ᐅ The situation in the real estate market... unbelievable

nordanney schrieb:

... and you get a portion of the costs back through taxes

Which then goes towards repairs and maintenance.
The initial purchase costs are added on top.

Bookstar schrieb:

Those numbers are nonsense, right? Or do you actually believe that yourself?

It’s not about belief, those are our figures.

Joedreck schrieb:

What will be spent on repairs and maintenance.
The initial purchase costs are added on top.

That money is meant for exactly that. Similar to depreciation for buildings. You just can’t spend it recklessly.

Farilo schrieb:

Because, as a rule, people who own a house worth over half a million don’t buy a Dacia. (Whether I think that’s good/wise or not doesn’t really matter at this point).

That is your reality. Not mine.
And if I look around, it’s not my neighbors’ reality either.
These are people around their forties with small children and a dog, 1.5 incomes in office jobs, all houses well above 600,000 (USD). Dacia, Opel, Renault cars are seen frequently here. DINKYs (dual income, no kids) typically have a 1 Series or 3 Series BMW. But that’s it.
The expensive cars are mostly seen here only at houses over 1 million (USD), where the residents tend to be self-employed.

Joedreck schrieb:

50€ gasoline (to the train station)
90€ annual pass
20€ insurance
10€ taxes

You are correctly calculating mobility costs but then compare them with other people’s car expenses. None of our cars have an annual pass.
In addition to car expenses, there are depreciation, maintenance, and repairs.
In addition to mobility costs, there is also the commuter allowance / tax deductions.

In the past, I managed cheap driving like this: An old 5-series station wagon with a V8 engine, 170,000 km (106,000 miles) added in 2 years, no repairs, maintenance done at the local filling station, inexpensive insurance (30%, no comprehensive), 900€ depreciation over 2 years. Capital invested in purchase: 1.2 monthly salaries. The increased fuel consumption was easily offset by the low depreciation, and I enjoyed the beloved torque for relaxed driving.
This may no longer be considered up to date today — but environmentally, it would certainly be better to avoid buying new cars and instead keep using existing ones until truly eco-friendly new cars are available. Manufacturers should first be held accountable for their flawed developments.

Tassimat schrieb:

- House including purchase-related costs and renovation I currently estimate at 550k
- Equity was five figures
- Skoda Fabia station wagon

So you have to repay a loan of at least 450k.
What about the value of the house? Could it be worth 700k or more?
How much income do you have?

If your income is below the <6k I mentioned, then, if you had asked me for my opinion, I definitely would have advised against it.
Nothing more would have happened. It’s your own decision after all.

As long as YOU can sleep well and are happy with your decision, everything is great.

nordanney schrieb:

I’m happy to adjust your figures. Okay. But then also please do so for the tenant as well. Are you trying to say that an average family can no longer even afford an affordable rental?
And once again my question: who sleeps better (if I also increase costs for the tenant, plus rent increases)? You still haven’t answered that question. According to you, the tenant would also have a very hard time because they can hardly afford the rent, let alone live comfortably.

You’ll probably have to agree with me on that one.

But in real life, it’s different. Why does everyone have to be overinsured? Why does everyone have to drive an expensive car? Why does everyone building a house immediately need to build reserves? And so on. It works and life is good that way.

Hi Nordanney,

I think we have a misunderstanding. I already wrote that earlier.
Sure, if you directly compare the exact same standard one-to-one, I can well imagine that you (and others here) are right with the calculated figures.

I have no idea why you would think that I mean that an average family can’t afford an affordable rented apartment.

Regarding rent increases, you have a good point.
However, there are also cooperatives out there that are very cautious with rent increases. But apparently that’s not the norm, so we can leave those aside.

I agree with you that tenants also face huge difficulties as soon as the rent is raised. Especially if the increase is due to renovations that aren’t really necessary, which then drive the rent even higher.

At the end of the day, tenants can simply move out. It’s not a big deal, since the notice period is usually 3 months. But I see your point.
At the same time, the risk remains relatively “contained” due to the lower amount and the possibility to terminate the lease.

Regarding possible overinsurance and so on, I’m with you there. Except for the point about setting aside reserves for the house. Of course, things work at the beginning and so on. But repairs happen eventually. That’s just how it is. This is normal. And usually repairs on the house rarely cost only about 100 Euro. Somehow I have the feeling that nothing is ever below about 1k, whatever it is...
Electrical appliances usually only have a 1 year warranty anyway... They have to be replaced sometimes. If by chance the side-by-side fridge and oven break down at the same time, things get tighter.

But when it comes to expensive cars and overinsurance, I totally agree with you!