Variable loan possible / sensible?

Exactly,
1. you don't gain much
2. dumbest option
3. I would do it.

Considering what you wanted to tackle in your 1st thread.
Cheers Olli

With option 2, you can definitely forget about the house. With your savings rate, you will never keep up with the price increases.

An owner-occupied apartment (ETW) would definitely be an alternative for me in your position. I still can't imagine your house construction happening in 3 years without significant income increases. With a €600 payment, you would only have €16k equity in 3 years, which is better than now but not great yet. At least the private loans would be gone. I still haven't quite understood why only a €600 payment is possible, but with private loans, rent, and only parental allowance left, it will probably turn out that way.

We save between €3000 and €4000 monthly with comparable income, and so over 2 years with a variable loan, we reduced the outstanding debt by €85,000. That obviously made the whole undertaking much easier. But firstly, for example, we live rent-free, so you can't really compare it with your situation, and secondly, even where we live, many people still find it extremely tight or too tight.

But as you and some others have already noticed, buying land would not be a significant risk. You can simply sell it again in 3 years with a profit/no loss if building doesn’t work out.

Because of the variable loan for the land, the question is still open for us: the comfortable monthly rate of 600-700€ per month during the initial phase probably won't bring us anything. That means in 2-3 years we won't have paid anything off, in other words, we won't have gained more equity. “Only” by doing this we secured a good plot of land in a dream location at a favorable price, improved/ disciplined our lifestyle for the better, and (assumed, but also very likely) increased our income. Whether that will be enough for the banks to enable us to build – that is currently our biggest uncertainty.

The rate also has to be higher. Not can - must. You should calculate around 1000€ per month, at least. Better 1200€. You are currently paying 660€ rent - then plus 1200€ savings into the land. Then you are already at the one-third burden which is still reasonable.

If you "really" get started, there is already some equity in the land. Rough estimate - your project costs 600,000€ including land. In 2-3 years you might manage to put about 50,000€ of the available capital into the land. Then you need about 550,000€ loan, over 20 years you'll be at about 1800€ again if you want to be finished in 30 years. On top of that come additional costs, naturally more than before. Then it goes into the range of 0.33 - 0.4 of household income. Since you can work 75%+ again instead of part-time, you still have an "emergency buffer".

Your goal: 540m2 165,000€ - why go for a condominium there? With a family, not the best way if space is an issue for you.

With option 2 you can definitely forget about the house. With your savings performance, you will never keep up with the price increases.

An apartment (ETW) would definitely be an alternative for me in your situation. I still can’t imagine building a house with your income without significant income increases even in 3 years. With a 600€ rate, you would only have 16k equity in 3 years, which is better than now but still not great. At least the private loans would be gone. I still don’t fully understand why only a 600€ rate is possible, but with private loans, rent, and only parental allowance left, that seems to be how it will turn out.

We save between 3000 and 4000€ monthly with comparable income, and over 2 years with a variable loan, we reduced the remaining debt by 85,000€. That certainly made the whole endeavor a lot easier. But first, we live, for example, rent-free, so it can’t really be compared to you, and second, many people still find it extreme or too tight for us.

Only, as you and some others have already noted, buying land wouldn’t be a significant risk. You just sell it again in 3 years at a profit or without loss if building doesn’t work out.

No, I agree with you — saving and spending need to be in a healthy balance. Something like earning 5K and spending 3K is simply far from reality (for us). A 600-800€ monthly payment is mentioned as the worst case during the variable interest period, and I start from that amount. The question I ask myself is how high the variable interest rate is now. I can’t find an answer to that on Google. If it’s 3-4% interest with only 1% repayment, then of course you don’t build up much equity but just pay the bank. If that’s the case, then the apartment (ETW) would be the most reasonable option in my eyes, allowing us and (not unimportantly) our child to continue enjoying a decent life while having something of our own (so, a kind of compromise between wanting and being able, as I see it).

I still don't quite understand why only a 600€ installment is possible, but with private loans, rent, and only parental allowance left, it will probably turn out that way.

I think the calculation and the intention were rather an installment of 1000€ for the land, with 400€ interest (~2.5%) and then the 600€ repayment. Where all your money is leaking away remains a mystery to me. Rounded figures from post 1: Income: 4300€ (man 2750€, self-employment 250€, woman 1100€ parental allowance, 200€ child benefit) Expenses: 1260€ (280€ car, 100€ consumer credit, 880€ warm rent) Remaining: 3000€ per month (plus more from self-employment, 13th salary etc.) Is it unreasonable to save 1500 to 2000€?

600-800€ installment per month is mentioned as a worst case during the interest-only period, and I start from this amount first.

Let’s compare more numbers together: - Real estate financing for a single-family house with a 600-800€ installment - Your current cold rent of 660€ for a 65m² apartment. To me, this comparison sounds like something can’t be right. How does it sound to you? Or am I overlooking something?

Honestly, I see everything failing because of one's own attitude towards money: you, OP, in my opinion, go a little too quickly and simply over the way of saving. Yes, then you just go to the clearance sale, then you don’t take big trips.
If you really want the house, then you would have done it already? If the house is a new idea that hasn’t been roaming in your head for very long, then say goodbye to your high horse that you can immediately get down to business. Few people here were able to do that.

A frugal lifestyle is quite “exhausting.” I put that in quotation marks. I myself refrain from a lot of consumption (no car, no flights, hardly any new furniture, lots of second hand). But this lifestyle takes time. You first have to find all the stuff cheaply.
I think it is a matter of personality whether it suits you or not.

Why have you saved so little this month? Where has the money gone?