House Building Forum - Would you buy or build a house again?

I'm surprised that the vast majority would do it again! Can you quantify your living spaces? We currently have 200m² and wonder if that's not a bit too large, also considering age.

As I mentioned above, very few people in a house-building forum are FOR a rental relationship. So don't be misled.

I have always wanted my own house and felt miserable as a tenant. I simply need the space and freedom and never understood how anyone can cram their life and living into a typical living room-bedroom-kitchen-bathroom layout. Also, being squashed close to complete strangers always annoyed me; I never formed any connections due to my moving behavior (it started early, I was already in 3 different elementary schools in 4 elementary school years). We moved every 2 years. I wanted a home where no one could throw me out and where everyone else except me (and today my husband) was merely tolerated.
Besides, I didn’t want to see or have to greet anyone when I stepped outside the door.
That can only be the case in an owner-occupied house, and so that was always the highest goal. As soon as we could afford it (in the sense of "as soon as we had conditions where the bank would approve"), the house was bought. There were 4 years between my husband’s first job and buying the house, hence the very modest equity, because he still had to support me as well.
I would say that the moment we moved into the house, real life finally began. It’s a complete construction site, but I would never move back into a rental apartment. Even though I haven’t had a kitchen for 4 years. It’s my house and I wake up every day with a smile. The garden is simply a dream come true. Some heartfelt wishes that come true don’t make you happy after all, and you realize you deceived yourself – here it was different!
So yes, looking back, I would definitely buy a house again!

Hi,

then I'll write something about it too...

We have only been living in our 150 sqm for two months. So far, we think the house is great! However, there is always something to do, ranging between fun and "dirty work."

The rate is just under 40% of one income, because we are cautious and in case of emergency, the house shouldn't suffer. We're just optimistic realists.

Cheers, torsan

Since Friday, it has been on my mind to comment on this post.
On the one hand, because I read sentences like

Aber ich bin der garantierten Überzeugung, dass JEDE Familie mit den 30% abhängig vom Eigenkapital ein Bauvorhaben stemmen kann. Das eine wird halt kleiner, das andere größer.

Ich sage: Wollt ihr ewig zur Miete leben?

Wer in der magischen 30% Zahl liegt und heute nicht bei den Zinsen - natürlich mit vernünftiger Festschreibung und gesicherten Einkommen (Leben: Lebensgefährlich, halt so gesichert wie man es absehen kann) - baut, muss ganz andere Gründe haben.

Maybe the magic of the 30% happens to work here in the forum right now for the middle class... Nevertheless, I find it almost irresponsible to say here that everyone within the 30% should/can manage it. That may work above a certain volume, but not below — and especially not when it comes to the responsibility of a family with children.
What income can still be considered secure today? I am talking about people with average education, whom the economy or even a broken leg can already disrupt from a regulated and buffered income. Sure: you cannot insure against everything, but a family that no longer has a buffer and has to manage a very tight financing can be thrown off track, for example, by a weeks-long illness.

Regarding your opinion about landlords — that makes me furious!

Und Vermieter sind:.....ich sag hier nichts mehr. Sonst versündige ich mich.

Entweder bereichert man den Vermieter.

Von dieser Art Miete leben andere also genial und super-super und kommt doch die Willkür auf, ist man dennoch voll im *****. Letztlich ist das Geld weg und fließt zu einer Bank.

Landlords (people) are usually individuals who invest money in residential properties to then rent them out accordingly. This investment usually only pays off after decades but should be regarded as a win-win business. If someone sees themselves disadvantaged or favored, it may have to be considered on a case-by-case basis. Always referring to duties or rights is not always the diplomatic solution. This problem can also be found in working life (employee and employer) but also between any contractual parties — such as building owners and construction companies.

I do not believe this forum is suitable for inciting hostility against landlords — many of these builders themselves plan to rent out and will be able to rent cost-covering for the next 20/30 years but might occasionally encounter rotten eggs during this time.

I am very sorry that you, as a mod, are getting really annoyed with me here.

You don't have to be sorry - a forum thrives on the exchange of opinions and experiences. I just believe that some posts should not be left as they are.
It also makes no difference whether I am a mod or a participant in this forum.
And yes: my annoyance results from exactly the opposite experiences, which were not made by me, but by a family member with tenants or the costs and circumstances in well-functioning relationships.
When considering everything together, a roughly break-even profit has probably been earned from the properties over the last 30 years. The tenants are doing well

But so that the thread does not go off-topic, you are welcome to continue the discussion with me via PM if you wish.

I don’t find the topic off-topic, since it belongs to the topic of tenancy – from which usually grows the desire for homeownership, and thus we are within this subject.
I have pointed out to the OP several times that the forum lacks the lobby of the (happy) tenants. Thus, the positive aspects of a tenancy as a whole are missing

When I look at who is active here in the forum, they are definitely not convinced renters (otherwise they wouldn’t be building/buying or dealing with construction). They are all homeowners planning their house, currently building, or who have completed it in the last weeks, months, or 1-2 years. Everyone who is finished is currently enjoying this "finally finished feeling." No one will show up here who can no longer pay their installments and says... "If only I had never bought the house." Nor will there be a 70-year-old who regrets buying the house 20 years ago because they can no longer physically manage the house and garden. The only ones who might really appear here and express negative opinions would be those whose construction went seriously wrong or where the relationship may have broken down afterwards.