Good evening everyone,
for the sake of clarity: I am the OP. Many thanks for the numerous comments, suggestions, and hints.
One thing upfront: The house really exists and no, of course no leasehold. With the 50 km I probably rounded somewhat generously (it is actually almost 70), but the 50 km to a large Bavarian automobile manufacturer (not that I want to get a warning for unauthorized advertising ;-) is quite accurate. The house is located in the district of Landshut and of course you won’t find it on the well-known portals. Only what doesn’t sell quietly under the table ends up there. The price development here is steeply upwards. Munich Airport, the Dingolfing site of the aforementioned automobile manufacturer, and of course the proximity to Munich. As I said, half the region drives daily on the A92 towards Munich and then spends the last few kilometers in a traffic jam. Fortunately, we don’t have to do that since we work here in the region.
The discussions were mainly about the costs I underestimated for the child/children or, more generally, the (too) low estimated flexible costs. We really don’t have expensive hobbies. I play ball sports in a club that costs less than 10 € per month. For that I work as a youth coach and even get a small sum. For skiing, we only have the costs for the ski passes since our best men have a holiday apartment in Austria. And both at the same time we probably won’t be on the slopes in the next 3-4 years anyway. Summer vacations might possibly take a back seat for the next 3-4 years as well. My parents-in-law have a pool. That is probably even more relaxing with 2 small children than at the beach, where you spend more time making sure the children don’t eat liters of sand and that no child gets sunburned. Regarding the idea of saving for the children: both grandparents did not let themselves be deterred from investing a good sum for the little one monthly, so that after school there is definitely a good starting capital available for whatever. Therefore, I currently don’t see any need for that and prefer to put this money into a property that the children will also benefit from.
I also like the idea of being done with the repayment before retirement. After 20 years, we are only 52 and 50 and theoretically still have 15 and 17 years of work ahead of us. So a follow-up financing should still be manageable. And if not, as one user wrote, then we will simply sell.
Well, now we have to sleep on it anyway and then go over a few scenarios with the bank again. Especially with a lower repayment rate at the beginning, which can be increased over time, so that at the beginning there is a bit more money left for the children. If my wife then earns a bit more again, that should be enough. And even if I actually don’t want that, in case of emergency there really are still parents and parents-in-law who would definitely be there immediately. Both have paid-off homeownership (Munich, district of LA) and could quickly lend us some money. But we actually don’t want that. And someday there will probably be a good inheritance, hopefully not too soon. We definitely don’t want to calculate with that.
Many thanks for your many really helpful opinions. I never would have expected such a response, especially not as a newcomer.
Have a nice evening all around!
Matthias