New construction and financing - now or in 2 years or never?

Hello everyone,

my wife and I were lucky or unlucky today to be allocated a plot of land in a new development area by a small municipality.

Plot size --> 450sqm
Purchase price without additional costs --> 125,000€
Building obligation? --> yes, within 2 years

Accordingly, I hope for honest answers here regarding the further procedure to assess what would be realistically feasible in our situation right now and whether we should even buy the plot.

What - if my wife should become pregnant - there is a desire for children. My wife would certainly stay at home for 12 months and then resume work from home with about 10 hours per month.

I am happy to answer any questions and hope for your experiences and tips on this.

Thank you very much!!

General about you:
Who are you? Married M / F
How old are you? 36 / 31 years old
Are there children? No
Are children planned? Yes
What do you do professionally? Sales / Assistance
How many hours do you work? 40 / 40

Income and asset situation:
What income do you have (net)? 4500 € (he) + bonuses / 2800 € (she)
How much child benefit do you receive? 0 €
How much equity do you have? 180,000 €
How much of this equity do you want to invest in the house project? 175,000 €

Expenses situation:

Housing costs:
current warm rent 1100 €
Electricity 110 €
Telephone, internet, mobile 60 €

Mobility costs:
Company car with private use available.
Second vehicle:
Car loan (or savings rate for a new car) 50 €
Insurance 55 €
Taxes 10 €
Fuel 100 €
Repairs 100 €

Insurance costs:
Household insurance 10 €
Liability insurance 10 €

Living costs:
Groceries 600 €
Restaurant costs 150 €
Care/drugstore 100 €
Medication 20 €
Clothing 100 €
Club fees/gym 20 €
Miscellaneous 50 €
Netflix 20 €

Savings contributions:
Holiday 400 €
House 500 €
Miscellaneous 50 €

Income and expense totals:
Total income 7,300 € excluding bonuses (about 10,000€ net per year)
Total expenses 3,615 €
Balance 3,685 €
thereof total cold rent and dispensable savings 820 €

So you want an assessment for the realistic case that your wife "only" works 10 hours from home and you are basically the sole earner. Then let's take 400k as a loan for the house construction. That would currently cost about €1,600. Mathematically quite feasible (and also in real life). If the house is to be large, elaborate, luxurious, or similar, of course, it will cost more. I have calculated small with 125sqm.

In principle, I would like to calculate like this for now.
Let's assume the following - my wife will get pregnant next year.
And after 12 months, she will go back to work from home for 10 hours.

I would like to estimate the house at 160 sqm calculated with --> €3,200 per sqm --> costs for this €512,000
In addition, a garage and garden development would still come. Estimated €50,000 + €20,000

Should we buy the plot first and keep saving, or can we already start with the planning?

Have I forgotten anything in the costs?

What - if my wife should become pregnant - there is a desire for children. My wife would certainly stay at home for 12 months and then start again from home office with about 10 hours per month.

I would like to plan a house with 160 sqm calculated at --> €3,200 per sqm --> costs for this €512,000. In addition, there would also be a garage and garden expansion. Estimated €50,000 + €20,000.

But that doesn’t add up when viewed with common sense! There are also additional construction costs of 30-50 thousand on top, then the paving of the terrace and the driveway. You estimate a garage at €50,000? That may be realistic for a masonry double garage with all the bells and whistles, but I would lower the expectations a bit and plan a simple concrete garage in this situation. Or leave it out entirely at first and wait to see where the child planning takes you. In recent weeks and months, there has been more and more discussion about whether 160 sqm is necessary for 4 people, and why a family can also be happy in a 109 sqm semi-detached house. There are also livable square meters in between. For me, the desire for children and the intended mini part-time work would be too risky and I would approach it somewhat more realistically.

In my opinion, planning can begin. 2 years is not much. In that time you can still save about 90k and optimize the house a bit. Until the house is built, you can also postpone having children a bit. How much rent is included in the costs? With the equity, the installment is hardly higher than the rent.

Thank you for the input. The rent is currently €1,100 including heating. Electricity is added on top.

In 2 years, it should basically be visible - that construction is taking place on the property. That was the wording.