How to afford building a house and buying land today?

and I lived in New Mexico for a little over a year. The private houses there, if they were not built with Adobe Brick construction, were not designed for the same lifespan as here. Also, missing insulation was compensated by heavy energy input in the form of heat or cold. That makes building as simple as a doghouse. The rest is finish.

Moreover, in large parts of the USA (aside from the big cities) there is hardly any rental market. Of course, the real estate market generally works very differently then.

: With a rental apartment, you have a defined notice period, with a sale you can control the time it takes with the asking price. With a rental apartment, the landlord can also terminate. (Topic security...). How quickly you then find something new could already mentally wear down the pessimistically minded in advance.

: You don’t need an expensive or any own home to be happy. You are right that there are "affordable" (whatever that means) properties around Berlin. This is a house building forum. The people here mostly build houses. This group is not representative and is biased. That has nothing to do with “untrustworthy.”

In THEORY it is also possible to get land + house for 250,000 euros.
But: There are plots of land for under 100,000 in the Berlin metropolitan area.
There are turnkey prefabricated houses for 130,000 euros.

Yes, and what about all the additional costs, such as ancillary construction costs, surveying, garden, garage, etc.? That doesn’t add up. Do you know what the word "turnkey" even means? Look at the existing houses you can get for 250,000€. Does that correspond to your dream home? If yes: problem solved.

You can approach it from two sides: What can I afford, what do I want.
Your financial situation is - sorry for the wording - very bad if you expect a decreasing salary and voluntarily support the family. There really isn’t anything left over and I understand why you want to stay under 250,000€.

So, to put it differently: What are your housing wishes: How would you like to live? How much space do you need? Is an old existing property okay?

Since your wife is a trainee employed real estate agent, you might have the connections and possibilities to snatch a cheap plot or property from someone.

I thought the first answer was unprofessional. I am not a pessimist, but an engineer who understands something about numbers and mathematics, as well as a realist.

What is unprofessional about that?

You only provided rudimentary information. No one can know that you pay alimony. It is legitimate to ask questions. If you get hung up on the term pessimist, you shouldn't ask for advice in an internet forum. You must not be that sensitive here.

in THEORY it is also possible to get a property + house for 250,000 euros.

Nope, neither in theory nor in practice. No new builds. And certainly not for more than two people (family planning).

Now don't come at me with turnkey houses from the internet. You are an engineer, mathematician, and realist. Then do some research on what else adds up to the 130k.

In the first post, I just wanted to sound things out...... the response to the topic is quite large!

I found the first answer unserious. I’m not a doom-monger, but an engineer who understands numbers and mathematics, as well as a realist.

I agree with that.

Many statements were made with: Why not finance 400,000 euros? My answer: Why not just 600,000? You can also spend 60% of your income...!

But who says that it will always stay like it is now with 4xxx euros? Incomes will change and can fluctuate. Certainly: My wife will also become a real estate agent or get this qualification this year. But we are also planning to have children next year: parental leave, then several years my wife will work only 30 hours. I financially support my mother. What about unemployment, phases of illness, etc.? What about upcoming repairs and financial reserves for the house and bad times?

I CANNOT understand why one wants/must pay the rate down to the last cent. I talked about that in my first post. But it apparently wasn’t quite clear, or some overlooked it.

It is possible to build cheaply.
A good friend built a house for his sister and her child. Including the land and additional costs as well as outdoor facilities and 200 sqm of living space, they managed it for 230,000 euros.

But at that price, you really have to do a lot yourself. Starting with the earthworks, sewer connection, on the shell construction with two bricklayers and three free helpers from the circle of friends, unloading bricks with a wheel loader yourself (costs quite a bit per lift if you don’t do it yourself), exterior and interior plastering only two plasterers and again two or three helpers, roofing done by themselves, discount on windows and doors due to connections (“Vitamin B”)... etc.

That’s the next thing, having many acquaintances in the trades cannot hurt either party.
You just have to ask around, compare and organize. A lot of work even before construction and not everyone’s thing.
Of course, a turnkey house is more convenient, but also twice as expensive. And the quality is about half as good.

And honestly, how much do you have to earn to pay off a loan of 400 to 600k??? That’s just pure madness.
There are also other things that count in normal life (car, insurances, saving, small pleasures in your free time like a new bike or other things). You don’t have to put all your energy, strength and money into the house.

So, I’ve read a few threads here and whoever can and wants to... definitely respect. I couldn’t do it.

And honestly, how much do you have to earn to get a loan over 400

Just as much as for the apartment with 1,250€ cold rent. With almost the same problems as the homeowner - rising rents in addition.

Nope, neither in theory nor in practice.
No new construction. And certainly not for more than two people (family planning).

Actually, yes!