It doesn't work without equity - experience!

But the fact that we build completely exaggerated and overpriced is seen almost everywhere on vacation, whether in poor countries or in rich ones like the USA or also

Then it should at least be an S6, better an RS6 and chip-tuned

I also think that we sometimes have excessive prices. But the USA is a bad example: there it is easily 50% cheaper. But that is also justified. Just look at the houses there. At least I wouldn’t want something like that... especially in areas with certain risks regarding nature and weather.

The problem with the Americans was rather that they used the value of the house as a mortgage for consumer loans. That means the loan amount was not repaid, but increased. As long as the house values also increased, that worked. But if the house value falls, the loan value is > house value.

Now don't confuse things here with facts! How is anyone supposed to build conspiracy theories from this?

I bought my first house from the developer; back then, I separated from my partner during the construction phase. I took over the house and the financing without any equity. The mortgage payment was about 50% of my net income. I gave up a lot, but not everything, and was able to manage the house on my own.

Currently, my husband and I are financing a semi-detached house.

We had about 28% equity from the total amount (house + additional costs). We are financing a €185,000 mortgage with a net income of €4,500 and a child. We saved the money for the kitchen (just under €11K) until the handover of the house (about 6 months).

Without special repayments, we will have a remaining debt of about €24,500 in 15 years. If we pay the minimum special repayment of €2,500 annually, we would be finished in 13 years.

We have 2 cars, fly home 3-4 times a year, and otherwise don’t scrimp on every cent.

And it’s actually true that we often hear comments like "you’re lucky," "of course, if you have money, everything is possible," etc.

But the funny thing is, these are almost exclusively people who have built for around €500k or bought for €350k with a lower income.

That’s something you decide beforehand: whether to give something up for the house or not.

From the beginning, we said that we don’t want to work just for a house and can sleep very well.

True. This is indeed not the first criticism. The difference in the forum: people write much faster than they "say" it. This can be good and/or bad. For me, the core problem is quite clear: In Germany, high incomes / standards of living are almost always initially viewed with skepticism, envy, resentment, etc. In many other countries (I know this especially from the States), this is not the case.

This is true in normal, superficial conversation and is partly due to our secrecy about salaries. And in order not to get into such discussions and be put into a box, I have decided simply not to say anything about my salary as long as this topic has not changed in society. I receive (whether I deserve it or not, my boss would have to say here) not to show it to others, but to finance my life up to the very peaks of my personal hierarchy of needs.

I like to exchange information with others about what costs how much, to find proportions, regardless of whether I can afford it or not. But knowing what the other person earns brings me absolutely nothing, except possibly the feeling that I did something wrong or right; I cannot do anything else with the information. And both are unfair to the other person.

Hello Uwe,

Exactly such remarks are the problem why your statements are being discussed like this ...

I think your interpretation is superficial. Steffen is sometimes robust in his choice of language; that is true. However, I do not recognize in his answers — neither here in the thread nor elsewhere — an instrumentalizing show-off. He writes about his experiences, which, depending on the situation, have different values assigned than perhaps yours or those of other builders. He writes about his attitude towards equity and why it is that way; he remains open to the opinions of others. And he likes to write about what is "normal" for you with an average construction volume. Even if he has a higher income, he remains a person with pride of ownership who seeks a vent, who wants to be communicated with? I am quite sure he doesn’t look any different than you or me when sitting on the toilet

Reduced to the core of your opinion above, only builders whose experiences are backed by figures belonging to the average income class and who build an average house may post here. And if more euros/income are involved, posts must at least show an understatement that can be measured against average prices. This is not possible on the one hand and on the other hand would amount to censorship, which we certainly do not want to allow here. Every person is different, and if people cannot read each other here, they can always ignore each other; sometimes an advantage compared to the real world.

I assume you are not really aware of how your words must impact a third party; but I can understand that Steffen comes across as envious. Maybe you should try to read the upcoming posts neutrally; then the association will surely work out as well.

Rhenish greetings

Thank you very much for your contribution (which is already a bit older). I understand it as a hint for potential builders not to calculate too tightly - that is exactly how it should be.

On the other hand, I find the following discussion quite annoying. It may be interesting who financed how much and under what conditions. However, I find the discussion about income/wealth/status etc. completely uninteresting. I think everyone should live as they want and can. If someone has achieved something, they should also be able to afford something. There is no need for envy. Unfortunately, there are also enough professions where people do a lot and still do not receive the (justified) remuneration for it (e.g., elderly and nursing care).

But this discussion has absolutely nothing to do with your topic and presumably original intention.