Would buying/building a house ever be affordable for us?

What do properties cost in your area? Is there roughly what you have in mind for about the same amount the bank has approved?

So I would definitely advise you to monitor the real estate market. I briefly checked on Immoscout and around Magdeburg there are certainly older houses with the desired [WF] between 75k and 150k. My impression here is more: The buyer determines the price. That could of course work in your favor. If you find something suitable for you there, it could work.

I quickly only read something about one child. Are there supposed to be more?

What does the childcare on site cost and can you even work full-time again, so that full-time work, possibly overtime and commuting can be covered by you? Does that also work with more than one child?

My suggestion: Save a lot until all desired children are there and then draw up the income and expenditure statement again.

I would focus on a few [Zwangsversteigerungen] with that amount. You can usually get a bargain there.

and if there's another child: change the tax class beforehand. She 3 and he 5, if you are even married at all

and why 2 cars if he rides a bike anyway?

I can only repeat myself as well. What do real estate properties cost with you?

There is no point in discussing salaries or loan amounts if the real estate market with the desired parameters neither provides the desired property nor the property price.

What have you observed? How much did these properties cost?

I would leave the building savings contracts untouched for now. They will come in very handy for renovations later. I would increase the equity at least to cover the incidental purchase costs. Certainly, not much is missing there. For us, the incidental purchase costs were around 7000-8000 euros at the time (without a realtor, purchase price was 139,000). We had that in cash. Otherwise, it was a 100% financing, which should not be a problem today either, and we only had one income back then, which wasn’t that great (2600 net). With the basic data, you can browse the market and look at one or two houses. If you like one with the corresponding figures (purchase price plus unavoidable modernizations/renovations), then to the bank. In my opinion, it is not worthwhile without a concrete property, because a certain "somewhat promised" loan amount does not help if there is no corresponding house where a binding check and loan approval can then result. A thorough check only happens with the actual application anyway. That’s how we did it back then: first searched, then negotiated, then went to the bank (here: broker) with the relevant data and facts, and then came the offer where you actually see the numbers in black and white. I think that if the house is modest and cheap, it’s doable. For us, the house installment was then just as high as the cold rent, and the additional costs were almost the same since the house was much better insulated. However, that was before various increases in property transfer tax, and we had no realtor (2012) - that also makes a big difference! And for an older modest house: definitely have an expert look at it before you go to the notary! For example, that can be the energy consultant who issues the necessary energy certificate and at the same time determines where renovation is needed. If that is a competent energy consultant, e.g., a civil engineer or something similar, you could trust that judgment. Best to check the database at [dena]. It might be possible to arrange so that you as an interested party can be present during the inspection and ask questions.