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HbMathias30 Mar 2019 07:54Hello everyone,
My wife and I are currently considering whether we should look into buying property.
Family Situation
We are in our early to mid-30s, and my wife is four months pregnant. This will be our first child, but we plan to have another one in the future.
Financial Situation
We can expect a monthly income of about 4,500 € (approximately $4,800) over the next few years. However, there is no Christmas bonus or similar additional income.
We have about 60,000 € (about $64,000) in equity overall, but it is not entirely liquid, and we do not necessarily want to invest all of it in real estate.
Currently, around 12,000 € (about $13,000) is saved in a life insurance policy maturing in three years. 30,000 € (about $32,000) is invested in securities and funds, which we don’t want to fully liquidate. 13,000 € (about $14,000) is in a home savings contract, and 5,000 € (about $5,300) is in a savings account. In addition, we have some emergency funds set aside for car expenses, vacations, etc.
Current Living Situation
We rent an 80 m2 (860 sq ft) apartment in the Ruhr area, which is very affordable. We could imagine staying here for a transitional period with the baby (maybe up to one year). The only thing we really miss here is a garden. We do have a small balcony, but it only faces east.
Considerations Regarding Future Living Situation
Over the past few months, we have considered various options and then dismissed some. Ideally, we would like to build a nice single-family house. However, after doing some research here on the forum, I’ve come to the conclusion that for our dream house plus land, we would need to budget about 600,000 € to 700,000 € (around $640,000 to $750,000), which neither we can finance nor want to commit to.
After ruling out ownership of a single-family home for now, we started looking at apartments. If we were to move into a new apartment, we would definitely want enough space for two children. Depending on location, size, and features, the rent would likely be between 1,000 € and 1,500 € (about $1,070 to $1,600).
As a comparison, I calculated that with a rent of 1,500 € per month, we could alternatively finance about 300,000 € (around $320,000) over 20 to 25 years and then looked again at houses. However, in that price range, I couldn’t really find any suitable existing properties.
Deutsche Reihenhaus AG
While searching real estate portals, I came across projects by Deutsche Reihenhaus AG in Duisburg and Bottrop and found the concept very interesting.
With a base price of 220,000 € to 250,000 € (about $235,000 to $270,000), I submitted an inquiry. Adding options worth 30,000 € to 40,000 € (about $32,000 to $43,000), estimated 30,000 € to 40,000 € for interior work on walls and floors (materials and labor), plus around 30,000 € (about $32,000) in purchase-related costs, the total comes to approximately 320,000 € to 350,000 € (about $340,000 to $375,000) for a 140 m2 (1,500 sq ft) house.
The houses are quite basic in their standard equipment, and the project locations do not seem ideal. Features like underfloor heating, central ventilation, and smart home systems—things we would have in our dream house—are not available here. The wall structure also appears to make later modifications to wiring difficult. On the other hand, most reviews I found were positive, and the overall concept seems solid.
Our current idea is whether it might be worthwhile to invest in a townhouse instead of paying high rent. Depending on how we like it and how our finances evolve, we could still consider building our dream house in about 10 years and then rent out or sell the townhouse.
Disadvantages of Deutsche Reihenhaus AG From Our Perspective
• Ownership is divided according to condominium law (Wohnungseigentumsgesetz), so no independent decisions about the house are possible
• Small plot of land and very close to neighbors
• Risk of having difficult co-owners
• No underfloor heating, no central ventilation, no electric roller shutters
• Location of current projects is okay, but not ideal
• Only basic standard
• Limited influence on design
Advantages of Deutsche Reihenhaus AG From Our Perspective
• Affordable, making it possible for us to become homeowners
• No rent to pay for an apartment
• We liked the floor plan of the 145 m2 (about 1,560 sq ft) house
• Less risk and effort compared to building a house ourselves
• Better energy efficiency compared to older properties and rental apartments
• Very likely many other young families with children in the neighborhood
• Small private garden with low maintenance but enough space for grilling, sitting, and playing
• Much of the management runs through the homeowners’ association and administration, so less personal effort is required
In our opinion, the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages at this point, but we are still quite uncertain.
Questions
1. Are our assumptions and calculations correct, especially regarding interior finishing costs? Have I overlooked any costs?
2. Can you think of any other advantages or disadvantages?
3. Do you see a reasonable alternative to buy an equivalent house with at least 140 m2 (1,500 sq ft) for a maximum of 350,000 € (about $375,000) in the Ruhr area?
4. Do you have any experience with Deutsche Reihenhaus AG? Despite many projects, I have found surprisingly few reviews.
5. Do you know of any interesting alternative projects in the Ruhr area?
My wife and I are currently considering whether we should look into buying property.
Family Situation
We are in our early to mid-30s, and my wife is four months pregnant. This will be our first child, but we plan to have another one in the future.
Financial Situation
We can expect a monthly income of about 4,500 € (approximately $4,800) over the next few years. However, there is no Christmas bonus or similar additional income.
We have about 60,000 € (about $64,000) in equity overall, but it is not entirely liquid, and we do not necessarily want to invest all of it in real estate.
Currently, around 12,000 € (about $13,000) is saved in a life insurance policy maturing in three years. 30,000 € (about $32,000) is invested in securities and funds, which we don’t want to fully liquidate. 13,000 € (about $14,000) is in a home savings contract, and 5,000 € (about $5,300) is in a savings account. In addition, we have some emergency funds set aside for car expenses, vacations, etc.
Current Living Situation
We rent an 80 m2 (860 sq ft) apartment in the Ruhr area, which is very affordable. We could imagine staying here for a transitional period with the baby (maybe up to one year). The only thing we really miss here is a garden. We do have a small balcony, but it only faces east.
Considerations Regarding Future Living Situation
Over the past few months, we have considered various options and then dismissed some. Ideally, we would like to build a nice single-family house. However, after doing some research here on the forum, I’ve come to the conclusion that for our dream house plus land, we would need to budget about 600,000 € to 700,000 € (around $640,000 to $750,000), which neither we can finance nor want to commit to.
After ruling out ownership of a single-family home for now, we started looking at apartments. If we were to move into a new apartment, we would definitely want enough space for two children. Depending on location, size, and features, the rent would likely be between 1,000 € and 1,500 € (about $1,070 to $1,600).
As a comparison, I calculated that with a rent of 1,500 € per month, we could alternatively finance about 300,000 € (around $320,000) over 20 to 25 years and then looked again at houses. However, in that price range, I couldn’t really find any suitable existing properties.
Deutsche Reihenhaus AG
While searching real estate portals, I came across projects by Deutsche Reihenhaus AG in Duisburg and Bottrop and found the concept very interesting.
With a base price of 220,000 € to 250,000 € (about $235,000 to $270,000), I submitted an inquiry. Adding options worth 30,000 € to 40,000 € (about $32,000 to $43,000), estimated 30,000 € to 40,000 € for interior work on walls and floors (materials and labor), plus around 30,000 € (about $32,000) in purchase-related costs, the total comes to approximately 320,000 € to 350,000 € (about $340,000 to $375,000) for a 140 m2 (1,500 sq ft) house.
The houses are quite basic in their standard equipment, and the project locations do not seem ideal. Features like underfloor heating, central ventilation, and smart home systems—things we would have in our dream house—are not available here. The wall structure also appears to make later modifications to wiring difficult. On the other hand, most reviews I found were positive, and the overall concept seems solid.
Our current idea is whether it might be worthwhile to invest in a townhouse instead of paying high rent. Depending on how we like it and how our finances evolve, we could still consider building our dream house in about 10 years and then rent out or sell the townhouse.
Disadvantages of Deutsche Reihenhaus AG From Our Perspective
• Ownership is divided according to condominium law (Wohnungseigentumsgesetz), so no independent decisions about the house are possible
• Small plot of land and very close to neighbors
• Risk of having difficult co-owners
• No underfloor heating, no central ventilation, no electric roller shutters
• Location of current projects is okay, but not ideal
• Only basic standard
• Limited influence on design
Advantages of Deutsche Reihenhaus AG From Our Perspective
• Affordable, making it possible for us to become homeowners
• No rent to pay for an apartment
• We liked the floor plan of the 145 m2 (about 1,560 sq ft) house
• Less risk and effort compared to building a house ourselves
• Better energy efficiency compared to older properties and rental apartments
• Very likely many other young families with children in the neighborhood
• Small private garden with low maintenance but enough space for grilling, sitting, and playing
• Much of the management runs through the homeowners’ association and administration, so less personal effort is required
In our opinion, the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages at this point, but we are still quite uncertain.
Questions
1. Are our assumptions and calculations correct, especially regarding interior finishing costs? Have I overlooked any costs?
2. Can you think of any other advantages or disadvantages?
3. Do you see a reasonable alternative to buy an equivalent house with at least 140 m2 (1,500 sq ft) for a maximum of 350,000 € (about $375,000) in the Ruhr area?
4. Do you have any experience with Deutsche Reihenhaus AG? Despite many projects, I have found surprisingly few reviews.
5. Do you know of any interesting alternative projects in the Ruhr area?
You should provide us with the detailed scope of work or at least the offer ID number and the portal name. Then we can better estimate the interior construction costs.
You have already recognized well that these are bait offers where additional costs will be added. However, I find 30,000–40,000 (30–40k) to be significantly too high. Have you included the kitchen in that estimate?
I wouldn’t be too pessimistic about the homeowners’ association (HOA or condominium association). Often, the land registry states that everyone owns their individual unit and can do with it what they want. Of course, there are restrictions, but those exist with single-family homes as well; for example, you can’t just change the facade or plant a large tree right at the fence.
Equity is not what you have saved up, but what you put into the financing. Let’s say you have 60,000, of which you want to keep 20,000 for a car—that leaves you with 40,000. Unfortunately, you’ll have to cover additional purchase costs, etc., plus the kitchen, so overall not much remains.
Your income is not bad, so it should be feasible. Do you keep a household budget?
The Ruhr area is quite a broad term—maybe you should specify your preferred district (county) in your profile to get help from other users in your region.
You have already recognized well that these are bait offers where additional costs will be added. However, I find 30,000–40,000 (30–40k) to be significantly too high. Have you included the kitchen in that estimate?
I wouldn’t be too pessimistic about the homeowners’ association (HOA or condominium association). Often, the land registry states that everyone owns their individual unit and can do with it what they want. Of course, there are restrictions, but those exist with single-family homes as well; for example, you can’t just change the facade or plant a large tree right at the fence.
Equity is not what you have saved up, but what you put into the financing. Let’s say you have 60,000, of which you want to keep 20,000 for a car—that leaves you with 40,000. Unfortunately, you’ll have to cover additional purchase costs, etc., plus the kitchen, so overall not much remains.
Your income is not bad, so it should be feasible. Do you keep a household budget?
The Ruhr area is quite a broad term—maybe you should specify your preferred district (county) in your profile to get help from other users in your region.
Exclusive special usage rights for his part of the townhouse row. That’s the term. In practice, this is basically no different from ownership.
A German townhouse corporation—that’s industrial construction, but it also makes building affordable. The houses are solidly built; I could live with their level of finish. Smart home? What for! Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery? Just use window recess ventilation.
Karsten
A German townhouse corporation—that’s industrial construction, but it also makes building affordable. The houses are solidly built; I could live with their level of finish. Smart home? What for! Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery? Just use window recess ventilation.
Karsten
Nordlys schrieb:
Unlimited exclusive use rights for their part of the row of townhouses. That’s the key term. In practice, this is essentially no different from ownership.That’s what I meant
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HbMathias30 Mar 2019 12:55ypg schrieb:
You should provide us with the detailed construction specification or at least the ID number of the offer and the portal name. Then we can estimate the interior finishing. On Immoscout24, the number is 90620268. I wanted to attach a PDF, but that doesn’t seem to be allowed.ypg schrieb:
You yourself already recognized well that these are loss leaders, where additional costs will come on top. But I find 30–40 thousand clearly too high. Did you include the kitchen? Well, we marked 33,000 € on the additional list (about 23,000 € are for the two bathrooms including tiles and sanitary fixtures plus the guest toilet on the ground floor). However, I forgot that another 10,000 € or rather 19,000 € comes on top for the parking space or garage. I had no idea about the interior finishing but preferred to estimate on the safe side (we would want to have everything done professionally). Maybe that would already cover the kitchen.ypg schrieb:
I wouldn’t see the community owners’ association (WEG) that negatively: it is often regulated in the land register that everyone already owns their part and can do with it what they want. Of course, there are restrictions, but those also exist for detached houses, where you can’t just change the facade or plant a large tree by the fence. We don’t really see it negatively, just that what I have read in various forums so far sounded very negative. That actually sounds quite good.ypg schrieb:
Equity is not what you have saved but what you put into the financing. Let’s assume 60,000, of which you want to keep 20,000 for a car, then you would have 40,000. Unfortunately, you have to pay the incidental purchase costs from that, also the kitchen, so in the end, there is not much left. Okay, then we should first calculate with 40,000 € equity.ypg schrieb:
Your income is not bad, so something should be possible… do you keep a household budget? For now, we assumed 1,500 € per month for rent plus utilities, or monthly mortgage payment plus utilities, so that we wouldn’t have to restrict ourselves too much. We don’t keep a detailed household budget for every expense but do have an overall budget overview and different accounts for different purposes, which gives us a good overview. Currently, we pay about 800 € for the apartment including utilities, electricity, and internet. Additionally, we save about 1,200 € in various investment forms. We also put aside 500 € for a new car, which will probably be needed in the next 1–2 years. We would still like to invest around 100 to 300 € elsewhere while buying the house. Usually, some money remains at the end of the month, which we also save.ypg schrieb:
The Ruhr area is a pretty broad term… maybe you should specify your preferred district (Landkreis) in your profile to get help from other users in that area. Currently, we live in Essen, where most of our friends and my parents also live. I have a daily commute of about 55 km (35 miles) each way to my workplace in the Lower Rhine region (Kreis Kleve). Edit: The search radius is currently from Essen to Bottrop in the east and from Moers to Kamp-Lintfort in the west.Nordlys schrieb:
Deutsche Reihenhaus AG is industrial construction, but that also makes building affordable. The houses are built solidly, I could live with their level of equipment. Smart home? What for! Controlled residential ventilation? Use window rebate ventilation. I also think we could live with that level of equipment, but you always want a bit more. I also had the impression that it’s affordable but not cheaply built, so you should get a good price-performance ratio. What I forgot to mention is that it lacks underfloor heating, but since we don’t have it now either, that probably won’t be a problem. I would have liked controlled residential ventilation because I have a pollen allergy and thought that the air would be well pre-filtered there. Smart home would be more of a hobby for me since I am very interested in technology.We also live in a townhouse that is part of a condominium association. In your own house, you can do whatever you want. However, when it comes to external modifications (e.g., garden shed, air conditioning unit), you need to get approval at the owners’ meeting. There may also be regulations in the condominium declaration, for example regarding garden design. Additionally, we have a maintenance reserve fund. The advantage is that if there are issues with the facade or windows, the association has to pay for them, not just you alone.