When I sometimes see how the houses are furnished. Here one has to clearly say: extremely large saving potential!
Everyone simply has their own priorities, some are into expensive garages, fences, or automation etc., and others prefer nice furniture, ecological building materials, or something else, everyone as they like.
My parents lived comfortably in 100 sqm with one bathroom and never missed anything, I would never build a new house without a second WC or at least a WC on every floor, so also in the basement, provided it is not just used as storage.
Washbasins, furniture, furnishings like mirrors, lamps etc. That is sometimes really extreme and today you can get all that for relatively little money.
Nice and high-quality furnishings usually cost more money but are mostly value-stable and also trend-independent, so considered over the long term usually cheaper. We buy rarely but when we do, then high quality. I find it a pity that many things are perceived as "reasonable" (i.e., necessary) but when it comes to furnishing and design, the standards drop significantly. Maybe I should start a thread called "Special Furnishings and Ideas."
But if I want to build a house and can’t even compare it with a plain ordinary rental apartment, I don’t know if building a house is the right decision.
Do I see it that you consider garage and basement as added value compared to the neighbors? That wouldn’t be a criterion for me, that’s why I don’t have either.
Why "plain ordinary" and why do you doubt that? It’s all about the person feeling comfortable and there are trillions of possibilities for that or it depends on the individual themselves on when and with what they are satisfied. That has nothing to do with the house. I wouldn’t per se be less satisfied in an apartment, then I would just have other options in life. The house is nice but it also limits, everything has its consequences.
It is always important to me that I feel maximally comfortable inside the house and for me, that also includes beautiful objects, good lighting, and also good sound from the speakers.
In our 110 houses in the new development area, there are 5 houses (including us) with a central ventilation system and probably only a few more with a garage/basement/parking space. Everyone complains about the "misplanning" afterward but has the 20k stove in the living room that heats their place to 30°C. Matching the designer dining table for €3,000.
Well, that was a cliché hammer now, 105 are unhappy with their mess and 5 found the philosopher’s stone? If you asked those 105, they would surely see it exactly the other way around when they walk past your house or inside it. Some homebuilders (like anglers and hunters etc.) are also not very self-critical about their own build and often talk as if with a thurible.
I know one or the other house here in the forum alone that I would move into immediately, even though, for example, no controlled residential ventilation system was installed. I have one myself and would do it again, yet the criticism seems too harsh to me or as if that was the only option.
You argue a bit simplistically there and what exactly is wrong with a dining table with nice design?
There are areas where money flows out of people’s hands (in my opinion!) naturally, I have two examples nearby. Two smokers, regular restaurant visits or delivery service, motorcycles, skiing, city trips, wellness weekends, several subscriptions, cars with many unnecessary trips, and much more. Don’t get me wrong, all that can be done and I would never want to belittle it but ultimately these things cost a lot of money and that is then sometimes missing elsewhere. But giving that up or significantly reducing it wouldn’t occur to them. I might buy a sofa or some speakers for €5,000, which I have and maintain for a lifetime. Both or all that is possible and totally okay, how everyone does it.
True, 3 hrs * €20 * 4 weeks = €240 per month is not a big luxury and quite a small amount.
Exactly, if I don’t spend those €240 on order service or cleaning lady, I have €15,000 left in 5 years, which I would happily invest in comfort inside the house, for example. I know some such calculations from my work and am still amazed that people don’t know where their money really goes.