Purchase of a terraced house - I need your advice

I would assess the entire situation differently if the wife were already working again and the costs for childcare were already known.

You basically have great equity, but I consider financing 280k with less than 2500 euros to be very risky.
In addition, although you have a turnkey house, you didn't mention anything about the fittings.

My first house was also a terraced house from a developer, and I paid about 2000 euros more just because of the electrical installation, and that was no luxury equipment! You shouldn't overlook that either.

The only thing I could "rationalize" is if you are sure, for example, that your wife will start working again in 3 months and the house will only be handed over next year. That way, the income situation could ease somewhat until the start of the financing.

Otherwise, my feeling would be: not to do it.

You wanted to finance around 290k with 2390 € net?? Sorry, the internal household calculation of the banks alone ruins your plan. Half goes for personal allowances + operating costs.

How did you save the 70k?

When will your wife go back to work?

If even one stone falls aside, the financing collapses

Notary and property purchase should be more like 8.5%, not 8%. What happens to the remaining debt of €7,500 after 5 years? Follow-up financing is rather unlikely for such an amount. They then have to have the cash available or take out a consumer loan (provided creditworthiness is still given in the household budget). Remove this component, 1% over 5 years is not really attractive anyway.

Total costs minus own contribution: €343,975.68

I read through your first thread from 2 years ago earlier: back then the banks would give you €280,000. However, that was two years ago – your salary has increased, yet the bankers have been saying for months that the banks are probably now doing the calculations with a much sharper pencil.
On top of that, the kitchen and other extras have not been accounted for in any way. Therefore, you should expect a higher burden. The final sum of €20,000 really isn’t much if you are frugal.
You have very low living costs. I assume you are very economical and content. That’s certainly fine, but I think that when the child gets older, those costs will also increase. This might then be covered by your wife’s additional income, e.g. the daycare costs, but also other expenses.
As a result, there will be no more available for an apartment/house than there is now.

I mean my suggestions from this morning seriously: why buy an expensive new-build property when it can also be done more cheaply?
Three years ago before building my house, I sold a terraced end house myself: that ERH was exactly right for my circumstances at the time and my modesty towards the bank and life when I bought it. Ready to move in, with some changes here and there by applying new paint to the walls and door frames. The bathroom was renovated two years later. Five years later then a new carpet. Little by little nice new small things made the home gain charm.
When I sold it, people were lining up: not everyone was still interested, but some couples saw exactly what it was: a cozy home where there was still something to be done here and there. But: everything was possible, even with a small budget. They saw the potential as I did back then, to make something special out of the house with paint, new elements, a new terrace, and nice furniture. The most important thing: it was affordable, and you didn’t have to worry about the money.

Therefore: look around your market: if one house is offered for €250,000 today, the next one will be sold for €230,000.
Visit the houses and look for common defects. For your first inspection, you don’t need an expert. You can superficially evaluate the individual houses from the same building group yourself. Price, house layout, plot, surroundings: for a manageable price you will get no less than with a new-build property. You just have to see the potential that you can turn an old-fashioned house into one that can visibly compete with new builds using inexpensive means.

On the subject of salary: your child must now be over 2 years old. You certainly have reasons why your wife doesn’t work.
But if you live as you do, you can’t expect with a "normal" salary in the highest tax bracket to afford it like other dual earners or someone with a much higher income. That’s just the hard pill to swallow. I don’t know anyone from my acquaintances or work circle who hasn’t gone back to work after a year. There was a very interesting thread here recently about the skills a child gains in the situation of being cared for outside the home, one of the most interesting in my opinion – unfortunately posted under a different title topic*

(could someone tell me what we have to expect for 3 people)

Garbage fees, building insurance, household contents (which will increase), water, sewage, property tax... then of course electricity and heating.
Regarding heating: a KFW55 multi-family house will consume less than a multi-family house from 1980, but relatively not much more.

*if there is interest, a participant will certainly help you find where the discussion is.

I canceled today. I am relieved for now. We are aware that the house may cost €250,000 - €280,000. But houses in this price range in Münster are more likely to be in districts like Coerde, Kinderhaus, or Angelmodde. We do not want to go there. Anyone who lives in or knows Münster will understand what I mean. In Münster, the location has long determined the price and resale value. The terraced house in Gremmendorf is already worth much more. From the beginning, it was clear to us that we would not or could not pay off the house. We would have sold it in 20-25 years, paid off the remaining debt, and still had at least half in our pocket.

We will continue to look and hope that prices in Münster will eventually fall. But according to the forecasts for Münster, we can wait a long time for that.

Still, thanks for your advice.

Regards

The decision is certainly correct.

But the "We would have sold it in 20-25 years, paid off the remaining debt, and still had at least half left in our pocket."...

If it were that simple... predicting over such a time horizon is pure crystal ball gazing. It can go well, but it can just as easily go badly. The current expectation of future price development is priced in; on average, from today's perspective, it's roughly a zero-sum game for you. If it weren’t so, the price would be higher.

I also see it among acquaintances... somehow everyone finds a bargain... or convinces themselves of it. That there are basically no bargains in the current housing market... well, everyone is just an exception ;)

On the topic of location: It's the same everywhere; this does not apply specifically to Münster. A good location costs many times more than shabby locations... and rightly so.