House financially feasible at about 5,000 net?

Hello everyone,

since my boyfriend and I have now developed a desire for our own home, but we are currently overwhelmed by the prices, we wanted to see if a house is even feasible for us. We don't have anything concrete in mind right now, but rather in 1-2 years, since that takes time. For us, the question is whether we can even fulfill the dream of owning a home or if we have to say goodbye to it already. (Both building and buying are options for us, but no condominium ownership.) We are located in northern NRW/OWL - so probably still affordable, but almost unimaginable for us.

Therefore, we would appreciate an assessment.

General information about us:

[*] How old are you? Still 26/27
[*] Are there children? no
[*] Are children planned? Yes, 2
[*] What do you do professionally? He: self-employed in sales, she: lawyer
[*] How many hours do you work? both full-time 40

Income and asset situation:

[*] What income do you have (net)? He: 1850, she 3050 (he will change jobs in the foreseeable future, then rather 2,000-2,200)
[*] How much equity do you have? About 65k, but about half in stocks (He about 50k, she about 15k - to explain, I (she) have only been working for almost 2 years, the first year for 1000 net less, plus just paid cash for a car for 15,000)
[*] How much equity do you want to put into the house project? No stocks, only cash about 20-25,000, whether house, furnishing or incidental costs is not concretely planned
Expenditure situation:

Mobility costs (2 paid-for cars):
- Insurance: 67
- Taxes: 15
- Fuel: 120
Subtotal rounded: 205 euros

Insurance costs:
- Liability insurance 10 (currently 2 insurances)
- Glasses 10
Subtotal: 20 euros

Current housing costs:
Cold rent 828
Additional costs 160
Electricity: 60
Internet: 45
Subtotal rounded: 1,100

Living costs
- Food + drugstore 300
- GEZ, Netflix, Spotify: 50
- Gym: 20
- Other leisure: 300
Subtotal: 670

In addition, we often go on vacation, which so far has been paid from the savings account, for which I would generally budget 500/month in the calculation

Savings
- She: 1500 daily allowance + 200 ETF
- He: 500-700, not directly set aside, but remains in the account, therefore fluctuating
Subtotal: 2,200 euros

Income: 4900
Expenses: 2000
(Expenses including vacation 2500)
Savings: 2200

Thank you!

Hello,

the costs for two cars seem too low to me. But overall, your calculation, as of today, adds up well. If you both get a salary increase, your expenses will follow. It's basically a natural law, but it doesn't matter for now, it can be adjusted later. However, what I would like to give you as a food for thought is the situation when you go on parental leave. Since you are the main earner, it might initially be quite challenging. And children are children. The best plan is worth nothing there, returning to work quickly. It may work, it may not.

From the gut, I would advise you to keep a close eye on your finances now and try to establish a certain and measurable savings rate so that in 3-5 years you will have accumulated more equity. Ideally, the children will already be there and cared for by then. That would give me the necessary security that, in my assessment, you currently do not have.

To be able to assess this, I specifically lack your plan / the price level at which you want to buy/build.

Additional food for thought: If you build now, you are building a house based on your current needs and not on the needs of your offspring / of you as parents. These needs are only learned once the children are here, at least that is my experience...

Additional food for thought: If you build now, you are building a house based on your current needs and not on the needs of your offspring / of you as parents.
You only learn these needs once the children are there, in my experience...

I rather see an advantage in building without children. Once you have children (toddlers), you can hardly accomplish anything on the side, keyword own contributions. Also, not everything has to be finished immediately.

Otherwise, great starting position. The young age is also a big plus.

Hello,

the costs for two cars seem too low to me. But overall, your calculation, as of today, adds up well.
If both of you get a salary increase, your expenses will also increase. It’s practically a natural law, but it doesn’t matter for now, that can be adjusted later.
What I would like to give you as a food for thought is the situation when you go on parental leave. Since you are the main earner, it might become really challenging at first. And children are children. The best plan is worth nothing, quickly going back to work. It might work, it might not.

From my gut feeling, I would advise you to keep a precise eye on your finances now and try to establish a certain and measurable savings rate so that you have accumulated more equity in 3-5 years. Ideally, the children are already here and taken care of then. That would give me the necessary security, which you currently, in my opinion, do not have.

Regarding the cars:
Car 1:
paid off, 2 years old, fully comprehensive insurance 500pa, taxes 100p.a.
I now work a lot from home, otherwise I have an 8km commute, so I don’t refuel every month, therefore an average of 50 euros monthly

Car 2
paid off, 7 years old, partial coverage insurance 300 p.a.,
taxes (approximately) 100p.a., fuel costs about 70 euros/month, about 15km commute.

These are the numbers I come up with, if I haven’t miscalculated.

Regarding parental leave:
that worries me a bit as well, that more than 1,000 euros would be missing then. However, we would also share the parental leave, I 6-7 months, he the rest. I definitely don’t want to stay home forever.
However, it is quite certain that the property should come first, then children.
Child in about 4+ years.

To be able to assess this, I am missing your specific plan / the price level where you want to buy/build.

Written above northern NRW/ OWL,
I envision a 140/150m2 single-family house with at least some garden – we both grew up in single-family houses with big! gardens.

Additional food for thought: If you build now, you build a house based on your current needs and not on the needs of your offspring/of you as parents.
You only learn those needs once the children are here, in my experience...

As I said, we definitely want a property first (in which, of course, children’s rooms would be planned).