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

We had a damn hard time during the construction and in between 2 tiny temporary apartments.

Our marriage (already 19 years old) improved again on a high level through the house and what we did together. We accomplished something....says the Swabian. Together.

Arguments: There were none.

We shared worries.

Found solutions.

Did.......

It depends on the attitude.

I’m glad to read that others feel or felt the same way

One thing that is absolutely crucial, however, is choosing the right construction partner – this insight is something I can only wholeheartedly recommend to every future homeowner. The success of the entire project hinges on the construction company.

Correct.
At least it saves one A LOT of trouble.
Especially when I read one or the other post here in the forum, I keep thinking: "We can be really glad to have built with our general contractor."
When choosing, your gut feeling helps a lot. The first positive impression our GC made: He looked at our plot before the initial meeting and was able to score points immediately with ideas on how to (differing from the standard house) use/incorporate the conditions of the plot.

The increase in quality of life, the freedom: Excellent
You live differently. The change in living conditions is incredible (POSITIVE).

Sure: It is more work. But you do it for and around the house. It’s actually a lot of fun to take on this responsibility. I now see it as my current hobby.

Exactly.
For a year now, I have had completely different hobbies. Gardening . Bed maintenance and growing vegetables .
Craft skills I didn’t even know I had (the screws I had previously driven in with the cordless screwdriver could be counted on two hands) (I had never concreted or built a fence before). For me, Hornbach’s advertising really applies: "Make it your project."

And the issue with the loan? Whether it will work out, whether you can really afford the rate, whether you can still take vacations like before and don’t have to turn every cent twice, did you never worry about that?
Or more precisely, did that never limit your freedom of decision, the thought that you can't just say now "I’m terminating the rental contract and moving somewhere else," e.g. due to a job offer? You are already tied to the location, it’s at least no longer so easy. Sure, you never know what’s coming. But I’d be interested to know whether that played a role for you.

Loan – you really have to know what you can afford – even in emergencies. If you have a burden of one-third of your net income, it actually doesn’t look that bad.

Since our financial situation changed shortly after moving in, and we suddenly had to manage with 800 euros less, vacation was off the table for us this year and next year. Do I miss it? Yes. Is it because of the house? No.

Moving because of a job? Well – in my hometown, I wouldn’t get nearly the salary I have here for my job. Here I even have room for salary increases. If my work here ever ends and a move becomes necessary, then we will just have to sell the house with a heavy heart.
BUT until then, we have an increase in quality of life that is hard to achieve otherwise.

So far, everyone has said: Yes.

Yesterday, a builder friend called me who built a similar house (shell house) 80 km away from me.

The experiences match.

The other builder, in turn, helped a very young couple (23/24) who built such a house. They are now also in it. And happy.
Hats off to the young people. But they did it right.

****-Bite the bullet: Do it.
Of course, within budget, castles in the air (with 180, 200, 300, 600 sqm) + 1000 sqm land can be built by anyone (but may not be maintainable in the future). One has to think accordingly and, if necessary, also trim down. A sense of reality must NEVER be lost......... no matter how well Rockefeller lived. He had more money. I would also very much like a HUF house with 5000 sqm land, whirlpool, and sauna. But I cannot afford it.

Regarding the monthly costs for house maintenance, I have often read about 2-3€ per m². I personally find that a lot because it would actually amount to around 400-500€ for a new build with us. So these would not be reserves but expenses on top of the loan. Realistic, when you calculate insurances for the house, electricity, water, trash, and the like, or is that overestimated? We lack the feeling for that

The costs are nearly the same as those you have in a rental apartment! Possibly a bit more because the house is bigger. By the way, this has already been discussed in detail in another thread. Rate house = cold rent apartment/house Additional costs house = additional costs rented apartment/house ==> Electricity, water, sewage, gas, district heating, household insurance, home insurance, trash, street cleaning, etc.

Hello xycrazy,

an interesting question, which thankfully I can answer with YES for us.
So that means, we absolutely do not regret having built our dream house, but we probably do not want to build again, as we found the construction period quite exhausting despite the turnkey construction, which went absolutely smoothly.

Due to the financial burden, we also had major concerns, after all, it’s a lot of money and a decision that affects the future. In the end, we decided to build because we both grew up in our parents' own homes and are therefore used to living in a detached single-family house. In addition, we lived for 6 years renting a really rundown place without heating, and that just had to finally end.
Renting again was not an option for us because:
1. We prefer to invest our money in a house that will eventually belong to us
2. In my hometown (where we really wanted to live) there are no rental properties

We are absolutely happy with our house, even if it might seem rather modest to others because it hardly has any frills and looks quite plain. However, it is really 100% what we wished for and compared to the previous clapped-out shack, it feels like great luxury for us and we are very, very proud that this is now our house.

We have no problems with the financial restrictions because we are both quite unpretentious. My husband only finished his studies shortly before construction began. So I was the sole earner for years, we never had much, and we always saved most of it for the house construction. We were used to living frugally from the start, going out, clothes, etc. are not so important to us; we have always preferred to make things cozy at home.

We were still able to take vacations even during the financially tight years and we will continue to do so in the future despite the burdens from building the house. It always depends on one’s own standards.
For example, a one-week vacation within Germany is enough for us; we don’t have to travel abroad, and the heat on the Mediterranean is not for us anyway.
But everyone has to decide that for themselves... and if you have your own house where you feel comfortable, maybe you don’t even want to be away from it for that long?

I fully agree with the others, the most important thing when building a house is above all a reliable, good construction partner and that the house fits the personal financial circumstances.

But in any case it’s really wonderful to live in your own house built according to your personal needs, and it’s a different feeling when you drive home to your own house in the evening after work instead of to a rental property. Somehow it’s more emotional because it’s your own, where you have put so much of yourself into....