Is building a semi-detached house sensible despite low equity with a long loan term?

, thank you for your detailed post. Here are my answers to your questions.

@Starhlemann

1) Are there any loan liabilities?
2) Is the kitchen included in the construction costs?
3) What does the desired interest and repayment rate look like?
4) Is family planning complete?

Regarding 1) No, we have no loan liabilities.
Regarding 2) The kitchen as well as the outdoor facilities are not included in the construction costs. We have saved about 20,000 euros as an additional reserve for this. Many furniture items can be taken over. The outdoor facilities will be done entirely by ourselves.
Regarding 3) Personally, I find the current offer quite decent. It was by far the best we received. Other offers were around 0.2% higher in the interest rate with the same repayment rate.
Regarding 4) No, we would like to have another child in the next 2-3 years.

A household budget has already been made and the expenses analyzed. The tip about the external examiner of the construction description is good, we will definitely have that done. We have already approached different financing brokers, and the offers come from them as well.

, thank you for your detailed post. Here are my answers to your questions.

Regarding 1) No, we have no credit liabilities. Regarding 2) Neither kitchen nor outdoor facilities are included in the construction costs. For this, we have saved about 20,000 euros as an additional reserve. Many of the furniture can be taken over. The outdoor area will be done entirely in-house. Regarding 3) Personally, I find the current offer quite decent. It was by far the best we received. Other offers had an interest rate about 0.2% higher with the same repayment rate. Regarding 4) No, we would like to have another child in the next 2-3 years.

The household budget has already been done and the expenses analyzed. The tip about an external reviewer for the construction description is good; we will definitely have that done as well. We have already contacted various financing brokers, from whom the offers also come.

20,000 EUR will not be enough for the outdoor facility. Get some offers...

20,000 EUR will not be enough for the outdoor area. Get some quotes..

Well, if you do it yourself... that should be fine. Probably even less, but including the kitchen, it won’t work.
If you have no appliances at all, then budget around 12-15k for the kitchen. That is mid-range.

The outdoor area is also questionable regarding what the general contractor will cover... if there are missing sewage shafts or similar, then that quickly adds a few thousand extra.

Maybe I should have added:
- Kitchen appliances are partly available (oven, hob, dishwasher, plus several small appliances). We might also take part of our old kitchen along with the appliances, but that is not yet certain.
- We currently do not plan to have a garage, since in real life all sorts of things are stored there anyway except the car. We have the option to place two parking spaces directly in front of the house and possibly cover them with a carport. The carport would be optional for us at first.

Our current net monthly income is about 5,500 euros (she: 1,300 euros, I: 4,200 euros). Since my wife is still working as a trainee teacher and will very likely work full-time as a teacher from September, our net income will tend to be around 7,000 euros by the end of the year. Even with planned offspring, the monthly net income due to parental allowance would be 6,000 euros. Monthly fixed costs currently amount to about 700 euros.

Good salaries/expensive plots! But it fits!

If you have 6,000€ available with a child, then with a monthly installment of 2,500€, you still have more left (namely 3,500€) than someone who has a total income of 3,500€ in the cheap North (during parental leave), but only a 1,500€ repayment (because building is cheaper there or the equity is more). This person then only has 2,500€ left.

With a good income in the North (4,500€ for both during parental leave) and an inexpensive house or low financing of 1,000€, everyone would shout: go for it, even though this family wouldn’t have more available than you.

DIY work like painting and flooring, especially the materials, I would at least double.
For the kitchen, factor in 10,000, furniture, lamps and this and that (see construction(side)costs forum) 10,000, and then the exterior with 20,000 for paving and splash protection. And even then it will fit.
Take your time with the child for another two years and pour the earned money into the special repayment.

20,000 EUR will not be enough for the outdoor area. Get some quotes..

How can that be judged so generally? Wouldn't inquiries be more appropriate?

- Can or should these be done as personal labor, for example with football or firefighter comrades?
- How large is the property?
- Including fencing and paving work?

Regardless, I have seen this cheaper than 20,000 euros and not rarely!