Is a home ownership project sensible as a single?

Here is the perspective of a single person who is currently planning a construction project and will begin building at the beginning of next year.

I am 32 and now want to finance homeownership. I have also inherited a piece of land that has been in the family for generations and that I definitely do not want to sell. Therefore, financing a condominium would not have been possible because I would have lacked the money from the land. Also, I grew up on a detached property and cannot imagine life without a garden in the long run. So the only decision left was new construction. In planning the house, I did not include a basement (I don’t need one as a single) and two children's rooms, which I can currently use as a guest room and storage room. If a partner and children should come along, then there simply won’t be a guest room anymore, and overnight guests will have to share space, and a larger garden shed will be built in the garden to store all kinds of things. Possibly one could still consider an extension later. I dare to do this because even if I were building a house with a partner, I would have financed it in such a way that I could keep the land after a separation. By the way, single people often build in this area. We are very attached to our home here, and moving is rarely an option; land is passed down in the family and not sold, so you build on it and don’t move into an apartment.

I would say, dare to do it

Therefore, a condominium would not have been financeable because I would have lacked the money from the plot of land.

The value of the plot would be collateralizable, making a condominium financeable.

Wonderful starting position - almost

On the one hand, of course you can build a house as a single person - I basically don’t see the problem in that marital status itself. But: 1. a house with a garden can literally steal your time. Thus, getting to know someone is more difficult than for a single who, unbound by house and home, can spend weekends and evenings among people and at public events. In your garden, no one is waiting for you who wants to get to know you. 2. nesting: which woman of nesting age wants to move into a finished nest? 3. space requirements: I would build what I need: what do you want in a house that’s too big? With horror!!! I just read that the oversized house in the parallel thread comes from "you" - at least the thread. -> What do you want to run through those sacred halls all alone???? Who will clean your windows? Certainly, the loan (as a single) won’t be the problem for you, but the window cleaner… oops: ...and the additional costs aren’t exactly easy to handle alone either. -> what if you meet a woman who has 3 children? Therefore, I would simply wait a few more years. Interest rates have been low for what feels like an eternity, and even if they rise a bit, you will hardly notice it. I won’t say anything about the single status with a girlfriend. If I were a girlfriend, I probably wouldn’t be very eager to spread my belongings around the house...

From my point of view, both the financing requirement in relation to income and the property in relation to the number of residents are a no-go here. Either share the property and build smaller as a single, preferably a semi-detached house. Or find a partner with a desire for children or a stroller and own income beforehand.

In principle, 700sqm alone would be too large for me. Then you have a garden and no other hobbies anymore. At least if you work full-time. And I simply refrain from making clichéd remarks about the employment situation of civil servants. I am actually an enthusiastic gardener, but meanwhile on the trip: space for a nice high bed, possibly an extra herb bed, and at most a small greenhouse. Otherwise few sqm, fill with gravel, put in a few low-maintenance perennials, the rest terrace, driveway, definitely no lawn, flower beds or anything else that requires work. Hedge as privacy screen is okay, but that's it. 350-400sqm is enough for that. Anything else is just work.

I can understand you well if you already want to start now. I would divide the plot. It probably also works with two separate houses, I wouldn’t necessarily want a semi-detached house either. What floor space ratio applies? Then find a clever architect and create a flexible concept. So with possibilities for expansion or conversion when the life situation changes (that way you can also accommodate the mentioned nesting instinct), but now a concept that suits you and your current situation.

You never know what the future brings. Whether it works out with the family, you don’t know today, and then you live in a house planned for two children. Who needs that? I also thought I would have a family once and today I live as a DINK. It wasn’t planned or intended, but that’s how it is.

Therefore: build now for yourself and if a family should come, expand. The planning should take that into account. And children don’t necessarily need a huge garden to unfold (otherwise all city kids would be disturbed), so I would divide the plot if possible and sell. Then the burden on you should definitely remain within limits.

DINK?


Regards