ᐅ Own Property from the Start? A Beginner Needs Straight Talk...
Created on: 20 Aug 2016 18:35
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Titus72
Hello everyone,
I’m new to this forum and just want to say a friendly HELLO to all.
I already have a fundamental question: Does my dream of owning a home fit into reality from the start? I feel like I haven’t really accepted the price reality yet and am still stuck in the 80s/90s...
But what is this actually about? Well, for years I considered buying a property financially unwise. So, I’m still renting. However, I want to improve my living quality and have been looking for a new apartment for a long time (I live in Braunschweig). And what can I say: I’m frankly shocked by the rent prices in this area. What my wife and I would like doesn’t come under €1200 cold rent, with prices trending higher...
So, like many these days, I started thinking about buying. Naturally, the question arises: what can I afford and what do I want? And here, I think I might still be wearing rose-colored glasses!
About me: male, married, children planned soon
Net income about €5200–5400 (depending on the number of shifts) working 60–70 hours a week
(in the coming years, the salary will increase due to experience and step raises), no bonuses or similar, no Christmas bonus, etc.
My fixed monthly costs are around €3800
This includes a monthly savings rate of €1400
Current warm rent including electricity is €830
Still need to consider monthly living expenses like groceries, etc.
My own equity currently amounts to about €80,000, but it’s tied up and not currently freely available, so let’s say my equity = €0, oops.
Looking at property prices in our region (Braunschweig), I’d have to budget around €350,000–450,000 for an average single-family home. And I always wonder: who can afford this immediately?? I know I’m lucky to be among the higher earners. And when I see on radio, film, or TV the kind of houses some people live in (who earn significantly less than I do), I’m amazed. How do they manage it: great house, nice car, good clothes, etc.?
To be clear: this is not envy, I truly wish everyone well. My question is always: why can’t I afford it? Where am I miscalculating, where is my mental block? Apart from a car loan, I have no debts and don’t live extravagantly...
So, who among you experienced folks can help me see things clearly or take off my rose-colored glasses?
Best regards,
Titus72
I’m new to this forum and just want to say a friendly HELLO to all.
I already have a fundamental question: Does my dream of owning a home fit into reality from the start? I feel like I haven’t really accepted the price reality yet and am still stuck in the 80s/90s...
But what is this actually about? Well, for years I considered buying a property financially unwise. So, I’m still renting. However, I want to improve my living quality and have been looking for a new apartment for a long time (I live in Braunschweig). And what can I say: I’m frankly shocked by the rent prices in this area. What my wife and I would like doesn’t come under €1200 cold rent, with prices trending higher...
So, like many these days, I started thinking about buying. Naturally, the question arises: what can I afford and what do I want? And here, I think I might still be wearing rose-colored glasses!
About me: male, married, children planned soon
Net income about €5200–5400 (depending on the number of shifts) working 60–70 hours a week
(in the coming years, the salary will increase due to experience and step raises), no bonuses or similar, no Christmas bonus, etc.
My fixed monthly costs are around €3800
This includes a monthly savings rate of €1400
Current warm rent including electricity is €830
Still need to consider monthly living expenses like groceries, etc.
My own equity currently amounts to about €80,000, but it’s tied up and not currently freely available, so let’s say my equity = €0, oops.
Looking at property prices in our region (Braunschweig), I’d have to budget around €350,000–450,000 for an average single-family home. And I always wonder: who can afford this immediately?? I know I’m lucky to be among the higher earners. And when I see on radio, film, or TV the kind of houses some people live in (who earn significantly less than I do), I’m amazed. How do they manage it: great house, nice car, good clothes, etc.?
To be clear: this is not envy, I truly wish everyone well. My question is always: why can’t I afford it? Where am I miscalculating, where is my mental block? Apart from a car loan, I have no debts and don’t live extravagantly...
So, who among you experienced folks can help me see things clearly or take off my rose-colored glasses?
Best regards,
Titus72
Titus72 schrieb:
my wife registered a small business (offers fitness classes, makes about 400-500 euros per month, but the time she can invest is limited due to family planning)I do wonder how women who work full-time manage to have children at all...
And I don’t quite understand how she handles family planning without you, since you work 60-70 hours a week. Being old-fashioned on this topic, I always thought both partners had to be involved.
But if it works that one person takes care of it alone... modern times. Personally, I would have chosen the old-fashioned way (which I have actually always quite enjoyed *g*).
Well, setting that aside, those thoughts just came to me while reading *lol*.
So it means you’ll be financing the house almost entirely by yourself. The 400-500 euros per month can probably be neglected here. And if family PLANNING (!!!) already requires that much time investment, then those few hundred euros will likely disappear entirely once that planning is successful.
Since divorce was mentioned here:
- I think you won’t have major problems financing a house (consider loss of income carefully if you will bear the burden alone; I hope you have good occupational disability insurance or other coverage).
- If you are under community property in marriage, the situation won’t look favorable for you in case of divorce, because you would have to transfer half of the gains of the house to your wife, even if she didn’t contribute financially. Maybe you can find an arrangement that protects you better in such a case. I do believe that whoever pays should have better rights.
- No loan, better to be able to pay everything in cash... then you might have to wait a bit longer to build or buy the house.
Since I’m from the area and have wanted to build a new house myself for a long time, I can confirm that Braunschweig and the surrounding region have become expensive. However, with 400,000 to 450,000 (400k to 450k) you should be able to build a new house there, including the plot and additional costs. It won’t be a villa, but it will be a decent house. You definitely can’t manage that in the city, but if you look a bit at the villages in the commuter belt, you should be able to find something.
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Peanuts7425 Aug 2016 14:00Steffen80 schrieb:
Neither is 3,200 a very high income nor is a 26-year fixed interest rate sensibleOBJECTION, Your Honor!
I wouldn’t want to work 70 hours a week, plus weekends, with that level of responsibility—even for a net income of 5,000.
Sure, 5,000 is not a small amount in absolute terms, but 3,200 in a calm 35-hour job can be considered significantly "better paid"!
Besides, some people want to buy the security of a long fixed interest rate, especially if the financing takes longer.
And if you really know what will happen in 10 years, I take my hat off to you!
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Peanuts7425 Aug 2016 14:08Musketier schrieb:
*Ahem*
I think I’ll apply to @Steffen80.Exactly, the question would be which area Steffen works in; I’m sure we can all still learn a lot from him...
Peanuts74 schrieb:
I wouldn’t want to work 70 hours a week, including weekends, with that level of responsibility, even for a net income of 5k.I completely understand your objection.
However, if it is a dream job, people are often willing to accept some extra burdens.
The workload mentioned here is also the reason why hospitals in Germany regularly struggle to find qualified doctors and quite often only manage to find them abroad (hearsay).