ᐅ Dissatisfied with new construction due to other options now available
Created on: 27 Sep 2021 12:51
C
CrossyI was just about to create a second account for this thread, but in the end, I decided against it. I’m not even sure if this thread belongs in the financing section. The purpose of this thread is not to show off; I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, and my dissatisfaction is growing. Maybe some of you have had similar experiences, and I would be interested to know what you did.
I’m unhappy with our house. Not because it has any serious defects. It suits our current life situation, we have enough space, and next spring the garden will finally be finished and look great. Like many others, during the planning and construction phase, we set priorities because of our budget and gave up on some nice extras. Now, nearly 2 years after the financing was completed, our financial situation has changed significantly.
When we arranged the financing, I was just returning to work after my second parental leave, filling in as a temporary replacement during another parental leave. I knew the job was poorly paid (considering the required qualifications), but the overall package worked well, and I was confident I could manage it alongside the children. I always believed I would earn more in the long term and that this was only a transition back to work. Nevertheless, we based our financing on our income at the time because the financial future, even with good prospects, was uncertain. Therefore, we chose a more conservative approach and did not rely on future salary increases or push our budget to the limit.
Now, almost 2 years later, our financial situation looks completely different. I’m still with the same company but no longer in a temporary replacement role—I’m now a department head, and I have increased my working hours to fulfill this leadership position. Meanwhile, my husband has changed employers and was promoted. All in all, our combined income is about $4,000 more per month. And now I am annoyed by all the little things in the house that, in hindsight, wouldn’t have been a problem for us. With an additional $100,000–150,000, our house would be my dream home.
Many things cannot be retrofitted easily or without significant effort. I wish my dissatisfaction would fade over time so I could enjoy our very nice house and our financial freedom, but mentally I am thinking about selling and looking at plots nearby. My husband is bothered by a few things in the house as well but is generally more content and mainly wary of the hassle involved in building a new house.
I’m unhappy with our house. Not because it has any serious defects. It suits our current life situation, we have enough space, and next spring the garden will finally be finished and look great. Like many others, during the planning and construction phase, we set priorities because of our budget and gave up on some nice extras. Now, nearly 2 years after the financing was completed, our financial situation has changed significantly.
When we arranged the financing, I was just returning to work after my second parental leave, filling in as a temporary replacement during another parental leave. I knew the job was poorly paid (considering the required qualifications), but the overall package worked well, and I was confident I could manage it alongside the children. I always believed I would earn more in the long term and that this was only a transition back to work. Nevertheless, we based our financing on our income at the time because the financial future, even with good prospects, was uncertain. Therefore, we chose a more conservative approach and did not rely on future salary increases or push our budget to the limit.
Now, almost 2 years later, our financial situation looks completely different. I’m still with the same company but no longer in a temporary replacement role—I’m now a department head, and I have increased my working hours to fulfill this leadership position. Meanwhile, my husband has changed employers and was promoted. All in all, our combined income is about $4,000 more per month. And now I am annoyed by all the little things in the house that, in hindsight, wouldn’t have been a problem for us. With an additional $100,000–150,000, our house would be my dream home.
Many things cannot be retrofitted easily or without significant effort. I wish my dissatisfaction would fade over time so I could enjoy our very nice house and our financial freedom, but mentally I am thinking about selling and looking at plots nearby. My husband is bothered by a few things in the house as well but is generally more content and mainly wary of the hassle involved in building a new house.
Crossy schrieb:
I was just about to create a second account for this thread but decided against it. I’m also not sure if this thread really belongs in the financing section. It’s not meant for self-promotion; I’ve been thinking about this for a while and my dissatisfaction is growing. Maybe some of you have had similar experiences, and I’d be interested to hear what you did.
I’m unhappy with our house. Not because it has any serious defects. It fits well with our current life situation; we have enough space, and the garden will finally be finished next spring and look great.
Like many, we set priorities during planning and construction due to our budget and skipped some extras. Now, almost two years after the mortgage was finalized, our financial situation has changed significantly.
When we took on the mortgage, I had just returned to work after my second parental leave as a temporary replacement. I knew the job was poorly paid (considering the required qualifications), but the overall conditions suited me well, and I was confident I could manage it alongside the kids. I also always assumed I would earn more in the long run and saw this as just a re-entry.
Nonetheless, we financed based on our income at the time. Financial prospects can never be predicted with absolute certainty, even when positive, so we deliberately chose a conservative approach and didn’t rely on future raises or push the budget to the maximum back then.
Now, nearly two years later, our financial situation looks very different. I’m still with the same company but no longer as a temporary parental leave replacement—I’m now a department head and increased my hours to take on this leadership role.
My husband has also changed employers and been promoted. Altogether, we’re talking about roughly $4,000 more per month. And now the little things in the house are bothering me—things that wouldn’t have been a problem financially in hindsight. An additional €100,000–150,000 (about $110,000–165,000) would have turned our house into my dream home.
Many things can no longer be retrofitted without significant effort.
The best case would be that my dissatisfaction fades over time and I can enjoy our very nice house and financial freedom, but mentally I’m already considering selling and looking at plots nearby. My husband is also bothered by some things in the house, but overall he’s more content and mainly wants to avoid the hassle of going through housebuilding again. To better assess this, it might help if you could specify what exactly is bothering you. €100,000–150,000 (about $110,000–165,000) and the house would be a dream home? I can’t imagine what all could be included for that price. 😎
Basically, I’m not a fan of the pessimistic warnings about an “expensive” parental leave. In the end, you can calculate it well in advance and offset it through savings. The period is manageable. There are worse setbacks than taking parental leave.
At the same time, I do believe that high fixed costs, for example from a more expensive house build tied to certain income levels, do create pressure. My personal situation as essentially the sole earner contributes to this view. Honestly, I have to keep working as I do now, because otherwise we would have to downsize, since my wife couldn’t compensate for the loss of income.
Maybe it’s actually a good thing to have built with lower income in mind? Sure, you can always afford more, but are these things really that sorely missed? I think making a list is a good idea, possibly with an assessment of what could be changed and how expensive the retrofit would be. Yes, it’s a bit extravagant to tear out the tiles again after three years, but if you have an extra 4,000 (net?) per month, you can certainly afford it if it really bothers you that much.
By the way, I also “get annoyed” about smaller details where we were simply too stingy. I should have hired the somewhat more expensive tiler. I would also pay the extra 1,000 for a modulating heat pump today. With the knowledge I have now, I would have handled the building drying process differently.
I would have liked to have had brick cladding, but certain regulations here practically made that impossible. Aluminum windows also look very nice, but at the time we didn’t think the extra cost was worth it.
But well, are these really dramas that make me doubt the house? No.
At the same time, I do believe that high fixed costs, for example from a more expensive house build tied to certain income levels, do create pressure. My personal situation as essentially the sole earner contributes to this view. Honestly, I have to keep working as I do now, because otherwise we would have to downsize, since my wife couldn’t compensate for the loss of income.
Maybe it’s actually a good thing to have built with lower income in mind? Sure, you can always afford more, but are these things really that sorely missed? I think making a list is a good idea, possibly with an assessment of what could be changed and how expensive the retrofit would be. Yes, it’s a bit extravagant to tear out the tiles again after three years, but if you have an extra 4,000 (net?) per month, you can certainly afford it if it really bothers you that much.
By the way, I also “get annoyed” about smaller details where we were simply too stingy. I should have hired the somewhat more expensive tiler. I would also pay the extra 1,000 for a modulating heat pump today. With the knowledge I have now, I would have handled the building drying process differently.
I would have liked to have had brick cladding, but certain regulations here practically made that impossible. Aluminum windows also look very nice, but at the time we didn’t think the extra cost was worth it.
But well, are these really dramas that make me doubt the house? No.
Larger windows or corner glazing, a fireplace, air conditioning, dining room extended by 1 meter (3 feet 3 inches) to be able to rotate the kitchen island and design it as a "carrier deck," resulting in a different kitchen layout, possibly a small additional room, KNX instead of FaH, flush doors, and other minor details. I think all of this would add up to about 100,000.
The most expensive part would of course be the expansion. Our house is actually large enough, but this would allow us to design the kitchen really well.
Windows can’t simply be changed anymore (which I find one of the worst aspects). The fireplace only works with an external chimney like that, and the position is not ideal.
Yes, it’s 4,000 more net. Our monthly income is now in five figures and was already fine before. In addition, both of us work less than full-time (70% and 80%), but not in Germany.
The most expensive part would of course be the expansion. Our house is actually large enough, but this would allow us to design the kitchen really well.
Windows can’t simply be changed anymore (which I find one of the worst aspects). The fireplace only works with an external chimney like that, and the position is not ideal.
Yes, it’s 4,000 more net. Our monthly income is now in five figures and was already fine before. In addition, both of us work less than full-time (70% and 80%), but not in Germany.
Rather think about what you can do with the 4K per month in your life now, instead of sinking it all into the area of "housing."
This might be somewhat off-topic for a homebuilding forum, but you already have a new build where you can live comfortably and that, apart from the fact that it could somehow always be better or larger, apparently also pleases you.
Maybe there are other things where you could spend the money more wisely...
This might be somewhat off-topic for a homebuilding forum, but you already have a new build where you can live comfortably and that, apart from the fact that it could somehow always be better or larger, apparently also pleases you.
Maybe there are other things where you could spend the money more wisely...
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