I am already old enough not to know unsynchronized manual transmissions, and also a union member familiar with the associated drinking culture. That’s why I borrowed the term "Zwischenhaus" from Zwischengas and Zwischenbier :)
I wrote the post "Das Zwischenhaus: ein Sprungbrett" because many builders foolishly risk a financial muscle fiber tear by aiming for the perfect permanent house right from the first step on their real estate ladder. On the one hand, holding on to the belief "you only build once" nowadays easily crosses the line from a "normal" split to a blood tackle: creating the space so that the desire for children might be fulfilled three times and each child should have a princely single room from an early age costs expensive living space to build. At the same time, the house should also remain loyal to the couple building it well into their walker phase of life. If then you add clinker cladding, a fireplace, an open space, a sauna, all in five-star materials, one could sum up such a house’s building story with the words "affordability made easy." Throughout the entire time, the Damocles sword of a tight financing hangs directly over the family’s neck like a close-range coup de grâce, who, on vacation on their balcony, still have to count ice cream scoops individually — only two on Sundays.
Usually, people come from an apartment and have no experience with the "single-family house" form of living — or almost worse: they do have some experience, but from memories of summer heat under an uninsulated pitched roof or the like, which they never ever want again, further overloading the must-have list. Without a "dress rehearsal," one only learns in the large, expensive house which planning decisions would have been better made differently.
By contrast, with the Zwischenhaus, one willingly forgoes the not-yet-needed portion of living space, has more disposable income for visits to water parks, movie tickets, etc., and at the same time gains living experience at a considerably lower octave of expense. Additionally, with "good leadership" as a financing debtor, one builds up one’s creditworthiness further. Early repayment instead of payment pause gives the credit borrower the right drive as far as reputation is concerned.
Since a child has a nine-month delivery time and only becomes school-age after another six years, it is no surprise if they appear on the doorstep as a teenager straight away. There is therefore plenty of time to hold on to a Zwischenhaus for ten years. Ten years of plaster instead of clinker might sound dreadful at first, yes, maybe. But ten years of sleeping more peacefully, given that prices should definitely not rise again before the next salary raise — that’s also worth something and creates quality of life and wears the person out less (which might even spare the walker later). And what demands does a child really have? - At first, toys and as a teenager fast WLAN, but certainly never huge tiles in the hippest fashionable color!
Precisely because I have been interested in architecture since I was a child myself, I know that most children do not share that interest.
So, one can "dare" to climb the real estate ladder in not so painfully big steps and approach one’s homeownership career as a calculation and with a portion of high-gloss renunciation. Of course, to make the calculation "work out" as rewarding, you must consider your individual data: if the child is already five years old now, then, naturally, the Zwischenhaus will not be held for ten years until the child changes to secondary school. Then you would, for example, rent instead of buy or build, but even then you would have gained years in which it becomes clear whether the child remains an only child or not...
Especially since you can also come to love your terraced house with plaster and without a gallery, etc.
My parents bought a terraced house in a beautiful village edge location at the end of the 90s... out of necessity. It had been the rental work property due to my father’s on-call duty. When the company wanted to sell the houses, there was the option: buy or find a rental alternative with 5 children.
The latter simply did not exist on the market. My parents did an excellent job of constantly making rooms multifunctional, so a room was sometimes a dining room, sometimes a playroom, sometimes a study, and sometimes a bedroom. It did not impair the relationship with my siblings that I only had a room for myself at about 17 years old.
My husband and I are now buying the identical neighboring terraced house and are glad that with €1200 monthly payments, we will be debt-free in 25 years... or sooner because the payment should have enough breathing room for special repayments.
It doesn’t always have to be the best of everything.