It doesn't work without equity - experience!

We were also raised to only take out loans really for homeownership. We paid off a €180,000 mortgage in 10 years. Every possible special repayment was used and simultaneously the remaining amount was saved. Then we knew that we could be disciplined. Now for the house and renovation, we had €200,000 saved as equity and €300,000 is financing over 10 years. That is a bit more delicate because we are already somewhat older and one of us could get sick. So from the apartment sale, another €100,000 was set aside for contingencies. In the past, I didn’t always understand my parents with their frugality education. Today I am grateful for it. Sylvia

Maybe we're just from a different generation, we are young (26 and 28), will have paid everything off in 25 years and can still really let loose long before retirement age.

I am in my early thirties, my husband still under thirty, so I wouldn’t call us a different generation. We were raised conservatively and still are. Some might call us petty, but we have "learned" that you can and should only spend the money you have. That still applies to us, whether for consumption, furniture, car, etc....
It’s clear that hardly anyone can pay for a house out of petty cash. And we too should, even if not everything goes smoothly, be finished paying off well before retirement age. So it’s not like I can’t sleep anymore, but there is always a certain underlying uneasy feeling (especially due to various experiences of relatives/friends, where everything from long-term unemployment/illness/disability/divorce and corresponding financial losses is involved – and that can happen faster than you think).

And if complications should arise anyway – who knows what will happen tomorrow? – it’s tragic, but also not the end of the world. The supposed debts are covered by the property; of course only if the sky doesn’t fall on your head

I absolutely agree with you there. Those who have a solid real estate financing can’t have much happen to them. The outstanding loan balance should always be significantly lower than the corresponding current value of the house. Despite everything, I hope it will never come to the point where you have to consider selling your own little house.

We have now solved it like this. 2 loans: 300k for 30 years, 50k for 10 years. After these 10 years there is an outstanding debt of 28k, and refinancing this "small" amount is no problem, even with an interest rate of 8% or more. Our average interest rate is 2.3%, equity 80k...1150€ repayment with a net income of 4000€ and one child, soon 4500€. But we were also told that it would have looked bad without equity.

Maybe we are just a different generation, we are young (26 and 28), will have everything paid off in 25 years and can still have a blast well before retirement age.

Are you sure about those numbers? With a 350k loan at 2.3% and a rate of 1150€, I calculate a term of about 38 years. For 25 years, the rate would rather have to be 1500€...

Yes, I also forgot the ST starting from 2017. As soon as I work part-time again, 400-500€ per month will be transferred to the construction account by standing order.

We actually have hardly any relevant equity. We have a total of €420k from the bank, with around 2.2%. But interest rate security over the entire term. We will reach just under 29 years if no special repayments are due, with about €1600 per month.

We actually hardly have any relevant equity. We have a total of 420k€ from the bank, at about 2.2%. But interest rate security over the entire term. It will take just under 29 years if no special repayments are due, with about 1600€ per month.

Respect. But nothing must go wrong. Or you are a civil servant. Then it is, of course, more relaxed...

Edit: I also like to calculate how much gross money I have to earn. For our 500k loan, including interest and taxes (assuming an average of 30%), I come to about 850k euros. Pretty tough...