Winniefred
2016-12-08 10:24:47
- #1
Hello!
I am completely new here. I am a part-time employee, my husband works full-time as an IT specialist. We have 2 small children. We are both (still) under 30. For some time now, we have been mentally considering a possible house construction. The house bank calculated a possible credit limit of €210,000 for us. We want to pay off a maximum of €1200 (because we still want to live well on the side) and also only up to a maximum of 15 years until full repayment. Together with the bank, we have calculated extremely pessimistically (only one salary, no salary increases, etc.) so that we could finance very relaxed. But now it is the case that in our city you have to reckon with about €400,000 for a house as we imagine it (100-140m2 living space, maximum 700m2 plot; we want it rather small-normal, it can be standard; we actually have no high demands). The city location prices have exploded, also on the outskirts. Offered properties under €350,000 almost always show a high need for renovation, so in the end you still end up at €400,000 or more. But such an amount is simply too high, too risky for us. Paying off for 30 years or giving up luxury for 20-25 years is out of the question for us. Condos are not much cheaper either, you still have to pay about €350,000 here, with no upper limit. In short: everything we can afford is further out than we actually want.
Now my husband’s parents own a plot of land in a suburb that we could have. There we could build our dream bungalow for our €210,000 and even realize the outdoor facilities (at least the paving work and a carport, the rest of the site is okay). It is just under 700m2, but well shaped, fully developed, fenced, and flat. Through the plot and savings, we would have decent equity (over 40%) and could finance the whole thing well and without any stomach ache. We know the area, we know the neighbors. We also once lived there; my husband grew up there. Tram/bus/S-Bahn are available and otherwise all infrastructure from doctors to schools, etc. But it is 17km from our big city. And well, what can I say. It is nice there, it is pleasant, but it is simply not "our" city, which we really love. In our city, under our self-imposed conditions, we just can’t afford anything. On the other hand, everything is present in the suburb as well. Objectively, there is nothing against this small town. You are at the main station of the big city within 15 minutes by S-Bahn. A huge shopping center is only 10 minutes from the small town away.
Have you compromised on the location? The difference is already enormous. Especially in our case, since the plot would already be available and would not first have to be bought for about €130,000, as would be the case on the city outskirts. And it would then be our dream house and not some awkwardly cut used semi-detached house. But is it then still reasonable to buy at all? Would it not be better simply to remain tenants to be able to stay in the beloved city? Our rent currently amounts to €1000 warm, with which we actually even got a bargain (102m2 apartment in a nicely renovated old building on the city outskirts). The small town would be another 10km further out...
Properties in the city location here are always gone very quickly. Negotiations don’t exist. But as soon as you go into the suburbs or the surrounding area, it sometimes gets really cheap.
So you see, we are going around in circles quite a bit. On the one hand, we would like to own property. This has nothing to do with the panic of catching the train because of the good interest rates. That has always been our wish. On the other hand, we are afraid of regretting it if we compromise on the location. But we don’t want to buy completely overpriced property that we would then have to pay off for decades... Even if we lower our demands on repayment and calculate special payments, salary increases, and an increase in the repayment period to 20 years, it still won’t become a credit limit of €400,000. Then it would maybe be €300-350,000, for which we would get at most a condo.
Maybe you have suggestions, maybe you can also write about your experiences and thoughts on this.
Thank you!
I am completely new here. I am a part-time employee, my husband works full-time as an IT specialist. We have 2 small children. We are both (still) under 30. For some time now, we have been mentally considering a possible house construction. The house bank calculated a possible credit limit of €210,000 for us. We want to pay off a maximum of €1200 (because we still want to live well on the side) and also only up to a maximum of 15 years until full repayment. Together with the bank, we have calculated extremely pessimistically (only one salary, no salary increases, etc.) so that we could finance very relaxed. But now it is the case that in our city you have to reckon with about €400,000 for a house as we imagine it (100-140m2 living space, maximum 700m2 plot; we want it rather small-normal, it can be standard; we actually have no high demands). The city location prices have exploded, also on the outskirts. Offered properties under €350,000 almost always show a high need for renovation, so in the end you still end up at €400,000 or more. But such an amount is simply too high, too risky for us. Paying off for 30 years or giving up luxury for 20-25 years is out of the question for us. Condos are not much cheaper either, you still have to pay about €350,000 here, with no upper limit. In short: everything we can afford is further out than we actually want.
Now my husband’s parents own a plot of land in a suburb that we could have. There we could build our dream bungalow for our €210,000 and even realize the outdoor facilities (at least the paving work and a carport, the rest of the site is okay). It is just under 700m2, but well shaped, fully developed, fenced, and flat. Through the plot and savings, we would have decent equity (over 40%) and could finance the whole thing well and without any stomach ache. We know the area, we know the neighbors. We also once lived there; my husband grew up there. Tram/bus/S-Bahn are available and otherwise all infrastructure from doctors to schools, etc. But it is 17km from our big city. And well, what can I say. It is nice there, it is pleasant, but it is simply not "our" city, which we really love. In our city, under our self-imposed conditions, we just can’t afford anything. On the other hand, everything is present in the suburb as well. Objectively, there is nothing against this small town. You are at the main station of the big city within 15 minutes by S-Bahn. A huge shopping center is only 10 minutes from the small town away.
Have you compromised on the location? The difference is already enormous. Especially in our case, since the plot would already be available and would not first have to be bought for about €130,000, as would be the case on the city outskirts. And it would then be our dream house and not some awkwardly cut used semi-detached house. But is it then still reasonable to buy at all? Would it not be better simply to remain tenants to be able to stay in the beloved city? Our rent currently amounts to €1000 warm, with which we actually even got a bargain (102m2 apartment in a nicely renovated old building on the city outskirts). The small town would be another 10km further out...
Properties in the city location here are always gone very quickly. Negotiations don’t exist. But as soon as you go into the suburbs or the surrounding area, it sometimes gets really cheap.
So you see, we are going around in circles quite a bit. On the one hand, we would like to own property. This has nothing to do with the panic of catching the train because of the good interest rates. That has always been our wish. On the other hand, we are afraid of regretting it if we compromise on the location. But we don’t want to buy completely overpriced property that we would then have to pay off for decades... Even if we lower our demands on repayment and calculate special payments, salary increases, and an increase in the repayment period to 20 years, it still won’t become a credit limit of €400,000. Then it would maybe be €300-350,000, for which we would get at most a condo.
Maybe you have suggestions, maybe you can also write about your experiences and thoughts on this.
Thank you!