Hello everyone,
I am married and have a one-year-old son.
My wife and I are both 30 years old.
We come from the area south of Baden-Württemberg – around Freiburg.
Both of us have above-average incomes.
My wife is currently on parental leave.
We finally acquired a plot of land three months ago through a private sale at a reasonable price.
[300m2 (3200 sq ft) for about 125,000 Euros including additional costs].
Now we have gathered several offers from prefabricated house suppliers, both solid construction and timber frame, etc.
When we calculated everything, the total cost of the entire building project—without the land, including additional costs, exterior works, kitchen, etc.—comes to about 600,000 Euros, truly turnkey, with a buffer included.
Here is the problem.
With the current interest rate, despite owning the land outright [equity], we cannot finance it.
The monthly burden is too high (around 2300–2500 Euros, including an L-Bank loan, which is currently basically in limbo with the state bank).
My idea is to buy a condominium first.
(Secure the land, fully paid (125,000 Euros)).
Our current apartment is too small for the long term.
Financing a condominium would be much easier since the loan amount is significantly lower than for building a house.
We will definitely inherit something in the coming years (the older generation has not yet passed anything on in advance, unfortunately, when it was needed).
My plan would be to buy and live in the condo, paying it off monthly.
Once the inheritance comes through, fully pay off the condo and then build the house. That way, we have the security of owning a paid-off condo and monthly rental income to support the repayment of the house loan.
What do you think? Do you have other ideas?
Regards,
Peter
I am married and have a one-year-old son.
My wife and I are both 30 years old.
We come from the area south of Baden-Württemberg – around Freiburg.
Both of us have above-average incomes.
My wife is currently on parental leave.
We finally acquired a plot of land three months ago through a private sale at a reasonable price.
[300m2 (3200 sq ft) for about 125,000 Euros including additional costs].
Now we have gathered several offers from prefabricated house suppliers, both solid construction and timber frame, etc.
When we calculated everything, the total cost of the entire building project—without the land, including additional costs, exterior works, kitchen, etc.—comes to about 600,000 Euros, truly turnkey, with a buffer included.
Here is the problem.
With the current interest rate, despite owning the land outright [equity], we cannot finance it.
The monthly burden is too high (around 2300–2500 Euros, including an L-Bank loan, which is currently basically in limbo with the state bank).
My idea is to buy a condominium first.
(Secure the land, fully paid (125,000 Euros)).
Our current apartment is too small for the long term.
Financing a condominium would be much easier since the loan amount is significantly lower than for building a house.
We will definitely inherit something in the coming years (the older generation has not yet passed anything on in advance, unfortunately, when it was needed).
My plan would be to buy and live in the condo, paying it off monthly.
Once the inheritance comes through, fully pay off the condo and then build the house. That way, we have the security of owning a paid-off condo and monthly rental income to support the repayment of the house loan.
What do you think? Do you have other ideas?
Regards,
Peter
M
Marvinius8 Jan 2023 23:34irmsche schrieb:
The house has been planned on paper with an architect and it works.If the budget is tight anyway, people don’t necessarily hire an architect but “settle” for a catalog home with simple modifications. Again, definitely misplaced priorities...
M
Marvinius8 Jan 2023 23:36irmsche schrieb:
Garage with a canopy
Leaving out the basement is not an option – since the plot is 300m2 (3,230 sq ft) and we need storage space.So, is the plot too small after all? But the garage still needs to fit in somehow?M
Marvinius8 Jan 2023 23:43irmsche schrieb:
The neighboring building has a basement, and on my property there is an old building also with a basement. The demolition is included in the 1980s additional costs. Every contractor says including the basement isn’t that expensive in the end, unlike the Neuland case where everything had to be excavated.
A hip roof etc. is not allowed; it has to be a gable roof. Currently, a knee wall is planned, but if the building authority says a full story is possible, then it will be a full story.
So, unfortunately, there is no saving potential here.
We are also planning for a second child. Because of that, the 2500 per month is simply unrealistic. Or rather, if the second child were already here, the subsidy amount from L-Bank would be higher again. It’s just a disaster at the moment. We have equity, both work, and I don’t see any way out currently. The apartment was just an idea because we don’t have a children’s room in the rented apartment. But if I rent a bigger apartment, I also pay 1100 monthly rent excluding utilities. If I find an apartment to buy, for example, 3 or 3.5 rooms for 320,000-385,000, the monthly repayment would definitely be much lower compared to 2500 for a house, and that’s only the repayment without electricity, water, etc. One alternative: Move away from expensive Freiburg to a somewhat more affordable area...
If the income doesn’t match the area, you either have to earn more or move away...
S
Sunshine3878 Jan 2023 23:43Yes. Precise figures really help here. It probably won’t be cheaper for YOU to build (inflation/interest rates/construction costs).
S
Sunshine3878 Jan 2023 23:46Marvinius schrieb:
One alternative: Move away from expensive Freiburg to a somewhat more affordable area....
If your income doesn’t match the area, you either have to earn more or move away.....That said, for the same job in Schleswig-Holstein/Lower Saxony and in Baden-Württemberg, you can definitely build 180m2 (about 1,940 sq ft) on a similar site instead of 120m2 (about 1,290 sq ft). In the south, the cost of building including land is much less connected to income than it is in the northern parts of the country.
S
Sunshine3878 Jan 2023 23:51I do wonder why someone building a semi-detached house themselves wouldn't have just bought one half of a semi-detached or terraced house from a developer a few years ago for around 450,000 to 500,000. That would have been the better deal. Less stress, an immediately available home, and at a great price thanks to the record low interest rates at the time.