Buy a condominium, build a house, or rent an apartment?

Since we also live in the area: I wouldn’t choose a condominium because everything there is strictly regulated and in the end, there is no difference to a rental apartment when it comes to freedoms. But there are also a whole bunch of disadvantages, such as sudden unexpected financial demands if certain measures are decided upon that you have to support. And you can’t just move out again if you don’t like it. The neighbors are also on your case from all sides... would be a clear no-go for me.
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Well, I wouldn’t see it that way...

For one, you are paying off your own property and not throwing your money to a landlord. You also have the security to live there as long as you want – forced moves by third parties no longer exist...

Sudden financial demands should also not really occur with proper property management.

And of course, as an owner, I can always move out again and sell the apartment if I no longer want to be part of the homeowners association.

A new building costs horrendous sums, at least twice as much as a young existing building.

Sorry, I consider that a rumor...

: What do you understand by a YOUNG existing building? :confused:

..., at most the motorcycle idiots annoy me.

A bit of a sweeping statement, don’t you think?

Regards,

one of the "motorcycle idiots"

What do you understand by a YOUNG existing building? :confused:

Let's say from the year 1980. Or rather, from 1976. So everything younger than me because I am still really young ;)

By motorcycle idiots I mean those who have an extra flap on their bike to make it louder. That goes down really well in a narrow valley, especially when such a pack roars through here again ;) But you're certainly not one of them, right!

First of all, thank you very much for the help here.

Since we also live in the area: I wouldn't take a condominium because everything there is strictly regulated and ultimately there is no difference to renting when it comes to freedoms. But there are also quite a few disadvantages, such as sudden unexpected financial demands when certain measures are decided that you have to contribute to. And you can't just move out again if you don't like it. The neighbors are also on your back from all sides... that would be a clear no-go for me.

Well, I have been living in a rental apartment with my parents for 25 years. We have only moved once so far. We have certainly paid about €200,000 to the landlords and today we do not own any of it. If my parents bought a house today, they would have more equity from selling an apartment. Unfortunately, they did not...
Moreover, in those 25 years we never had neighbors who got "on our backs." We ourselves had guests almost every second weekend and are loud in the apartment, so we accept the noise level of the neighbors when it occasionally reaches the upper dB range. But of course, after 10 p.m. it is quiet time.

Our idea was to find a 60~70m² apartment with a small garden and in a price range of €80,000~120,000. With the equity, we would halve the loan amount and pay it off in a very short time. During this "short" time, raise the children and later look for a house. Unfortunately, something like that cannot be found in the Rhine-Main area.

What about auctions, can one say something positive about them?

I definitely did not want to argue in favor of renting, more like pro-house! The annoying thing about the neighbors/landlords was not the noise level, that wouldn’t have bothered us, but rather other things. After two years, two of our neighbors bought the house from the housing association, and from then on, it was all about control. Since we had already had bad experiences with nosy and impudent private landlords before, we never wanted private landlords again but only housing cooperatives/associations. After that, we had enough and bought the house.

Also in the Rhine-Main area and for 140k euros. So it is possible, but you need quite a bit of luck and have to invest some work. However, I would always prefer this solution to a new condominium, precisely because in your own house you are really your own master, which can never be the case with a condominium since the owners’ association always has the final say.
A communal garden is also absolutely not my thing; I’d rather have no garden at all. I keep rabbits and occasionally squirrels and am glad to be able to set up permanent enclosures that neither the neighbor’s cat nor the neighbor’s children can get into. In the rental apartment garden, I often had to run to save my animals from poking sticks and thrown sausage slices. Also, being stopped on the way to the trash bin/mailbox and getting involved in hours-long conversations can no longer happen to me now. Thanks to an invisible property with a 15 m minimum distance from the center of the house in all directions.

My father-in-law has a house on a property divided according to the Condominium Act and luck with his co-owner. But if that person ever sells, he has no influence on what comes after. Whether the joint garden and yard use still runs so harmoniously is rather a matter of luck. That’s not for me.

On the subject of auctions: I would never do that, it’s gambling. Even if you get the house for the land value, you never know what other costs might arise for the disposal of harmful building materials or soil remediation.
Better to search longer and wait for a bargain or, if nothing works out, a turnkey townhouse from the developer (preferably already completed). I often see signs on the road advertising offers around 200k euros, where really everything is included. Compared to our old flat in WI, they built 10 such townhouses and then sold them one by one; those were already available for 260k, which is really cheap for WI, but I wanted to move away from the area anyway.

Let's say from year 1980. Or well, from 1976. So everything that is younger than me because I am still really young ;)

Aha, okay, then that could be right - I would have thought of young existing buildings from around 2005... :)

By motorcycle idiots I mean those who have an extra flap on their bike to make it louder. It sounds really great in a narrow valley, especially when a whole bunch of them roar by again ;)
But you’re certainly not one of those, right!

Ok, also understandable. That can be really annoying. But I don’t understand this type of motorcyclist either - if I go on a longer tour like that, I would definitely get noise trauma afterwards... :confused:

Regards,

Dirk

It is possible in the Rhine-Main area and for 140k euros. It can be done, but it takes a lot of luck and you have to put in some work.

What do 95% of people do who have no luck? Or who don’t want / can’t wait 5 years for the lucky moment? Either buy "bad luck" then or buy a condo where you also have to be "lucky" with the neighbors.