only a one-time payment, even if two children attend the care. Increasing hours for my wife would definitely be possible and will certainly happen at some point. We have to see how “necessary” it is and how everything settles once the transition from daycare to school life takes place.

Exciting post, I find many parallels to our conditions (income, expenses, land, construction costs, etc.) and perspectives (income increase seen only as inflation compensation, career practically considered "completed," etc.). We were just lucky to close at 1.3% interest, so we pay significantly less in monthly installments, which leads to a higher savings rate.

I think financially this is very feasible for you. You have expenses well under control and if necessary, you can certainly still adjust a bit if priorities shift.

Personally, I would always tend towards a detached single-family house if you can afford it, which is obviously the case for you.

What I’m still interested in is whether the €350,000 equity currently generates no return? You said most of it is readily available. Hypothetically, if I converted €300k into a savings account at 3.3%, that would be €825 before taxes per month. So about €600/month "net". Accordingly, your current savings rate (or income side) would have to be higher than you indicated. Of course, this disappears as soon as you use your equity for the land purchase.

You currently rent, so you basically don’t have to build maintenance reserves because the landlord pays that through the non-allocable house money. Feel free to calculate €250-300/month for that. Ten years go by very quickly, and the first paint job plus a few new interior doors etc. will be due. We have kids of a similar age; the wear and tear on/in the house is enormous and cosmetic repairs are due relatively early. The property is still too young to just "live it off," and you simply do it because you want it to look nice.

We even set aside €500 per month, but that also covers built-in installations like water softening system, ventilation system, solar system components, and heating components. For example, if the softening system is irreparable in five years, the €3,000 for a replacement doesn’t break the bank. Or the aforementioned repainting.

In my opinion, many forget or actively suppress this reserve and then break down in tears when the heat pump hits €20k after 15 years.

You’ve been keeping a household book for some time that reflects your past experiences and expenses. Try hypothetically calculating it for the case you live in a single-family house, childcare costs rise again, or kids go to school and the demands increase a little (and thus the costs). See whether your finances can withstand this "parallel shift," or rather the "stress test" of maximum possible expenses. If necessary, you could lower the repayment to 2%, and if the year goes better than expected, use the special repayment option.

I think that fits without any problem
But one thing caught my eye in your breakdown:

2994 euros per year(!) for vacation trips wtf? Is that realistic?
We spend about 15k and that doesn't even include long-distance trips :o

We spend about 15k and that doesn’t even include long-distance trips :o

How do you do that?
- one week without meals with child to Albania/Macedonia (airport parking, apartments/house, flight, rental car) - 600€
- two weeks in Spain in a holiday apartment at the campsite right on the beach without meals for five people (otherwise travel and accommodation) - 3,500€
- one week in Sicily without meals (airport parking, apartments/house, flight, rental car) for four people - 1,400€
- one week in Dubai/Abu Dhabi without meals with child (airport parking, apartments, flight, rental car) - 1,400€

All already booked for the next four vacation periods (Easter, summer, autumn 2025 as well as Easter 2026).

For 15k I travel exotically across the world 3 times a year.

You currently live in a rented apartment, so you practically don’t have to build any maintenance reserves because the landlord pays for that through the non-chargeable house money. You can easily budget around €250-300 per month for that. Ten years go by very quickly and the first coat of paint along with a few new interior doors or similar will be due. We have kids of a similar age, so the wear and tear on/in the house is enormous and cosmetic repairs become necessary relatively early. The property is probably still too new to simply "live it off" and you just do it because you want it to look nice.

You can also overdo it. Painting a room anew is something you can probably manage yourself, and if the children damage the interior doors so much that they need to be replaced, you should have a serious talk with them so it doesn’t happen again (we’ve had to do that as well). But I certainly wouldn’t replace a door leaf just because of a few scratches. Of course, reserves are necessary. But rather for broken household appliances, car repairs, or the heating system, and not for cosmetic repairs in a new house. Those must simply wait if the money runs out.

We spend about 15k and that doesn't even include long-distance trips :o

Last year we spent 4k for three weeks of vacation (14 days Center Parcs France + 7 days Denmark). + Food, excursions and other expenses. As long as it's not a luxury vacation, I wouldn't know how I could possibly spend 15k in the three weeks we go away each year.