Munich first-time buyer: is €35,880 enough cash after closing?

€35,880 sounds like a substantial buffer, but the inspection findings make me unsure how much is genuinely free cash. I am looking at a 1-bed Munich apartment for about €731,400, with completion roughly 120 days away.

Rather than reserving money for every item in the report, I plan to ask which findings could cause further damage if delayed and obtain prices for those jobs. I also need to confirm whether my estimate includes the first mortgage payment, service-charge timing and the insurance excess. Once those figures are verified, how much would you keep untouched before budgeting for the move and basic furniture?

I would decide the emergency reserve first, based on several months of your actual essential spending after the purchase, including the mortgage and service charges. Treat that amount as untouchable. Moving and any inspection items that prevent further damage come next; furniture can be bought gradually. Without your monthly outgoings, nobody can say whether €35,880 is generous or tight.

Does the €35,880 calculation already allow for the first mortgage payment, the timing of service charges and your insurance excess? Those can matter more than a vague furniture allowance.

I’d also ask the inspector to separate findings into urgent, near-term and cosmetic items. Then get prices for the urgent category rather than reserving money against every alarming sentence in the report.

I agree with pricing the findings, but I would not assume a basically sound apartment means the risk is limited to work inside the 1-bed. Building-level costs can affect your buffer too. Before settling on a purchase price, understand the current service charges and whether any significant shared work is anticipated. A cheap cosmetic refresh is easy to postpone; a contribution connected with the building may not be.

That is fair, although I still would not create one oversized “repairs” pot for every possible future expense. Separate known work from general uncertainty. If no urgent defect has a firm cost yet, keep the money liquid rather than commissioning optional improvements immediately after closing. In particular, I would exclude nonessential furniture from the closing-day budget entirely.

The 120-day timeline gives you a useful planning window. Make a dated cash-flow list covering the remaining purchase payments, moving quotes, first mortgage payment, service charges and insurance. Alongside it, list each inspection item with an estimated timing and cost. That should reveal whether the €35,880 is truly available after closing or partly committed during the first few weeks.

One caveat on delaying all furniture: budget for anything required to use the apartment safely and normally, but postpone matching sets and decorative purchases. I would make the final offer decision only after ring-fencing the emergency fund and credible near-term costs. If that leaves almost nothing flexible, buying slightly below €731,400 is the more comfortable route rather than hoping the first year stays quiet.