ᐅ Dreaming of a House: Realistic Goal or Just Wishful Thinking?
Created on: 9 Oct 2019 00:58
T
Trinity2019
Good evening,
I have been considering for some time now fulfilling my dream of owning a home. However, there are some factors that make me doubt how realistic this really is, or how much I could afford to spend, if at all.
Here are the basic conditions:
I am 40, single, and plan to cover the entire financing on my own, both now and in the future.
No children, equity of 100,000, income currently around 4,200, with a very likely increase of 15% over the next 3 years.
My additional expenses are very low, as my employer fully covers my car and mobile phone. What is important to me is a nice garden; the house can be smaller, since I will be living alone. I could save quite a bit on the interior finishing.
So, I would appreciate your opinion and assessment... should I really go for it, or would it be better to hold off?
Best regards
I have been considering for some time now fulfilling my dream of owning a home. However, there are some factors that make me doubt how realistic this really is, or how much I could afford to spend, if at all.
Here are the basic conditions:
I am 40, single, and plan to cover the entire financing on my own, both now and in the future.
No children, equity of 100,000, income currently around 4,200, with a very likely increase of 15% over the next 3 years.
My additional expenses are very low, as my employer fully covers my car and mobile phone. What is important to me is a nice garden; the house can be smaller, since I will be living alone. I could save quite a bit on the interior finishing.
So, I would appreciate your opinion and assessment... should I really go for it, or would it be better to hold off?
Best regards
If you are flexible about the location, have a bit of imagination, patience, and spontaneous access to funds, you will definitely find some existing properties within this price range.
The question is, should it really be ownership? A nice rental property with your criteria wouldn't be bad either.
A friend of mine rented a single-family house right in the middle of Hamburg, about 230 m² (including a fully finished basement), approximately 250 m² (2,690 sq ft) garden, pool, sauna, fully renovated, including a garage for two cars and a carport, for 2,600 EUR per month.
He laughs at my "problems" regarding contractor costs/availability, or even my partner’s commuting time, and so on.
At first, I tried to argue against it... but now, if I didn’t have a fully paid-off house of my own, I would personally lean towards renting as well. And if you don’t like ANYTHING, just call the landlord or move on. Rent the next place. Spontaneity is fully preserved, which can be priceless, especially if you are single.
So, personally, I wouldn’t stress too much about buying. If it’s easy to do, fine, go for it. But as soon as you have to make compromises or whatever, just rent and be done with it.
Everything has advantages and disadvantages. Owning a house is not everything. Believe me... It’s in human nature that many people who have financed a house for 25+ years and are unhappy don’t share their experiences here.
If the supposed dream of a homeownership can’t be realized, don’t despair! There’s more than one way to get there.
The question is, should it really be ownership? A nice rental property with your criteria wouldn't be bad either.
A friend of mine rented a single-family house right in the middle of Hamburg, about 230 m² (including a fully finished basement), approximately 250 m² (2,690 sq ft) garden, pool, sauna, fully renovated, including a garage for two cars and a carport, for 2,600 EUR per month.
He laughs at my "problems" regarding contractor costs/availability, or even my partner’s commuting time, and so on.
At first, I tried to argue against it... but now, if I didn’t have a fully paid-off house of my own, I would personally lean towards renting as well. And if you don’t like ANYTHING, just call the landlord or move on. Rent the next place. Spontaneity is fully preserved, which can be priceless, especially if you are single.
So, personally, I wouldn’t stress too much about buying. If it’s easy to do, fine, go for it. But as soon as you have to make compromises or whatever, just rent and be done with it.
Everything has advantages and disadvantages. Owning a house is not everything. Believe me... It’s in human nature that many people who have financed a house for 25+ years and are unhappy don’t share their experiences here.
If the supposed dream of a homeownership can’t be realized, don’t despair! There’s more than one way to get there.
nordanney schrieb:
Why not?It’s mentioned in my previous post.
The additional costs. They are lost. Prepayment penalties as well.
If I buy a property for personal use, especially if I build a new house, I have to assume that I will stay there for at least 5, preferably 10 years. Otherwise, it can become expensive.
And how often does life change drastically? (Family, children, illness, death...) Not very often. So no problem.
I’m not going to live for decades in a situation (rental apartment) if I want a house and can afford it.
Currently, you can recover the ancillary costs through price increases.
I completely agree with Nordanney.
I’m not going to live for decades in a situation (rental apartment) if I want a house and can afford it.
Currently, you can recover the ancillary costs through price increases.
I completely agree with Nordanney.
N
nordanney9 Oct 2019 13:32guckuck2 schrieb:
Additional costs. They are gone. Prepayment penalties as well. So what? Every day, millions of people in Germany waste a lot of money by buying a new car, replacing their phone every year, upgrading from HD to UHD TVs (which doesn’t really improve private channels either), and so on.
Why should I care about a few thousand euros that I invest in this? This is not meant to be arrogant, but why is a house or apartment always seen differently from all other goods? I want to live, and life does cost some money.
Moreover, for example, after 4 years of repayments at 2-3%, you have already covered those additional costs—the rent would be about the same over that time. Price increases like those in the past decades are not even considered.
Prepayment penalties can be neglected since swapping properties is usually allowed by any bank for a small fee.
Nice bias. Property prices have been rising for 10 years. So, you can’t really lose money, right? Well.
A newly built house is like a new car. Right after moving in, at least 10% of the value is lost in my opinion. On top of that, there are additional purchase costs and early repayment penalties. A few thousand? Rising prices lead to higher loans. I don’t have to explain that to you. Calculate the early repayment penalty, for example on a €400,000 (about $430,000) loan that has been running for 4 years. It’s more likely to be a few tens of thousands.
And Rick, your house is certainly not ordinary, but the area doesn’t look like a booming metropolitan region (though that might be misleading). When selling properties like that, it either happens quickly or very slowly—unless it’s in places like Blankenese or Bogenhausen.
A newly built house is like a new car. Right after moving in, at least 10% of the value is lost in my opinion. On top of that, there are additional purchase costs and early repayment penalties. A few thousand? Rising prices lead to higher loans. I don’t have to explain that to you. Calculate the early repayment penalty, for example on a €400,000 (about $430,000) loan that has been running for 4 years. It’s more likely to be a few tens of thousands.
And Rick, your house is certainly not ordinary, but the area doesn’t look like a booming metropolitan region (though that might be misleading). When selling properties like that, it either happens quickly or very slowly—unless it’s in places like Blankenese or Bogenhausen.
This was also about regular houses, not luxury properties.
With an expensive car, you lose more money when you start it for the first time than with a property.
Location is always a factor. (Mine is good and not cheap either. I only have a few old houses left in the area).
With an expensive car, you lose more money when you start it for the first time than with a property.
Location is always a factor. (Mine is good and not cheap either. I only have a few old houses left in the area).
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