ᐅ Building a House in Your Early 50s

My parents bought and renovated at the age of 50

Bauexperte schrieb:
Hello,

If you haven't already sorted it out by your early 50s – unless you had your children in your early 40s – it might be a bit late 😉

That’s one way to look at it; many parents probably share this view.

Personally, I believe there comes a time when children also have to learn to "swim." Just because I am a mother doesn’t mean I have to give up my personal self from the day my child is born. At some point, there must be time for my own needs again. And as long as I’m not squandering my property, my children will benefit from it anyway. From my perspective, it’s also not wrong at all if parents sell their property and live off the proceeds 😉

Regards, Bauexperte

I see the same opportunities regarding house building or buying an apartment. When I’m 50, my children will be just under 20 years old. They probably haven’t bought or built a home yet… at least that’s what I assume.

For me, it’s more about preserving assets. Often, the wealth of one generation is wasted, and the children lack a solid foundation. In 20 years, living space will probably be even scarcer and building more difficult.

What’s the point of investing a lot of money in new construction after 50 if the children will later end up living in a four-room apartment due to financial constraints? That’s the thought I was trying to express here. But many see it differently. Once I’m gone, it’s too late for my children… they won’t need the house I might build at 50 anymore.

We are 60 and 62 years old and are currently planning a new, age-appropriate house for next year, spacious and all on one level. The children have left home, and we have no reason to keep saving for them. Now it’s time to focus on ourselves. The current house, located on a slope, will be sold. Therefore, we are not wasting anything that rightfully belongs to the next generation. 🙂

Hello,
we are doing the same... I’m still under 50, but my husband is over. We are building a larger house than we have now, but have planned all our living space entirely on the ground floor and very spaciously. Both children are still living at home, and that will probably remain the case for a while. In our development area, there are several families who have already seen their children move out and are building new homes again. Why not?

By the way, we earned our first house ourselves, without inheritance or financial support from our parents or anything like that, and the same applies to the second house. I’m not building this for my children; if they want a similar standard of living, they will have to work for it themselves.

merlin83 schrieb:

When I’m 50, my kids will be just under 20. [...] their own children lack the basics. [...] ...If later on the kids, due to lack of financial support [...] it will be too late for my children...

Where is "merlin" in all these arguments about children? Don’t you also think that through your upbringing, your children learn that you have a right to your _own_ life?

We are currently 55 and 56, our children 35 and 30; if we haven’t managed so far to teach them about life’s challenges and how to handle them, then the inheritance won’t help them when we eventually take our final journey 😉

Best regards, Bauexperte

merlin83 schrieb:
Often, the wealth of one generation is squandered, and the next generation lacks a basic foundation.

This is not about squandering or wasting financial resources, but rather about parents needing to secure the best possible care for themselves.

Children become responsible for themselves at some point, starting with their education or vocational training. It is certainly nice if parents have something left to help their children get started, but becoming independent and self-reliant means that, from a certain age, children are responsible for their own future.