ᐅ Renting a house or buying/building one? How did you decide?

...and the sun sets so beautifully over the Kiel Bay... what else could this world offer us? Nothing, we already have everything.

ypg schrieb:
@Steffen80
You’ve never been able to take money with you to the afterlife. Why give up the comfort and luxury of owning a custom-built single-family home just to eventually fill your bank account through speculation or extreme saving?
Maybe you miss out on something that lasts only for the next trend, then the same cycle repeats? Money provides security, but just having it doesn’t guarantee happiness.
@Climbee is in the same position as I am and makes the most of the situation: living life!
We don’t care about returns; we live our lives well!
But some people probably need to be 50 or older to understand that.
A young person like you will realize someday that money isn’t everything.

That’s not what I’m saying. After all, I built the house myself. BUT I’m not sugarcoating it like most people here! I built not for retirement purposes, but for quality of life—for me and my family—and for the present! Building and living in a single-family home costs a lot of money… significantly more than I would spend as a renter (because of course I would never rent something like what I built). That’s my truth.

ypg schrieb:
A young guy like you will eventually realize that money isn't everything.

It's easy to say that ... when you're sitting in your own garden :P.

Steffen80 schrieb:
Quite unfortunate. If you had invested in the DAX in 1995... it would be worth over 1 million by now. If you had invested in Apple in 1995... well, never mind.

Edit: even with a fixed-term deposit back in 1995 held continuously, you would have more than 295,000 EUR (over 313,000 USD) today!!!

You are basically right, of course. However, you obviously wouldn’t have gotten 60%, 70%, or 80% financing to invest in the stock market. So, you could only count your own equity. And tax treatment is somewhat different: exemption from capital gains tax for owner-occupied property after 10 years...

Still, he is fooling himself with his claim of over 100% returns. Considering all variables, his annual return is moderate—even though he bought during a downturn and sold during a boom. People buying or building today will, in most cases, see significantly worse results.

And I’ll say it again: An owner-occupied house or apartment = consumption/luxury, not an investment.

ypg schrieb:
@Steffen80
You can never take money with you to the afterlife. Why give up the comfort and luxury of a self-built single-family home just to eventually fill your bank account through speculation or extreme saving?
Maybe you’ll miss out on something that’s good enough for the next show, only to repeat the same cycle? Money provides security, but merely having it doesn’t guarantee happiness.
@Climbee is in the same situation as I am and makes the most of it—namely, living life!
We don’t care about returns; we live our lives well!
But some people probably have to be over 50 before they understand this.
A youngster like you will realize someday that money isn’t everything.

That’s exactly the argument some users here are trying to explain. It makes sense based on quality of life. But anyone who fantasizes about a great financial investment in an owner-occupied home is fooling themselves. By the way, nobody here has talked about speculation but rather about investment. That’s a big difference. You are absolutely right; you don’t care about returns, so you built/bought. That’s fine.

But some people are writing about their great investments, and an owner-occupied house simply isn’t that.

Steffen80 schrieb:
(because I would never rent something built like that)

Why “of course”? If in doubt, that’s exactly what I would want to do. I am building a house that I would like to move into myself. And that’s precisely what I would want to rent if I had the choice. The question is whether I would stay in the same house after the kids have left — but maybe I would, for the sake of convenience. I absolutely hate moving with the force of a thousand suns. And the two extra rooms will definitely find a use.

Steffen80 schrieb:
I'm not saying that. After all, I built it myself. BUT I’m not sugarcoating it like most people here! I built not as an investment for retirement, but for the quality of life for myself and my family—and for the present! Building and living in a single-family home costs a lot of money... significantly more than I would spend as a renter (because I would never rent the same way as I built, of course). That’s my truth.

No sugarcoating…

You were the first here to mention the word return, which led to a discussion beyond the initial question.

Most people write about living comfort and quality, without referring to any numbers.