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

Steffen80 schrieb:
In Germany, homeownership is always considered a luxury. At least in the part of Germany where I live, especially here in the East. Just go around the country and ask the "average" workers if they rent, and if so, why do you think that is?

This is because, especially in rural areas, rents are still relatively low. As rents increase, the desire to own property grows. And luxury means different things to different people. Our new condominium is by no means a luxury.

Steffen80 schrieb:
Ultimately, owning a home is a luxury, not an investment (excluding land value appreciation). Just as an example: I visited the hardware store at least five times last week and probably spent more than 1000 EUR (about 1100 USD) there… just for a bit of the garden. Plus, the 2000 EUR (about 2200 USD) Husqvarna for the lawn. I probably wouldn’t have these costs if I rented. Instead, I would have invested the 3000 EUR (about 3300 USD) in the stock market and held it for more than seven years. Seven years is the statistical benchmark after which you would have consistently seen over 2% annual returns (at least historically).

You wouldn’t have those expenses in a rental property because you wouldn’t have a garden, and even if you did, the landlord wouldn’t cover it. Apartments usually come with standard fittings, and anything beyond that you would have to pay for yourself as well.

Rising rent prices are the reason we are building a house. We are choosing to build because existing homes (some of them older) are excessively expensive and sell within a few weeks. The resale value has actually doubled. It depends on the location, but in our region (Frankfurt area), prices will never fall because there is simply too little land available.

niri09 schrieb:
It depends on where you build, but in our area (Frankfurt region) prices will never drop, because there is simply too little available land.

Never say never. How quickly prices can collapse has been seen in the USA or Spain. Let the two major German banks in Frankfurt go bankrupt (you can judge their situation by their stock prices), and then some foreign institutions move away, and property prices in Frankfurt are likely to fall as well.

For us, the question didn’t even arise.

Rental apartments are virtually non-existent or extremely rare. Those lucky enough to secure one pay very, very low rent. There are no houses available for rent. Older buildings are sold at prices that make you wonder where the gold mine or oil well is.

Renovating my parents-in-law’s house requires a lot of money. We are living with them (even though I have the best mother-in-law), but there are no more daycare places available, and we have double the commute.

My sister in Cologne pays roughly the same amount for her apartment each month as we pay for interest and principal on our house. OK, we probably have higher additional costs, and we make an annual extra repayment. But in return, we will be debt-free in 16 years and afterward only have additional costs plus maintenance.

I dispute the claim that garden maintenance costs differ significantly between homeownership and renting. This excludes the initial basic landscaping, of course, and applies only within comparable types of housing. As always, if you want luxury, you have to pay for it. So far, I haven’t met any landlord who provides a Husqvarna (or robotic) mower. If they do provide a lawnmower at all, it’s usually a budget model from a discount retailer.

Moreover, as an owner, you have much more freedom in making maintenance investments. There is often a considerable time gap between “it might be time to replace, it’s no longer optimal” and “it’s seriously broken, it must be replaced NOW,” during which renters are at the mercy of their landlord’s discretion—whereas owners can make their own decisions.

Kekse schrieb:
I dispute that the costs for garden maintenance differ significantly between homeownership and renting. Excluding the initial basic landscaping, of course, and only comparing similar types of housing. As always, if you want luxury, you have to pay for it. In any case, I have never met a landlord who provides a Husqvarna (robot?) mower. If they even supply a lawnmower, it’s usually a budget store model like Aldi’s.
Furthermore, as a homeowner, you have much more freedom in your maintenance investments. There is often a significant period between “it could be replaced, it’s no longer optimal” and “it’s seriously broken, it must be replaced NOW,” during which you are subject to your landlord’s discretion—or you can decide for yourself.

Guys… are you really making such a fuss or what? Of course, I’m not saying that the garden is more expensive in a rental than in a house. IN A RENTAL APARTMENT, you USUALLY DON’T HAVE A GARDEN!!! Houses without gardens are rather the exception!!! Come on!!