Is purchasing a house and complete renovation affordable?

we mainly want to have a bit of privacy... I can go out into the garden and no one around directly watches me. In most new housing developments, one house is lined up after the other. Sure, they have a small lawn area, but everyone can look into the garden and even into the house. That is no longer privacy for us.

Our plots are still around 650sqm, so that is still okay. I wouldn’t want to build a single-family house on 350sqm either, as there would only be a 3m clearance strip left. 350sqm is okay for a semi-detached house. And on the topic of "in old age": One does not automatically become frail at 70 and stop leaving the living room. Someone who is currently in their mid-30s has a good chance of living beyond 90, mostly in good health. Of course, at 75 you take a few more breaks and might trim the hedge over two days. But that doesn’t matter, after all, you have seven days of retirement per week and don’t have to fit everything into one Saturday like a 45-year-old. And if you don’t want to do the work yourself, there is always the option to give teenagers from the neighborhood a little side job. With a low-maintenance garden, that is not a money pit either.

I can understand the objection that after 25 years one no longer has the willingness to maintain such a large garden.

That also depends on the person. My sister has now been in her own new build for over 20 years, the place is paid off, she now works fewer hours and is currently really enjoying her garden in this phase of life. She also does not have the expectation that every little herb must be picked. But you can sit very comfortably in her green idyll, and the vegetables she grows herself taste great. =) As long as one is lucky enough to be physically able to do so, many older and aging people also enjoy their garden. Perhaps especially then, when you no longer have to make a career for 10 hours a day. ;)

And in times when people become more aware of the exploitation we carry out with fruit/vegetable imports from near and far, it drives some to start growing a little for themselves again. And thus become seasonal and regional ;)

And in times when people become more aware of the exploitation we carry out with fruit/vegetable imports from near and far, it drives some of them back to growing a little for themselves. And thus becoming seasonal and regional ;)

So crops definitely won’t come into my garden...

These are all secondary questions. The OP wants to finance about 500,000 euros. And contribute approximately 180,000 euros as equity. For 130 sqm of living space. And children are planned, so that in the meantime the net household income will be around 4,000 euros. That is already borderline and the question remains whether the property can maintain its value in the end.

These are all secondary questions. The original poster wants to finance around 500,000 euros and contribute about 180,000 euros as equity.
For 130 sqm of living space. And children are planned, so that in the meantime the household net income will be around 4000 euros. That is already borderline, and the question remains whether the property will retain its value in the end.

You are absolutely right about that, but the question is what the alternative is. New construction (including condominiums) in the area certainly not, buying another existing property neither. That leaves renting, and Karlsruhe is no cheap place for that either. And after all, this is a genuine core renovation and not just a bit of sprucing up.