Is the income sufficient to purchase our own home?

Hello dear forum community!

My husband and I are quite close to purchasing our own home. Since this is a very exciting undertaking, I occasionally find myself wondering whether we can manage it. Hopefully, that’s normal; after all, it’s about quite a lot.

In advance: We already have the bank’s approval (in the form of the financing commitment, which is already with the seller).

Here are some key data: The house is located in a highly sought-after suburban area in the Ruhr region. We have already been living in this specific town for 3 years as tenants (two streets away from the house), feel very comfortable here, have great neighbors, and short commuting distances. We heard about the sale by word of mouth, so it will be a private sale.

About the house: Terraced middle house, built in ’79, good general condition, new roof, new windows, new front door, 120 sqm living space (excluding attic) on 180 sqm plot (small low-maintenance garden).

Purchase price: 190,000
Additional costs: 14,060
Additional needs: approx. 70,000 euros (bathrooms, attic conversion, new heating system including laying pipes, staircase to the attic, renovation work in all rooms, completely new electrical system).

Income:
Husband (permanent employment): 2200 € net
Wife (civil servant): currently on parental leave, from August income of approx. 2400 € net (at 75% position), switch to full-time possible at any time -> then net income of around 3000 €.
Note: We are currently in the less favorable tax classes, so an annual tax refund of ~ 5000 € occurs.
Child benefit: 184 €
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Total income from August 14: 4784 € (wife part-time) - 5384 € (wife full-time)

So far, all this may sound quite good, but now comes the catch:
We practically have no equity (only a few thousand euros, which do not count).

Of course, the legitimate question always arises why we have not been able to save anything so far with our income and how we want to manage the higher burden in the future.

The reasons are simple, although unpleasant.
Due to BAföG and education loans, debts of about 10,000 euros accumulated.
There was also a consumer loan of 32,000 euros.
In addition, a car worth 15,000 euros was paid off.
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In the last ~ 3 years, my husband and I have thus repaid around 60,000 € of liabilities, which we now miss as equity. However, it should be mentioned that we were very disciplined and paid everything off (except the lease contract) well earlier than necessary (the large consumer loan two years earlier than planned).

We have kept a household budget book for years, where every expense is recorded.
The expenses from August (I will go back to work and the child will go to daycare) are already listed there:
900 € rent
60 € phone
130 € electricity
440 € daycare
600 € private health insurance
160 € other insurance
90 € mobile contracts
45 € gym memberships
160 € lease payment
100 € gasoline (husband drives company car)
25 € savings for son & godchildren
320 € groceries
50 € dog (food & vet)
110 € drugstore (diapers & co, our cosmetics)
50 € hairdresser
100 € his hobby
100 € her hobby
With an assumed total income of 4784 €, we then have 1334 euros "left over".
If you subtract the rent, it would even be 2234 €. Of course, irregular expenses such as clothes or electronics must still be deducted from this. With the increase to full-time, we would have just under 3000 € available (as a primary school teacher, I do feel capable of full-time employment).

The bank calculated a monthly rate of around 1150 €, plus additional costs, so we would probably be at around 1500-1600 per month. I think it looks good from the current figures. Nevertheless, it’s a strange feeling to undertake such a project practically without equity. Justified?? By the way, we are in our early 30s. Our son is 1 year old, and another child is planned at the earliest in 3-4 years (before that I definitely want to work full-time to be able to save accordingly for parental leave). Looking forward to your opinions!

I have listed the "irregular things" for us and was surprised that quite a big bunch has come together there. Kindergarten will eventually be dropped, but there will be significantly more spent on food.

The rate is surely with 2% repayment. If in doubt, you could also lower that a bit, for example if you are on parental leave again, provided the loan allows a change in repayment.

Exactly. The irregular items are naturally also recorded in the household ledger. At the top are basically the expenses that are fixed.

After all, you know where your money went. I assume you will hardly need any new furniture. Whether you manage with the income is up to you. With such an income, it should be doable. You are also virtually untouchable.

That's true. Apart from a wardrobe and a new kitchen (verbleibt gegen Ablöse beides in der jetzigen Wohnung) we don't need anything in the first step. Maybe a bed for the guest room at some point and things like that, but that doesn't cost much and isn't the highest priority.

You need to finance 274,000 for a rate of €1150? That seems a bit low to me...

What happens when the second child arrives? Parental leave for 1 year or longer? Then going back to 75%-100%? Is a childminder an option?

To me, a terraced house in the middle is basically a raised 5-room apartment with a towel-garden. With your income or the rate you can pay, I would seriously consider buying an old terraced house in the middle. Of course, you want to stay in the familiar surroundings. But "elsewhere" can also open up completely new perspectives.