What kind of house is suitable for us?

@Musketier I kind of expected that. 65% parental allowance is really not much.

Better than nothing. I think we Germans are doing quite well there.

We are both not married yet. It would surely be wise to get married (we want to anyway) and for my girlfriend to take tax class 3 and thereby receive a higher net income and parental allowance for the 12 months. She definitely wants to work again afterwards.

I can speak from my own experience here. Getting married before the birth makes things a lot easier (fewer official appointments) and according to the current legal situation it makes the scope for parental allowance more attractive. Even if she later works part-time, the splitting tariff is pleasant.

With your current salaries, the tax class choice you mentioned (she III / you V) definitely makes sense.
Since last year, the tax class relevant for parental allowance is the one used predominantly in the last 12 months before birth.
So switch in time.
If you switch back to IV/IV after the birth, you won’t have any problems with tax repayments. The only case causing an issue would be if the man uses tax class III after the birth.

We are still considering renting until the child is old enough and she can work full-time again. Accordingly, I wouldn’t mind starting construction only in 2020 and still saving equity. But in 2020 a house will surely be much more expensive since only passive income is allowed, right?

Could be, but doesn’t have to be.

Alternatively, you can initially repay only 1% and cover the rest with special repayments when the salary increases and the woman earns full-time again. Of course, that requires a lot of discipline.
Our rate is calculated so that it can be managed without problems on parental allowance. For that, we also had to limit ourselves regarding house size and fittings, but we are already living in it after one year and don’t have to wait any longer.

If you switch back to IV/IV after birth, you have no problem with tax repayment. The case Da would only apply if the man uses tax class III after birth.

One brief additional note: The statement might have been somewhat too general. My statement fits your figures. With higher earnings, it can certainly be different.

Hello, somehow I don't quite understand your answers? A house is supposed to be built here with 15,000 euros of equity and a loan under 200,000 euros is supposed to be enough? The 15,000 euros are not even enough for the incidental construction costs, where can you build a house so cheaply? Best regards Sabine

Hello, somehow I don’t quite understand your answers? A house is supposed to be built here with 15,000 euros in equity and a loan of under 200,000 euros is supposed to be enough for that? The 15,000 euros aren’t even sufficient for the incidental construction costs, where can you build a house so cheaply? Best regards Sabine

You are absolutely right. I actually read 150,000 € equity. 15,000 won’t cut it. Not with the salaries. Surely the bank will grant the loan, because both earn and there are securities worth 80,000. But if a child comes along, it gets tight. Then the calculation no longer works.

@Curly I just wanted to know what we can afford with our net income. As it looks now, too little. We are still young and saving for 10 years and building at 35 I don’t find that so bad. We have first decided to continue saving 1000 euros monthly and to first move up in our salary classes. We want to save and wait to build until the child(ren) are old enough. Therefore, today we are looking at a 4-room apartment that has a whole 20 sqm more than our current one and costs 420 euros cold (40 euros more) per month. It has a fireplace with soapstone, renovated in 2007, covered balcony, cellar, garage, solar system, and 90 sqm living space.

Plot of land worth 65,000 euros available and paid for.

Equity of 15,000 euros available.

If you read carefully, you will notice that the equity amounts to 80,000 euros.
Part of the additional costs (notary, property transfer tax) should also already be paid.
And with the remaining 215,000 euros, it is certainly possible to build a small house without many extras.