Hello everyone,
I hope I set up this topic correctly; if not, I would appreciate any advice.
A bit about me:
I am 24 years old, trained as an industrial clerk, worked for two years, and will complete a further qualification in business administration this June. So far, I live with my two dogs at my parents’ house, but once school is finished and I have a steady job again, it will be time to move out.
I’ve also been in a relationship for two years, although my boyfriend actually lives about 140km (87 miles) away. He spends so much time at my place that you could almost say he lives here.
Now to my actual problem. I own a plot of land that borders directly onto my parents’ property. It is currently serviced with utilities but remains undeveloped.
On the one hand, I don’t want to move into an expensive rental apartment and “finance a good life for the landlord” (I don’t mean this harshly,...), but on the other hand, I’m unsure if it makes sense to build so early.
Considering that landlords are probably not keen on tenants with two dogs, the question is whether my boyfriend and I would even be able to find an apartment.
I know there are countless online discussions about whether it makes sense to buy a house at a young age, but I haven’t found anyone who already owned a plot of land.
Best regards,
AnjaR93
I hope I set up this topic correctly; if not, I would appreciate any advice.
A bit about me:
I am 24 years old, trained as an industrial clerk, worked for two years, and will complete a further qualification in business administration this June. So far, I live with my two dogs at my parents’ house, but once school is finished and I have a steady job again, it will be time to move out.
I’ve also been in a relationship for two years, although my boyfriend actually lives about 140km (87 miles) away. He spends so much time at my place that you could almost say he lives here.
Now to my actual problem. I own a plot of land that borders directly onto my parents’ property. It is currently serviced with utilities but remains undeveloped.
On the one hand, I don’t want to move into an expensive rental apartment and “finance a good life for the landlord” (I don’t mean this harshly,...), but on the other hand, I’m unsure if it makes sense to build so early.
Considering that landlords are probably not keen on tenants with two dogs, the question is whether my boyfriend and I would even be able to find an apartment.
I know there are countless online discussions about whether it makes sense to buy a house at a young age, but I haven’t found anyone who already owned a plot of land.
Best regards,
AnjaR93
C
chand198620 Mar 2018 11:32markus2703 schrieb:
You can either take control of your life when you are young or keep all options open until 35 and miss out on quite a bit.So, taking control of your life and keeping your options open are opposites? That's a bold statement... I actually claim the exact opposite. So what now?
You will always miss out on something because you can’t do everything at once and there are only 24 hours in a day. The question is not what you miss out on (which is almost everything), but whether what you don’t miss out on is what you really want.
If you already have a plot of land, no building obligation, and are still young, the pragmatic approach — mentioned by many here — is to rent first. If the relationship is strong enough to endure the building of a house, it won’t break over renting an apartment. You can have children in rental homes without any major issues. There are many other advantages (the word “living experience” was mentioned, and it is, alongside flexibility, the most important), too.
Conclusion: Even if you could build a house right now, and even if you assume a lasting relationship that includes children, renting first is still highly recommended. You keep all your options open, and the only thing you lose is time living in a house which, with a few more years of experience, you might build differently anyway. A few years is an extremely small price to pay for keeping so many options.
I strongly recommend: rent initially, keep the land as an investment, and do not build anything intended for renting out. This approach has very few disadvantages but many advantages, as explained above.
And something must be said about fearmongers:
markus2703 schrieb:
Then comes the “closing-gate syndrome” 🙂 The opposite happens just as often: midlife crisis, mostly among men, trying to catch up on missed opportunities because they “had to” start a family in their mid-twenties (perhaps to spare their partner from fear of running out of time?).
You should always live life in a way that suits you, not how others do!
Maria16 schrieb:
I find that comment simply inappropriate. No one would point out a ticking clock to a man who’s 24. Well, if the man could have children, I would mention it.
Anyone like me, who has spent three years unsuccessfully in fertility treatment starting at age 35, doesn’t give a dime to such equality theories. It’s all nonsense – if you want children, you should start thinking about it by age 24.
That aside, the issue of having children is not necessarily linked to building a house – as Chand already said. Here, it was just one of several things to consider from age 24 onward, without any pressure. I think it’s much more important to strengthen the relationship. 🙂
I think to give really good advice here, we would need to know a lot more about the OP.
Or rather, these are things you might want to consider yourself first:
- What does your life plan actually look like? Not everyone wants to build a career at all costs; there are also people who prefer to stay where they are and are happy to make compromises in their career for a (self-chosen) attachment to a place. How is that for you?
- Do you want to have children someday or not? Or are you unsure yet?
- How do you evaluate your current relationship? Is it for life?
- Your house or our house? Do you want to do it alone, also finance it alone? In case of a possible separation, you’d be on the safe side.
- What is your partner’s stance on this?
- What does your financial situation look like? Apart from the plot of land, do you have any equity? The land is great, but the house also costs money, and if I understand correctly, you don’t have a permanent job yet. Without equity, it will be quite difficult to persuade a bank to give you a loan.
Unlike many others, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to start thinking about building a house early on. That significantly extends the time available for repayment ;-)
If I know that I want to live there long-term and my professional development is already fairly established, and on top of that, I have equity, then it really isn’t a bad idea to start considering whether to begin the house construction now.
If these things are not settled yet, I wouldn’t even start thinking about it.
On the other hand, I can speak from my own experience. I’ve always wanted to build a house, and I’ve always enjoyed designing homes, considering where to build what, getting my ideas on paper.
And to keep it short: when I try to remember what my dream house looked like when I was 24, it is quite different from how I build now.
You develop over time—the taste, the requirements, and the circumstances change. So it’s possible to build a house now that you might not like later.
I also expected to have children later. It turned out differently (which I’m not unhappy about — personally, I wasn’t a candidate for fertility treatments), but at 24 I would have naturally designed two kids’ bedrooms plus probably the option to add a third child’s room. Now, that means I have two rooms that won’t be used the way originally planned. At the same time, I might have saved space elsewhere that I now use differently (e.g., a large wellness bathroom with a sauna).
Nevertheless, I wouldn’t necessarily advise against starting the house build now.
If you are 100% sure that this is the life you want to live and you have some equity, then I would recommend using a flexible floor plan (so a good architect is key) that you can adapt to different life situations if needed.
This doesn’t necessarily have to be connected to the relationship; in fact, in some cases, it might even be better to do it independently. But your partner should at least understand this approach. One advantage, as mentioned above, is the ability to repay over a long period without retirement age getting in the way.
Or rather, these are things you might want to consider yourself first:
- What does your life plan actually look like? Not everyone wants to build a career at all costs; there are also people who prefer to stay where they are and are happy to make compromises in their career for a (self-chosen) attachment to a place. How is that for you?
- Do you want to have children someday or not? Or are you unsure yet?
- How do you evaluate your current relationship? Is it for life?
- Your house or our house? Do you want to do it alone, also finance it alone? In case of a possible separation, you’d be on the safe side.
- What is your partner’s stance on this?
- What does your financial situation look like? Apart from the plot of land, do you have any equity? The land is great, but the house also costs money, and if I understand correctly, you don’t have a permanent job yet. Without equity, it will be quite difficult to persuade a bank to give you a loan.
Unlike many others, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to start thinking about building a house early on. That significantly extends the time available for repayment ;-)
If I know that I want to live there long-term and my professional development is already fairly established, and on top of that, I have equity, then it really isn’t a bad idea to start considering whether to begin the house construction now.
If these things are not settled yet, I wouldn’t even start thinking about it.
On the other hand, I can speak from my own experience. I’ve always wanted to build a house, and I’ve always enjoyed designing homes, considering where to build what, getting my ideas on paper.
And to keep it short: when I try to remember what my dream house looked like when I was 24, it is quite different from how I build now.
You develop over time—the taste, the requirements, and the circumstances change. So it’s possible to build a house now that you might not like later.
I also expected to have children later. It turned out differently (which I’m not unhappy about — personally, I wasn’t a candidate for fertility treatments), but at 24 I would have naturally designed two kids’ bedrooms plus probably the option to add a third child’s room. Now, that means I have two rooms that won’t be used the way originally planned. At the same time, I might have saved space elsewhere that I now use differently (e.g., a large wellness bathroom with a sauna).
Nevertheless, I wouldn’t necessarily advise against starting the house build now.
If you are 100% sure that this is the life you want to live and you have some equity, then I would recommend using a flexible floor plan (so a good architect is key) that you can adapt to different life situations if needed.
This doesn’t necessarily have to be connected to the relationship; in fact, in some cases, it might even be better to do it independently. But your partner should at least understand this approach. One advantage, as mentioned above, is the ability to repay over a long period without retirement age getting in the way.
Climbee schrieb:
I think it’s not a bad idea to start thinking about building a house early. It significantly extends the repayment period ;-)Alternatively, you might move into the second house sooner and build it not only when retiring, but right when the kids become independent. That’s another perspective that has its advantages.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
G
garfunkel20 Mar 2018 17:13Or you can build it so that, for example, two apartments can be combined into one and later separated again.
It would also be worth calculating this with three units.
Ground floor + upper floor, plus an additional unit above the garage or as an extension.
It would also be worth calculating this with three units.
Ground floor + upper floor, plus an additional unit above the garage or as an extension.
Hello 🙂
I can see there are a lot of different opinions here, thanks for that!
Because of the dogs, I’m tied to this location anyway, as my parents take care of them during the day while I’m at school or starting work in August. To be honest, I don’t really want to move away from here, and it probably won’t be necessary... 😉
Two semi-detached houses are planned to be built on the plot— the larger one with about 175 sqm (1,884 sq ft) for us, and about 100 sqm (1,076 sq ft) for my parents (initially it will be rented out), since my brother will take over my parents’ house in a few years.
I understand that I won’t get financing without a permanent job. The construction is not planned before mid-next year anyway, when we both have permanent jobs and some work experience.
My boyfriend and I are not party people; at most, we go out to celebrate twice a year.
We agree on the house construction and getting married. Children are planned once I have gained a few years of professional experience.
Best regards
Anja
I can see there are a lot of different opinions here, thanks for that!
Because of the dogs, I’m tied to this location anyway, as my parents take care of them during the day while I’m at school or starting work in August. To be honest, I don’t really want to move away from here, and it probably won’t be necessary... 😉
Two semi-detached houses are planned to be built on the plot— the larger one with about 175 sqm (1,884 sq ft) for us, and about 100 sqm (1,076 sq ft) for my parents (initially it will be rented out), since my brother will take over my parents’ house in a few years.
I understand that I won’t get financing without a permanent job. The construction is not planned before mid-next year anyway, when we both have permanent jobs and some work experience.
My boyfriend and I are not party people; at most, we go out to celebrate twice a year.
We agree on the house construction and getting married. Children are planned once I have gained a few years of professional experience.
Best regards
Anja