Who first built a smaller house and extended it?

Hello,

regarding the topic of house construction costs, I'll stay out of it. There are other experts here who can give you better advice. Just this much – my first wish was also around 210,000 for the house. We buried this wish after the first consultation – and back then we had planned significantly smaller than what is now in the (hopefully soon) final draft.

Regarding financing:
I always assume 6% for interest plus repayment based on current interest rates (rough estimate). That means, with 2,000 euros/month of free capital, you could take a loan of about 400,000 euros – maybe a bit less, since you would need 100% financing and possibly higher interest rates would apply.

BUT:
And here is the next point you should consider. What does your further life planning look like? Are the jobs more or less secure? Could it be that you have to relocate for work (this could be a reason to postpone house plans, but doesn’t have to be)? Can you afford the monthly burden with only ONE salary in the medium term (keyword: children)?

Regarding the 2,000 surplus, I would be interested – does your girlfriend already earn money or could there possibly be more room for maneuver in the future? As far as I understood, she is still studying. Then respect for this net surplus (some don't even get that gross :o)

By the way, from experience, I can say that with higher income your desires/expenses will also increase. Sounds silly, but it’s true. When I look back at my first net salary, I wonder today how I actually managed to survive. And I claim to be someone who pays attention to costs.
Also plan for the incidental costs when buying a house.

So you can in general take out more credit than the planned 200,000 euros – but keep an eye on other factors.

I have already mentioned that we just don’t like saving equity for another five years (let’s say roughly 100,000 €), so that we then bring 30% equity into the financing. In five years, it will say now the interest rates have gone up by 2% and the interest rate will wipe out our hard-saved 100k in no time!

I don’t understand this statement.
Yes – interest rates can/will rise compared to today.
But then you don’t have to finance the 100,000 anymore (as it’s already available) and you get at least 80% financing, therefore the interest rate will be cheaper compared to 100% financing.

We have about €70,000 in equity with a total investment of €280,000. According to the bank, however, this is not even 20% for the calculation of the lending value, as various costs are excluded from this calculation.

Our first figure, which we had set as our limit, was €230,000 including the land. Now we are €50,000 over that.

My suggestion for you. Save intensively for another 2 years. At €2,000/month, you will then have about €50,000 additional equity. See if you want to stay there job-wise, or if there are any changes in your private or professional life.
In the meantime, educate yourselves, go to building fairs, look at model houses, and read the forum here.
By the time the construction is completed, a third year will have passed. Then another €25,000 additional equity will be available.

Hello,

on the topic of house building costs I'll stay out of it. There are other experts here who can give you better advice. Just so much - my first wish was also around 210,000 for the house. We already buried this idea after the first consultation - and at that time we had planned significantly smaller than is now in the (hopefully soon) final draft.

Regarding financing:
I always assume 6% for interest + repayment at the current interest rates (roughly). That means you could take a loan of about 400,000 euros with 2,000 euros/month free capital - maybe a bit less, since you would need 100% financing...

Thanks for your detailed answer!

No, my girlfriend of course earns money as well. About the job: I think my job is very secure. I have a permanent contract as an SAP consultant in Munich, my girlfriend is self-employed and is taking over her father’s physiotherapy practice, which he has been running for 25 years. I think the jobs can be classified as "secure."

That’s of course all correct and we think a lot about the fact that my girlfriend/wife might partly or even completely stop earning income at some point. My salary obviously has to cover that. Who knows what will be in 6-7 years when the first child is on the way. Who knows how much I will earn then (I have basically just started).

That about the expectations is true as well :-). We also wonder how we managed to pay 450 euros warm for an apartment and support ourselves with about 1100 euros net. Somehow it worked, and we never had it bad and still went out for fancy meals and cinema. Strange ;-)

We have already experienced our first sobering reality check. Actually, a house with about 180 m² living space was planned, since I need an office, she possibly a treatment room, three children's rooms and a guest WC with a small shower should also fit in. If you size the children's rooms at 15 m² each you quickly get to 180 m². We have long since come down from this trip and are now moving in the range of 120 - 140 m², even if that might turn out to be too small for us (hard to estimate).

I grew up in a house with over 210 m² living space + 100 m² cellar (half-finished and usable).

If your girlfriend is already included in the 2000€, then in this case I wouldn't count on 2000€ being available for a loan!

I would say about 1/3 of the net income as the installment and not much more!
Or do you two already reach around 6000€ together?

Because otherwise it will get a bit tight for all the other things that come with living...
Without children and with 2 full-time jobs, it's still quite manageable... but with 2-3 children the expenses do increase quite a bit... daycare, clothing, food, toys... that adds up quite a bit! Holidays become correspondingly more expensive when you have to pay for 5 people, etc...

If you also consider that you need to set aside reserves to replace the car every few years, to build a cushion for house repairs, etc., and ideally also have a few hundred left for retirement savings... then the leeway available for the installment decreases significantly...

Oh, and you will probably also need a few additional insurances, which also cost money monthly...

No, we have about 3,200.00 net together, with my company car already deducted. This means we can save on a car, as I know the fixed costs monthly, and of course, there is the advantage of flat-rate fueling.

After deducting our current fixed costs, we come to about 2,000.00 €. Let's say 1,800.00 €.

Of 3,200, 1/3 is about 1,100 € just for repayment + interest.

I can already see, we won't make it.

Then it probably means saving and waiting for another 3-5 years...

Which brings us back to my original question :-)

3200 net for both and that in well-paid Bavaria is not very generous so far. As an IT/SAP consultant, there should still be plenty of room for improvement. If not with the current company, then maybe with another one. However, to my knowledge, IT consultants also have to be very flexible. For that reason too, I would wait a bit longer in your position. Just see what life brings.