ᐅ Affordable Homeownership: Buying an Existing House or a Prefabricated Home?
Created on: 30 Dec 2018 11:07
S
Soraya
Hello everyone,
we are not proud homeowners yet. We currently live in a large and actually very nice rental apartment, but we can’t stand the neighbors above and below us anymore.
At the moment, we are looking in every direction. Specifically: a new rental apartment or an affordable house to buy (or maybe even a prefabricated house?).
I personally prefer the idea of buying. My partner is a bit more uncertain about that (risks, etc.).
Our situation is that unfortunately we have very little equity right now (around 10,000 EUR). I have been self-employed for about ten years (average to good income), and my partner still needs about 7 months before becoming a permanent civil servant for life (upper service).
What do you think would be the best yet affordable solution?
My thoughts are as follows:
Renting an apartment means paying money month after month without effectively gaining anything.
Buying an older house offers many great possibilities later on, but also a lot of work.
Buying a prefabricated house means the quality might not be as good, but you get something newer that better meets your personal requirements.
I would be interested in your (experienced) opinions on this topic.
Best regards
we are not proud homeowners yet. We currently live in a large and actually very nice rental apartment, but we can’t stand the neighbors above and below us anymore.
At the moment, we are looking in every direction. Specifically: a new rental apartment or an affordable house to buy (or maybe even a prefabricated house?).
I personally prefer the idea of buying. My partner is a bit more uncertain about that (risks, etc.).
Our situation is that unfortunately we have very little equity right now (around 10,000 EUR). I have been self-employed for about ten years (average to good income), and my partner still needs about 7 months before becoming a permanent civil servant for life (upper service).
What do you think would be the best yet affordable solution?
My thoughts are as follows:
Renting an apartment means paying money month after month without effectively gaining anything.
Buying an older house offers many great possibilities later on, but also a lot of work.
Buying a prefabricated house means the quality might not be as good, but you get something newer that better meets your personal requirements.
I would be interested in your (experienced) opinions on this topic.
Best regards
M
Mottenhausen30 Dec 2018 16:26Something is off with your calculation: with a family income of 7,200 and expenses of 2,400, you would have 4,800 left each month. Save that amount every month throughout 2019, and you would increase your equity from the current 10,000 € to 67,000 €, which would be a completely different situation. How did you manage to get all that money in the past years? That wasn’t just for a car, was it?
New construction doesn’t happen quickly, whether it’s brick-and-mortar or a prefabricated house.
Prefabricated houses are not cardboard boxes sitting ready in a warehouse. There are very high-quality timber frame builders like Schwörerhaus.
Only condominiums, developer-built turnkey homes, or used houses with minor renovation needs (if those even still exist) can be completed quickly.
Prefabricated houses are not cardboard boxes sitting ready in a warehouse. There are very high-quality timber frame builders like Schwörerhaus.
Only condominiums, developer-built turnkey homes, or used houses with minor renovation needs (if those even still exist) can be completed quickly.
H
HilfeHilfe30 Dec 2018 17:20This is the problem for the self-employed. You calculate roughly for the tax office, don’t build any equity, and then fail when it comes to construction financing. With 10,000 euros of equity, only the bank that knows your business will provide financing.
That's right – if you want it done quickly, building a house, whether prefabricated or solid construction, is not really an option. We're already doing quite well, with construction starting in 09/2019 and the notary appointment for the plot only in January. Others wait a year and a half before anything even begins.
So I believe, technically speaking, "Grandma's little treasure" plus a lot of physical effort is actually the only realistic way to say goodbye to the disliked neighbors as soon as possible...
So I believe, technically speaking, "Grandma's little treasure" plus a lot of physical effort is actually the only realistic way to say goodbye to the disliked neighbors as soon as possible...
H
hemali200330 Dec 2018 19:18Mottenhausen schrieb:
How did you manage to get all that money over the past years? That wasn’t just for one car, was it?I agree with that. You should take a closer look at where this money is suddenly supposed to come from, since it hasn’t been available before. After all, you probably don’t want to give up a car and possibly vacations for 20 years, right?
Why is it necessary to pay for a car in cash? Who can actually do that... I personally see no problem with fully financing a car. It doesn’t have to be a €30,000 (about $32,000) vehicle. That’s how we’ve always done it so far (always = twice, we haven’t owned more cars in our lives). And the banks never complained about it.
I don’t think having little equity is a big issue as long as the income situation fits and the banks approve it. However, additional purchase costs should definitely be paid from equity, simply because otherwise the entire loan becomes more expensive.
You can certainly find an affordable house for around €700 (about $750) per month (purchase price around €200,000 (about $215,000)), but the question is how much work you’ll need to put into it.
Building a house will definitely be much more expensive.
What’s the problem with waiting the 7 months until the official civil servant appointment, saving properly during that time, and then looking for something existing?
I don’t think having little equity is a big issue as long as the income situation fits and the banks approve it. However, additional purchase costs should definitely be paid from equity, simply because otherwise the entire loan becomes more expensive.
You can certainly find an affordable house for around €700 (about $750) per month (purchase price around €200,000 (about $215,000)), but the question is how much work you’ll need to put into it.
Building a house will definitely be much more expensive.
What’s the problem with waiting the 7 months until the official civil servant appointment, saving properly during that time, and then looking for something existing?