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

Created on: 3 Jun 2018 15:36
T
Thierse
A quite important topic: Renting or buying/building? How did you decide, and what were your reasons?

Living rent-free in old age isn’t really the case even with owner-occupied property when you look closely (ongoing costs for maintenance, renovations, etc.).
S
Steffen80
6 Jun 2018 07:58
Kekse schrieb:
Why "natural"? In doubt, that’s exactly what I would want to do. I’m building a house that I’d like to move into myself. And that’s exactly what I would want to rent if I had the choice. It’s just questionable whether I would stay in the same house once the children have moved out – but maybe I would, for the sake of convenience. I absolutely hate moving with the force of a thousand suns. And there will surely be a use for the two rooms.

Because those houses usually don’t exist, and if they do, they’re unbelievably expensive. Around here there is a house like that. 280 m² (3,014 sq ft) living area, large plot, lake view, roof terrace with a pool. I like it. 8,000 EUR cold rent per month. That would be too expensive even for me.
C
chand1986
6 Jun 2018 09:03
Kekse probably meant exactly this: Because they do not want to compromise on living experience, owning a single-family home becomes worthwhile for them.

When asking "is it worth it?" people usually first think about the purely financial aspect, and we have found: No.

Is it worth it in terms of living quality? We have found: Yes.

How much does quality of life depend on living quality, and how much is an improvement in living worth in terms of a decrease in financial gains?

No one can answer that for someone else with certainty. I can only observe that some people who make this calculation misjudge the financial side. For those to whom it is not that important anyway, living in their own home simply leads to better sleep.
K
Kekse
6 Jun 2018 09:19
Basically what chand says. Or rather, I would put it the other way around: I’m not building a dream house with every possible feature, but one that I am satisfied with. Such houses can also be rented at realistic prices. I am willing to accept compromises in living quality compared to the ideal state in both cases.

If you want to be precise, according to your statement, building yourself is worthwhile at least in your market segment.
N
niri09
6 Jun 2018 13:55
I’m not building a dream house with every possible feature, but one I can afford and feel comfortable in... although people are generally able to adapt and feel comfortable anywhere with the right people by their side.

Sorry, but people here come from many different regions of Germany, and rent prices, land prices, etc., vary greatly. Can you really generalize and say: the house is too expensive, rent is cheap? That just doesn’t work. What does work are your own means and a bit of luck.
S
Steffen80
6 Jun 2018 15:00
ypg schrieb:
Let’s not sugarcoat it...

You were the first here to bring up the word return on investment, which sparked a discussion far beyond the initial question.

Most people talk about living comfort and quality, not about numbers.

Go back to page 2.

You said: lower costs than a three-room apartment.

Nordlys: paying for a house is an investment.

That’s how it all started, and both statements are probably nonsense.
C
chand1986
6 Jun 2018 15:14
Steffen80 schrieb:
Nordlys: paying for a house as an investment.

Whereas @Nordlys Karsten followed a concept that can still be seen as a real investment, namely:

Building a small, single-story house at a low cost, resulting in a high equity ratio, which allows the mortgage to be paid off in a short period, leading to rent-free living upon retirement and postponing major renovation expenses for several years.

This is not comparable to 20-, 25-, or even 30-year loans, where maintenance investments still fall within the repayment period.