We will need a fence because of our dog. But since the property used to be a garden, it is already partially fenced. Towards the street, we would need to set up something new. In the garden, we primarily want lawn, which is already partially there. Therefore, I think the costs will be limited. We have no high demands, and my husband and father-in-law are handy. Additionally, we live in a village. If you ever need an excavator here, the next neighbor might have one in the garage, and you get a lot of help around here.
Then it's all good. Build a fence and plant a hedge. You can probably get seedlings for free from neighbors; it will just take a few years until the privacy screen is established.
Relying on someone in a village having an excavator in the garage... well... I don’t know if, as an experienced excavator driver (which I’m not), I would let a layperson use my expensive excavator. A lot can go wrong if you don’t know how to handle such a machine... one wrong lever pulled and the facade is wrecked. Or, at worst, a cable/pipe...
I’d rather have a civil engineer lay my rainwater pipes close to the house... or do it myself with a shovel and a few weekends of time...