Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

It doesn't work in our Baustoff-BayWa in town. And for me, it was specifically about getting these devices contactlessly from lockers or similar and putting them back. And that is exactly without personnel and 24/7.

It would be nice, but the problem is that you quickly end up with devices that are completely dirty and broken. In the wrench set, the 17mm is missing. The vibrating plate is returned with an empty tank, with the flex the blade is worn out. Sure, you can trace that back to the borrower, but the next person has to report it as well. I don't think it works without staff to check that upon return. I would also find it good to be able to get something within walking distance. But the decisive question is whether it is economical, because only then such a service has a long-term future. Rental causes costs, whether with personnel or a packing station for tools. The costs have to be passed on, and as a customer, you also invest your time. Make a suggestion: how much should the lawnmower cost to rent, how long should the rental period be, and how far would you be willing to walk?

So using a lawnmower is a stupid example. You need it too often and too temporarily. Just yesterday I chuckled again... a neighbor starts the mower and every half hour the others start theirs too

We now need a chainsaw. But that's again one of those things where I think "hmm.. maybe better to have my own".

How can you bet on falling interest rates with rates around 1-1.5%? :O We closed at 1.4% for 20 years in February, anything below that was never an issue. I can't imagine that there are many, percentage-wise, who have closed for 5 years.

How can you bet on falling interest rates when they are around 1-1.5%? :O

Maybe not on falling, but against rising? So, it feels like in the last 10 years I have often heard things like "they will never rise above x% again! The EU needs low interest rates, otherwise everyone will go bankrupt and that's why mortgage rates remain low" or something like that, and the x got smaller every year ;) And then you might stand there thinking "wait, we are supposed to pay 200 euros more every month, just for the longer fixed interest period?" I don’t personally know anyone who voted below 10. But when it was about more, my impression last year here in the forum was also that opinions were definitely divided.

So a lawn mower is a bad example. You need it too often and too temporarily. Just yesterday I chuckled again... a neighbor starts the mower and every half hour the others follow

We now need a chainsaw. But that's again one of those things where I think "hmm.. maybe better to have my own".

I didn't suggest the lawn mower. But that's one of the critical points. Which tool is needed seldom enough and is so expensive that renting is worthwhile, but at the same time is needed so frequently that renting pays off? And which of those isn't the kind you can just ask the neighbor for?
That works quite well for specialist equipment that you need for a weekend to a week and then never again, the usual range in machine rental. But everyday tools like cordless screwdrivers don't really fall into that category. If you don’t have one yourself, you can still ask the neighbor, who certainly has one.

So I do not lend my tools. Gradually, I have bought quite good equipment and enough of it. I do a lot myself on the car and house. Unfortunately, things then strangely disappear or are inexplicably broken. Then money comes into play and that can strain friendships. So no thanks. Otherwise, I am very interested in solutions. But real solutions.