ᐅ Building a House During Parental Leave – When Is the Optimal Time?
Created on: 22 Nov 2012 00:53
S
Selbs86
Hello,
what do you generally think about building a house during parental leave, meaning actively participating in the construction and saving as much as possible through own work? To explain the situation, we are both 26 years old, haven’t planned to have children yet, and don’t intend to move into a house immediately. It’s more of a long-term plan. I (male) have a university degree and started working about two years ago. I still have a few thousand euros of debt from loans for furniture, kitchen, etc., but I am confident I can repay around 1,000 euros per month, so I plan to start saving capital in a few months. My girlfriend did not attend university but has been working since she was 16. She has saved about 15,000 euros of capital. We both own cars valued around 8,000 euros, with no loans on them.
My girlfriend wants to stay at home during the first year anyway. So the idea would be that I also stay home the first year completely and contribute as much as possible to the house construction myself. The problem often is that the work has to be done after normal working hours or on weekends. Here, there would be the opportunity to take complete time off. Parental benefits (parental allowance / maternity pay) are only paid for 14 months, so some financial loss must be expected. The question is whether this loss would be less than the value of the own work that can be achieved within 12 months.
Specifically, my plan is to hire an experienced worker for the respective tasks who would guide me and work alongside me, but whom I can support full time. I have no formal training in this area, but I think in principle it should not be a problem. I’m physically fit and an athlete. I would like to work on labor-intensive trades such as the shell construction myself.
I’d appreciate your opinions, suggestions, or general tips on how to balance family planning and building a house in our situation (limited own capital due to university, my girlfriend definitely wants to have the first child before turning 30, and we will soon be 27). By the way, we currently live in a two-room apartment. Although it’s quite large (90 cm (35 inches)), it has only two rooms, so a move will have to happen eventually. A move also takes time, energy, and money.
what do you generally think about building a house during parental leave, meaning actively participating in the construction and saving as much as possible through own work? To explain the situation, we are both 26 years old, haven’t planned to have children yet, and don’t intend to move into a house immediately. It’s more of a long-term plan. I (male) have a university degree and started working about two years ago. I still have a few thousand euros of debt from loans for furniture, kitchen, etc., but I am confident I can repay around 1,000 euros per month, so I plan to start saving capital in a few months. My girlfriend did not attend university but has been working since she was 16. She has saved about 15,000 euros of capital. We both own cars valued around 8,000 euros, with no loans on them.
My girlfriend wants to stay at home during the first year anyway. So the idea would be that I also stay home the first year completely and contribute as much as possible to the house construction myself. The problem often is that the work has to be done after normal working hours or on weekends. Here, there would be the opportunity to take complete time off. Parental benefits (parental allowance / maternity pay) are only paid for 14 months, so some financial loss must be expected. The question is whether this loss would be less than the value of the own work that can be achieved within 12 months.
Specifically, my plan is to hire an experienced worker for the respective tasks who would guide me and work alongside me, but whom I can support full time. I have no formal training in this area, but I think in principle it should not be a problem. I’m physically fit and an athlete. I would like to work on labor-intensive trades such as the shell construction myself.
I’d appreciate your opinions, suggestions, or general tips on how to balance family planning and building a house in our situation (limited own capital due to university, my girlfriend definitely wants to have the first child before turning 30, and we will soon be 27). By the way, we currently live in a two-room apartment. Although it’s quite large (90 cm (35 inches)), it has only two rooms, so a move will have to happen eventually. A move also takes time, energy, and money.
I can currently easily set aside an additional 1,000 EUR on top of the rent. My girlfriend probably around 500 EUR as well.Just wait until the first one or two children arrive.
And I also think a few extra months wouldn’t have such a negative impact on income.First, you should clarify whether this would even be acceptable to your employer... Not everyone agrees to a few months of unpaid leave so easily.
The tasks you could probably do yourself (laying floors, painting, etc.) could likely be completed during your 2 months of parental leave plus 1 month of paid vacation.
I don’t think you can just help out casually by laying one brick at a time. That would probably only slow down the skilled bricklayers rather than help. If it’s going to be done, it should be done entirely alone – but then the contractor will likely have trouble meeting their deadlines.
C
christoph198324 Nov 2012 21:16Parental leave is primarily intended to focus intensively on the child. Believe me, you will naturally want to spend as much time as possible with your family, so you simply won’t have the time or mental capacity to take on any tasks, even simple ones, just to save a few euros – there’s hardly any more potential for savings anyway. At least not the way you imagine it. Use the free time for yourself and your family.
The people working on the construction site will be a well-coordinated team; I don’t think you’ll be able to help much (just like me!). I am also planning to take parental leave around the time of the final finishing and moving into our house (in two years) so I can focus on the outdoor areas (driveway, carport, terrace, greenery). I don’t need instructions or any help for that – I can handle almost everything by myself – and I’m really looking forward to finally using my Bosch Professional 36v cordless screwdriver, which has been sitting unused for a year. That’s a small difference: I genuinely enjoy it and am excited about it – I won’t see it as a burden.
The people working on the construction site will be a well-coordinated team; I don’t think you’ll be able to help much (just like me!). I am also planning to take parental leave around the time of the final finishing and moving into our house (in two years) so I can focus on the outdoor areas (driveway, carport, terrace, greenery). I don’t need instructions or any help for that – I can handle almost everything by myself – and I’m really looking forward to finally using my Bosch Professional 36v cordless screwdriver, which has been sitting unused for a year. That’s a small difference: I genuinely enjoy it and am excited about it – I won’t see it as a burden.
I am currently on parental leave, and I can tell you that you will use every free minute to catch up on what you couldn’t do when the child needs attention. Our house will be assembled on Thursday, and I don’t think I will even have enough time or, above all, the motivation to watch the whole day.
People often underestimate the energy a child requires, especially if they are not exceptionally easygoing. But after about three weeks without a single night of proper sleep, you simply won’t have the energy to work on the construction site anymore.
People often underestimate the energy a child requires, especially if they are not exceptionally easygoing. But after about three weeks without a single night of proper sleep, you simply won’t have the energy to work on the construction site anymore.
Bauexperte schrieb:
Hello,
Building a house means tackling 16 tradesWhich ones are those?
What proportion of the building do they cover? And can this be separated into labor and materials?
(Of course, just roughly/statistically)
Sorry for interrupting the topic
DirkB schrieb:
Which ones are those?
What proportion of the building do they account for? And is it possible to separate that by labor and materials?
(of course, just roughly / statistically)
Sorry to bother with this topicThe thread is 6 years old!