Is the overall cost estimation realistic?

Hello SenorRaul7,

round all values in the ratio up: if you are quoted 2,500 EUR for the gas connection, then include 3,000 EUR in your calculation. Building permit 800 EUR, include 1,000 EUR in the calculation; kitchen 10,000 EUR, include 12,000 EUR etc...

There are items where you come cheaper (rather rare) and items where you come more expensive (mostly). With this approach, you are on the safer side.

Do not be afraid of the higher total sum that results from this. I would be more afraid of an incorrect calculation and additional financing.

Just an example, I have done well with it and could occasionally be happy when it became cheaper.

Regarding financing: The 2% repayment is the absolute minimum and would definitely be too little for me. Take a look at the remaining amounts after the interest rate lock period ends. In case 1, you have been paying for 15 years and still have 228 out of 350 open! In case 2, you have been paying for 20 years and still about half is open! That would be too extreme for me, unless you really manage to make those 5% special repayments often. However, especially the first years are the ones that make noticeable progress here. And from my own experience, I know there are many purchases to be made in the first years in the house. You have 2,100 € monthly available (current warm rent + current savings rate). You could still increase the repayment a bit to 1,400 or 1,500 € monthly. Does the bank offer repayment rate changes? Then you could adjust the repayment to the current life situation.

Hello SenorRaul7,

round all values in the ratio up: If you are quoted 2,500 EUR for the gas connection, then take 3,000 EUR into your calculation. Building permit 800 EUR, take 1,000 EUR in the calculation; kitchen 10,000 EUR, take 12,000 EUR etc...

There are positions where you come cheaper (rather rare) and positions where you come more expensive (mostly). This approach puts you on the safer side.

Don’t be afraid of the higher total sum that results. I would be more afraid of a wrong calculation and follow-up financing.

Just an example, I've done well with this and was sometimes able to be happy when it turned out cheaper.

Hi, thanks for your assessment. I am most uncertain about the item "remodeling." That is really very individual and still hard to estimate now, but I think I have calculated generously with 15,000 EUR (under which I imagine things like special sanitary facilities, higher-quality stair material, and above all more sockets and connections).

I have also calculated very generously on other things. For example, I have included the structural engineer for checks, although according to the construction company, this is not necessary for us. The 5,000 EUR for earthworks is also very generous, since a lot is already included in the base price and the builder knows the soil in our street very well.
But you are right... one somehow has to find the way between "not just sweetening everything" and still being realistic in order not to exceed the total costs and thus the financing.

Regarding financing: The 2% repayment is the absolute minimum and definitely way too low for me.
Take a look at the remaining sums after the end of the fixed interest period. In case 1 you have paid for 15 years and still have 228 of 350 left!
In case 2 you have paid for 20 years and still about half is open!

That would be too extreme for me, unless you really manage to make this 5% special repayment often. However, especially the first years are those that make a noticeable difference here. And from my own experience, I know that in the first years in the house there are many purchases to be made.

You have 2,100 € monthly available (current warm rent + current savings rate). You could increase the repayment a bit to 1,400 or 1,500 € per month.

Does the bank offer repayment rate changes? Then you could adjust the repayment to the current life situation.

Hi!
When I made a table of our income and expenses, I had this thought immediately too. But then I thought further… my wife will eventually stay at home for at least 1 child and earn only a fraction for years (part-time...). Of course, child benefits will come, but also many new items on the expense side that I currently cannot estimate (diapers… how much does a baby eat per month… etc.)

For that reason, I came up with the idea of setting the fixed rate more "loosely" and regulating as much as possible via special repayments. But you are right, without special repayments we’ll definitely be busy paying off for 35 years (depending on how badly the interest rate increases after the fixed interest period)...

Your thought is basically correct and that's how we do it.
Relatively low repayment and then work with special repayments.

However, I would wish for more flexibility. We have one repayment rate change per year free (I believe +2% and -2% from the initial repayment up/down) and 10% special repayment.
I would try to negotiate something like that with the bank.
Although 5% is already quite a lot with your amount. But maybe an inheritance or something will come in someday, and then you would be glad if you were allowed to make a 10% special repayment.

Your thought is basically correct and that's how we do it too. Relatively low repayment and then work with special repayments.

But then I would like to have more flexibility. We are allowed one repayment rate change per year (I think +2% and -2% from the initial repayment rate up/down) and 10% special repayment. I would try to negotiate something like that with the bank. Although 5% is already a lot with your amount. But maybe an inheritance or something will come along someday and then you'd be glad if you were allowed 10% special repayment.

You said it, 5% is already utopian anyway. That's about 17,500 EUR per year, 1,450 EUR per month. If we could afford that, we would be talking about completely different numbers from the start. Therefore, I find the flexibility already okay. But such flexible tinkering with the repayment rate is of course really interesting.

Which option would you tend to choose? Because of the currently low interest rates, would you rather take the 20 years and buy the 5 more years of interest rate security for 0.5% more interest? I always have the special termination right after 10 years in mind anyway, which makes you even more flexible.

I would choose offer 1 and put the monthly difference of 130 euros to variant 2 into an account that is really intended for special repayments. Over the 15 years of variant 1 alone, this already amounts to 23,400 euros without considering the reduction in interest payments. So in the ideal case, after 15 years only about 200,000 euros would remain.