ᐅ Is it Practical to Build a Single-Family Home as a Single Person?
Created on: 28 Oct 2016 23:34
P
p2007
Hello,
I am currently in the planning phase for my own home. A little about me: I am 31 years old and a civil servant. My current net income is €2,650 and it is expected to rise to around €3,300 net over the next 10 years. Recently, I inherited a 700m² (7,535 sq ft) plot of land, valued at approximately €250,000 according to the local land price index. I would like to build on this property. Besides the land, I have about €15,000 in savings. The plan is to build a single-family house worth around €300,000. I have an architect in the family who is providing the full planning and coordination free of charge.
The idea is that I will build the house on my own. Although I have a girlfriend, she would at most contribute some rent and therefore would not be officially involved. However, I have the following question:
Does it make sense to build a house as a single person?
I have a girlfriend, but we have not been together long enough for me to be sure it is a lasting relationship. I keep going back and forth, wondering if the comfort and luxury of owning a home justifies the high monthly expenses. I am quite worried that I might be overestimating myself and that I could end up living alone in the house, unable to manage the costs. On the other hand, I think I can start financing a home now that will be paid off by the time I retire. Does anyone else experience these constant doubts, and what have your experiences been afterward? I keep telling myself that as a “single” person, I shouldn’t build a house.
Thank you for your replies and have a great evening!
Best regards, Chris
I am currently in the planning phase for my own home. A little about me: I am 31 years old and a civil servant. My current net income is €2,650 and it is expected to rise to around €3,300 net over the next 10 years. Recently, I inherited a 700m² (7,535 sq ft) plot of land, valued at approximately €250,000 according to the local land price index. I would like to build on this property. Besides the land, I have about €15,000 in savings. The plan is to build a single-family house worth around €300,000. I have an architect in the family who is providing the full planning and coordination free of charge.
The idea is that I will build the house on my own. Although I have a girlfriend, she would at most contribute some rent and therefore would not be officially involved. However, I have the following question:
Does it make sense to build a house as a single person?
I have a girlfriend, but we have not been together long enough for me to be sure it is a lasting relationship. I keep going back and forth, wondering if the comfort and luxury of owning a home justifies the high monthly expenses. I am quite worried that I might be overestimating myself and that I could end up living alone in the house, unable to manage the costs. On the other hand, I think I can start financing a home now that will be paid off by the time I retire. Does anyone else experience these constant doubts, and what have your experiences been afterward? I keep telling myself that as a “single” person, I shouldn’t build a house.
Thank you for your replies and have a great evening!
Best regards, Chris
p2007 schrieb:
A plot in this location of this size simply isn’t affordable for an average earner. Still, you can’t imagine how many people have already asked if the plot is for sale.
Best regards, ChrisI can imagine that – which is why I suggested subdividing.
To put it another way: I suspect that if an investor bought the plot, it would be divided or at least developed with two houses on one lot. Ultimately, this depends on the zoning plan and plot layout, but the demand is clearly there.
You need to be aware that if you use the entire 700m² (7,535 sq ft) yourself, you are indulging in a bit of luxury. That’s perfectly fine, and the value doesn’t (usually) decrease quickly in such a location. In emergencies, that’s still an asset – but if you build on it in a way that rules out further subdivision, use, or development, you might be limiting your options. Your architect definitely needs to consider this.
In this area, I believe you should think carefully about how to use the land – when the price per square meter is only about 30€ (approximately $33) it doesn’t matter so much, but even in areas where around 100€ (around $110) is paid, plots of 400–500m² (4,300–5,400 sq ft) are now more common than not. So, 700m² (7,535 sq ft) in this location for exclusive use is quite substantial, and if you factor in a family, maintaining 700m² (7,535 sq ft) is quite a responsibility.
My suggestion or advice to your architect would definitely be to either subdivide immediately (while keeping both plots) or at least plan and build so that about 350m² (3,767 sq ft) could be separated later if that seems sensible.
To illustrate this from a different angle: if your new building requires about 400m² (4,305 sq ft), then your “garden land” (subject to permitted development) is worth an additional €100,000 (approximately $110,000).
Just a thought to consider...
Best regards,
Dirk Grafe
G
garfunkel30 Oct 2016 23:20I would keep the plot intact and not divide it.
However, I would design the house so that, as a single occupant, you initially live on just one floor, while the second floor and the attic can be rented out. With clever planning, when starting a family, the separate units can be reconnected, giving you the entire house for yourself. Until then, you can live in the appropriately sized apartment and also earn rental income. It’s probably possible to plan it so that tenants can share part of the garden, have their own section, or that your garden area is not visible from the rental units, and so on.
This could become interesting again later when the children leave the house. You would have a source of income for retirement, or the children could move into their own apartment within the house and pay rent.
A whole single-family home with a large garden would be too much work for me as a single person. I would only consider that if the floor plan is designed with large rooms. However, that could cause problems again if the family grows.
However, I would design the house so that, as a single occupant, you initially live on just one floor, while the second floor and the attic can be rented out. With clever planning, when starting a family, the separate units can be reconnected, giving you the entire house for yourself. Until then, you can live in the appropriately sized apartment and also earn rental income. It’s probably possible to plan it so that tenants can share part of the garden, have their own section, or that your garden area is not visible from the rental units, and so on.
This could become interesting again later when the children leave the house. You would have a source of income for retirement, or the children could move into their own apartment within the house and pay rent.
A whole single-family home with a large garden would be too much work for me as a single person. I would only consider that if the floor plan is designed with large rooms. However, that could cause problems again if the family grows.
This all sounds very familiar to me.
I’m also single and happen to be a civil servant (with a uniform), and I was 31 when I built my house. Now at 33, I can say “I did everything right for me.”
For me, it’s “just” a semi-detached house on a plot of about 300m² (3,230 sq ft), and I’m financing “only” 200,000 EUR, but it’s a similar situation.
By the way, my 11 windows (9 full-length and 2 skylights) are cleaned by a company, including both inside and outside frames plus the canopy, for 55 EUR. I don’t find that worth mentioning since it’s not something you do every month.
What I absolutely have to admit is that you spend a lot of time in and around the house. Even more so at the beginning when you’re landscaping the garden and working on various projects. After completing the house, I spent three full vacations and countless weekends working on the house and garden. At times, I even wondered if I still had all my marbles. But now that I’m mostly done, I regret nothing except that I wouldn’t do the sanding and filling work myself again.
I have 136m² (1,464 sq ft) of living space and about 60m² (646 sq ft) of usable basement, and I don’t find it too big for me alone. There’s also room for children’s bedrooms.
It is certainly a bit more work to keep the house clean than a 50m² (540 sq ft) apartment, but I enjoy doing it. For me, the house and especially my garden have become a real hobby with constantly new projects coming to mind.
I would define your financial limits first—what’s possible and what you can afford monthly—and if that fits, I would definitely go ahead and build.
I’m also single and happen to be a civil servant (with a uniform), and I was 31 when I built my house. Now at 33, I can say “I did everything right for me.”
For me, it’s “just” a semi-detached house on a plot of about 300m² (3,230 sq ft), and I’m financing “only” 200,000 EUR, but it’s a similar situation.
By the way, my 11 windows (9 full-length and 2 skylights) are cleaned by a company, including both inside and outside frames plus the canopy, for 55 EUR. I don’t find that worth mentioning since it’s not something you do every month.
What I absolutely have to admit is that you spend a lot of time in and around the house. Even more so at the beginning when you’re landscaping the garden and working on various projects. After completing the house, I spent three full vacations and countless weekends working on the house and garden. At times, I even wondered if I still had all my marbles. But now that I’m mostly done, I regret nothing except that I wouldn’t do the sanding and filling work myself again.
I have 136m² (1,464 sq ft) of living space and about 60m² (646 sq ft) of usable basement, and I don’t find it too big for me alone. There’s also room for children’s bedrooms.
It is certainly a bit more work to keep the house clean than a 50m² (540 sq ft) apartment, but I enjoy doing it. For me, the house and especially my garden have become a real hobby with constantly new projects coming to mind.
I would define your financial limits first—what’s possible and what you can afford monthly—and if that fits, I would definitely go ahead and build.
Similar topics