ᐅ Tiny house – possible for €300,000?

Ysop*** schrieb:

The question is, what exactly are you aiming for? You can manage a garden through lease agreements, for example.

Actually, I have looked into tiny houses. However, in Germany, it is still difficult to implement, except on certain campsites. Ultimately, the same building regulations apply to tiny houses as to regular properties. And if the tiny house has a decent size (45-60 sqm (480-645 sq ft)), prices start at around 70,000 euros, with well-known manufacturers like Cabin One from Schwörerhaus having regular house prices above 100,000 euros.

I have already talked to my sister and brother-in-law about whether they could imagine it (old village center, over 1000 sqm (10,765 sq ft) plot). That would be the next step where we would inquire at the local authorities. Also involve a lawyer, because ownership issues relating to a kind of “annex” in the garden are not straightforward. Many banks reject financing for this, so it will most likely have to be done through a standard consumer loan.

Leasing a garden would, of course, be an alternative!

Why I am considering a house at all: I am the only fully employed person in our rental building. The rest are retirees and people with reduced earning capacity who hang around at home all day. You’re not allowed to run the washing machine before 7 a.m., and if you work late and the machine runs until 7 or 8 p.m., you already get complaints... I really can’t tolerate that in the long run.

If I were to move now, comparable apartments would cost 150-200 euros more, so roughly 650-700 euros. That’s why I’ve been thinking about home ownership. My combined cold rent and savings amount is 1,500 euros, which I could theoretically afford without problems. But to build reserves and cover higher additional costs, the loan payment should definitely not exceed 1,000 euros. Financing up to age 60, I came to around 300,000 euros.

Personally, living space is not that important to me. I lived with my ex on 45 sqm (480 sq ft) during my studies, and that was actually fine for two people. But there is a real difference in quality of life whether I can open the balcony door in the morning and sit in the garden chair or whether I have to quietly sneak downstairs so as not to wake the neighbors. (Yes, that’s an emotionally romanticized view!). In some respects, I am also a bit lazy. When my sister has to dry her “dance bathroom” by hand, I am always glad to have a small bathroom 😀

I really need to reflect more and study carefully what to watch out for.

Right now, it’s more of a “not a good idea,” a naive wishful thought.

I haven’t read all the posts, but I do remember that our home builder, Akost, had a bungalow with 69 sqm (740 sq ft) in their portfolio.

I can’t recall the exact price anymore, but it was around 150,000 to 160,000 euros (depends on the region; prices are lower in the north than in the south), including the foundation slab. The standard version is very basic (our electrician described it as similar to social housing ;-) ), but you can use the toilet, shower, and switch on the lights. When it comes to the floor plan design, Akost offers flexibility. This is the example bungalow from their catalog: 🙂

Michele87 schrieb:

Actually, I have already looked into tiny houses. However, it’s still difficult to implement in Germany, except on certain campsites. Ultimately, tiny houses are subject to the same building regulations as regular properties. And if the tiny house has a decent size (45-60 sqm (485-645 sq ft)), prices start at around €70,000, while well-known manufacturers like Cabin One by Schwörerhaus have normal house prices above €100,000.
I have actually already talked to my sister and brother-in-law about whether they could imagine it (old village center, over 1000 sqm (10,764 sq ft) plot). That would be the next step, to check with the local authorities. And also with a lawyer, because ownership issues for an “extension” in the garden are not simple. Many banks refuse to finance this; most likely, you would have to take out a regular personal loan.
Leasing a garden would of course be an alternative!
Why I am even thinking about buying a house: I am the only full-time working person in our rented building. The rest are retirees and people with reduced earning capacity who stay at home all day. You’re not allowed to use the washing machine before 7 a.m., and if it runs until 7 or 8 p.m. after a long day at work, you get complaints… I really can’t tolerate that long term.
If I moved now, comparable apartments would cost €150-200 more, so roughly €650-700. That’s why I’m thinking about ownership. Cold rent and savings amount to €1500, which I can theoretically afford without problems. But regarding building reserves and higher incidental costs, the loan payment should definitely not exceed €1000. With financing until age 60, I come to around €300,000.
Personally, living space is not that important to me. I lived with my ex on 45 sqm (485 sq ft) during university, and that was actually fine for two people. But there’s a real difference in quality of life whether I can open the balcony door in the morning and sit in the garden chair or have to quietly sneak down the stairs so as not to wake the neighbors. (Yes, a bit of an emotional view!) In some ways, I’m also a bit lazy. When my sister has to dry her “dance bathroom” by hand, I’m always glad that I have a small bathroom 😀
I really need to think this through again and study what to pay attention to.
Right now, it seems more like “not a good idea,” just a naive wishful thought.

Okay, definitely a mobile home or something similar on leased land with primary residence registration. No neighbors, relatively little work, fairly low cost. Has disadvantages too, but I think the advantages outweigh them.

Jean-Marc schrieb:

Smaller houses with 70-90 m² (750-970 sq ft) of living space do occasionally come up in the existing housing stock.
...

If you want to sell such a small house again, the target group is probably more likely to be seniors looking to downsize. Children have moved out, and the house has become too large...
We are all basically in that position in a few decades 🙂

Schimi1791 schrieb:

If you want to sell such a small house again, the target group might rather be seniors looking to downsize. Kids have moved out, and the house has become too big...
We will all be there in a few decades, so to speak 🙂

But no 70 sqm (750 sq ft) where you bump into walls at every corner. The house would then have a 5 sqm (54 sq ft) bathroom that you probably wouldn’t enjoy at 70 years old. The same goes for a bedroom that’s barely 11 sqm (118 sq ft), where you couldn’t get through with a wheelchair or walker. Well, maybe you wouldn’t need a walker at all because you’d be surrounded by walls :p
Seriously though: your needs really change as you get older.

Schimi1791 schrieb:

If someone wants to sell such a small house again, the target group might rather be seniors who want to downsize. Kids have moved out, the house is now too big...
All of us here, so to speak, in a few decades 🙂

Here, seniors tend to occupy penthouse apartments with elevator access 😎 They no longer want to deal with gardening.