Swabs in object position and initial questions

Hello,
I grew up in a big city, but I never felt comfortable there. Here with us, you have to build quite far away from Frankfurt if it is to be somewhat affordable (so under 500 euros per sqm). For me, 10-20 km is not a big distance, you can cycle that. I definitely did not want my children to grow up in a big city. Why do you only want to pay it off in 15 years? You would pay rent for the rest of your life.

Best regards
Sabine

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

The property is not 10km away, but 17km. But that's still about 10km further out than where we currently live. There is already no gap anymore between the small town and the big city; they seamlessly merge into each other. The small town is also connected to the big city by tram, but you can easily spend about 45 minutes on it. But yes, the big city is growing. Everywhere farmland is being converted into building land, every gap is being closed.

15 years, because we just want to have it "gone" at some point. I would never plan for more than 20, and neither would my husband. The risk that something might happen is just too great, and you can't insure against everything. As tenants, in the worst case, you can move into an affordable 3-room social apartment until you are economically stable again. As homeowners, you make completely different commitments. If my children want to do a year abroad or study elsewhere or whatever, I don't want to have to stand there calculating whether I can afford it because I still have to pay 1200 plus additional costs for another 15 years. We also want to enjoy ourselves and not put all our income into a house. We studied for 7 years and had rather poorly paid jobs before, so we know what it’s like to have little money, and we simply don’t want that again. That’s why we prefer to plan this way rather than too tight.

We have already lived in this small town before. It’s not bad there, no. But is "not bad" the attribute that should fit the location of your own house? We are very uncertain about that. Of course, the advantages are obvious. Economically as well as for the children, the small town would be better. My husband grew up happily there, and we would never manage such a great and short financing without this property. We are also aware that all of this is "complaining on a high level." Others would surely wonder what our problem is and would be happy to have such a chance. For others, it would probably be a dream location anyway. But for us, as city people, it is not. The farther out in the countryside, the less we could imagine living there long-term. We really enjoy vacations in the countryside, but we wouldn’t consider living there all the time.

Developer: No, definitely not. The parents-in-law would certainly prefer to sell it themselves. They would gift it to us if we then used it ourselves. Otherwise, they could really use the money for their retirement themselves.

So we also moved further away from the city and accepted slight compromises in the location. The question is more about what kind of compromises these are. If making compromises means living on a busy road or in the middle of nowhere, with friends too far away or something along those lines, that’s different from meaning you have to shop elsewhere or have a longer commute by a few kilometers. In the first case, I wouldn’t make those compromises, but in the second/our case, we did. My wife’s commute is about the same in kilometers, just a different route, and mine is a bit longer (about 10 km). Shopping in town is not possible (yet), but planned; we can shop in neighboring towns / at our workplaces. In return, we have a quieter location (good for the child and walking the dog), neighbors you know (this is often not the case in the “better” areas because it can be quite anonymous), plot sizes where you don’t feel like you’re sharing a terrace with the neighbor (this is often the case in my area: the main thing is the city, but the plot only fits the carports and a terrace) and, as a bonus, the price per square meter is reduced by more than half.

It’s not bad there, no. But is "not bad" really the attribute that should fit the location of your own house? We are quite uncertain about that. Of course, the advantages are obvious. Economically as well as for the children, the small town would be better. My husband grew up happily there, and we would never manage such a great and short financing without this property otherwise.

I believe the point about the children should carry a bit more weight. Sure, the children will eventually move out and you will probably continue living in the house. The years until then will be something your children will thank you for all their lives. If after some child-free time living there in the small town “annoys” you, you can always move away, sell/rent out the house, and move back to the city. This is, for example, also considered in our planning. We’re even toying with the idea of moving abroad again later...

We are also aware that this is basically "complaining at a high level." Others are probably wondering what our problem is and would be happy to have such an opportunity.

No, I don’t think so at all. You are dealing with a completely normal question. What others think or how others might feel about it shouldn’t matter, even though such thoughts are natural.

For others it would probably be a dream location anyway. But for us city dwellers, it is not. The further out in the countryside, the less we could imagine living there long term. We love going on countryside vacations, but living in the countryside permanently would never come to our minds.

It’s like always in life: You have to be willing to make compromises. If you’re not, it’s not the right choice. At the end of the day, you will probably have to make a compromise: - No house - House with undesired financing in the desired location - House with desired financing in the undesired location The decision is ultimately up to you. I can only tell you: We consciously decided to build a house in the countryside because my in-laws live there and we are expecting children. The setting is perfect for us. I myself spent a lot of time with my grandparents and it certainly didn’t hurt. ;)

You can sell your house in emergencies and move into an apartment just as you can move as a tenant. As a homeowner, you even get money out of it, whereas as a tenant you get nothing. As a tenant, you have an obligation to pay rent for life; as a housepayer, you eventually finish paying. Usually, income also rises over the years and the installment becomes relatively cheaper.

Best regards
Sabine

Tram/bus/S-Bahn available and also every other infrastructure from doctors to schools, etc. However, it is 17km away from our big city.

What are you missing? An opera house? When you are a bit older and have to manage a house ... ;-). Basically, location is very important, I would avoid compromises if possible. But with you it seems to actually fit. Would you like to name place names?

You can sell your house in emergencies just as well and move into an apartment, just as a tenant can move. As a homeowner, you even get money out of it, as a tenant you get nothing.

The assumption that the value of real estate would steadily increase is implied. That is not the case, not necessarily. And all the additional costs we pay today you don’t get back when you sell and have to pay again if you want to buy new. As a tenant, you don’t have this in this form.