Is buying a house sensible in the current market situation?!

My condolences to the new residents.

Have you already had concrete experiences with this, or are you simply rambling cluelessly from the self-righteous high ground?

The cultural differences and the spatial tightness are not a particularly happy combination, to put it mildly....

Whatever that is supposed to mean.. In our townhouse estate, where we lived until 2019, about 50 houses gathered over 15 nationalities from 5 continents and 4 religions, families with many children and childless, in different jobs or retired and with different preferences for hobbies and socializing. The coexistence worked exceptionally well and was largely stress-free over the nearly 18 years we lived there. What is going on with you? Have the "old ones" become so rigid?

In our RH settlement there is a REH of a family from Western Asia with 4 children (all boys) absolutely spoiled Sultans who terrorize the neighborhood, including their kids.

Then there is a row where three families (cousins or brothers) live next to each other. In summer, the whole clan of up to over 20 people sits there together, smoking shisha and cigarettes, grilling mutton, spreading thick thick clouds of smoke, loudly discussing on the terrace until late at night. If you live right next door and want a small child to sleep and need to have the window open in midsummer (so it can cool down) you would hardly see this with the noise and smoke relaxed, I am 100% sure!

And two rows further there are two families from the Far East, they are clearly more compatible in their social habits with those whose ancestors have lived here for generations...

Please no socio-political debate .. :)

Thanks for the numerous comments, I will try to briefly summarize and answer questions:

- we now live in an apartment of about 125 sqm (in one area), which is very bright, so a terraced middle house was never really an option (until now)
- a comparison in our desired locations is difficult, I would say: under <500 TE hardly available (regardless of apartment, terraced house, single-family house, etc.)
- no, the house is not in Muc, it is Osnabrück
- the house is probably built around 1970 (+ -)
- the garden is not accessible, only through the house

of course, we have also considered buying it and not living in it forever. But including all costs and renovations, we are at about 550 TE. I don't think we will get that money back approximately in 10-15 years, for example. Honestly, why should anyone spend that much money on a terraced house (regardless of end unit or middle)...

In your original post, it was mentioned that you probably expect not to be able to stay in your current apartment forever.

So what is the alternative then – would such an apartment be an option to rent again? And if so, at what price until then? Do you currently have special conditions because you are a long-term tenant and haven’t had an adequate increase for a long time, and a new rental at market level will then be much more expensive?

Currently, on Immowelt, about 8 to 10 euros/m2 are being asked in Osnabrück.

So 1000 to 1200 euros cold rent is a current market price for you.

Topic "getting the money back in 15 years." Assuming you pay 500,000 including renovation, as a loan. The equity for the incidental costs and as a cash reserve during the renovation. This is not a recommended way of looking at the financing calculation but for better "moral understanding":

In 15 years, you should have paid off approximately the incidental costs plus at least (roughly) half of your loan. So you have around 250,000 from the house that then belong to you.

Can you at least sell the place for those 250,000 (i.e. with a purchase price of 500,000 in 2020 still a sale price of 250,000) you break even on the story. Just like with the rental apartment - 1200 cold * 15 years is at least 250,000 even with only minimal rent increases, which are really gone – in both cases you have lived there.

The trick: if you get more than 250,000 for the place in 15 years, that is your profit. Even tax-free. For that, you don’t have to fear an owner-use termination, no rent increase and you can renovate inside as you like without asking the landlord. And if you didn’t have a garden before, you had a garden all that time.

PS: What is your problem with the garden? Do you currently even have one that can be accessed from outside? Do you currently even have a garage? Why would you then miss it at the RH?

in your original post it was mentioned that you probably expect not to be able to stay in your current apartment forever. So what is the alternative then - would such an apartment be available for rent again? And if so, at what price by then? Do you currently have special conditions because you are long-term tenants and there has been no adequate increase for a long time, and a new rental at market level will be much more expensive? Currently, Immowelt calls for around 8 to 10 euros/m2 in Osnabrück. So 1000 to 1200 euros cold rent are a current market price for you

Our situation is such that, as I wrote at the beginning, we live relatively cheaply and very well. There will be no rent increase with the current landlord. "Immowelt around 8 to 10 euros/m2, which in Osnabrück" but not for 4-room >100sqm apartments in good locations, here rather 1300 to 1600 cold rent