Single-family house financing €950,000; loan amount €750,000, equity €200,000

The question is what you can even get in the area. If the situation is as described, you might just have to take the huge house.

Even in regions with a very tight real estate market, something comes up from time to time. People die, get divorced, and move every day. With this substantial equity in hand, it shouldn’t take too long until the next opportunity arises, which might be somewhat easier to finance.

The OP also mentions the option of special repayments several times. I still have the words of our mortgage advisor in my ear: "90 percent intend to do it, but only 5 percent actually do."

Paying off heavily for 20 years and still having over 300,000 euros outstanding in your early 50s is really tough. The question about the interest rates in 20 years can only be answered by saying that they won’t be any cheaper than they are today. Sure, salaries increase over the years, but other daily necessities also become more expensive. In 20 years, oil changes and tire replacements will cost what a major inspection costs today, etc.

It is really very, very difficult to give good advice when you could get two turnkey houses in your own region for this amount...

I personally am a big fan of having a house paid off by retirement. Because then the salary decreases further, you need money for the lots of free time, and at the same time, major repairs could be due, for which the little free money should continue to be spent or even new loans may become necessary.

But if the property is really so stable in value and cheap because of the good location, then maybe you really have to finance heavily into retirement. Nice and with minimal repayment. That is of course very risky if interest rates should rise. That won't happen tomorrow and overnight, but who knows what will happen politically and economically in 20 or 30 years. In case of doubt, the place will then be sold. Anyway, if you plan like that from the beginning and are already mentally prepared to take this emergency step, then why not? You then permanently live rent-free with the bank ;)

This is Munich - you totally lose perspective on what is realistic. And everyone does it. And everyone knows someone who did it that way - but very few openly talk about how much the often wealthy parents or grandparents contributed. Or contribute to the children. I know of friends (both civil servants, she has been on parental leave for four years) who bought a 1960s terraced house for 1.2 million. They do pay the monthly installments, but everything else was paid by their parents. Their parents finance all the grandchildren’s special expenses and their savings plans for university.

No, exactly not! 50 km away from Munich, it has nothing to do with Munich at all. As long as we don't know the location and standard land value, it’s all speculation.

It's a high amount, but for the Greater Munich area it will be difficult to find something cheaper. The bank's conditions for 80% financing and 20 years of fixed interest rates are a dream. Your income and place of residence are stable and crisis-proof (so no sudden moves requiring a forced sale). In the worst case, in 20 years the interest rates will be so high that the 300k follow-up financing won't work. Then you sell the house again for the million, take out 300k, and buy a nice apartment with it. The children will then be 20 and maybe a small "guest room" is enough for weekend visits. If you like the house and want to live in it - I would do it!

...and "the safest job in the world" - as someone wrote here - is also the civil servant job with the highest rate of early retirement and occupational disability. Almost 50% of teachers stop working long before the retirement/pension age. With an increasing tendency. The job is indeed secure, but the pay scale also shows what the maximum is - without bonuses or promotions. I wouldn't sleep peacefully there anymore.

highest rate of early retirement and occupational disability. Almost 50% of teachers stop working long before the retirement/pension age. With an increasing trend.

Teachers currently stop working so early because they can afford it, occupational disability is significantly easier to achieve than incapacity for work for ordinary workers/employees, and you get significantly more money