Young landowner - build or rent?

You can either take your life into your own hands while still young, or keep all options open until 35 and miss out on some things.

So "taking your life into your own hands" and "keeping options open" are opposites? Bold claim... I assert the exact opposite. And now?

You always miss out on something because you can't do unlimited things at the same time and the day only has 24 hours. So the question is not what you miss out on (almost everything), but whether what you don’t miss out on is what you want.

If you have a plot of land, no obligation to build, and are young, the pragmatic approach—already mentioned by many here—is to rent first. If the relationship is strong enough to survive building a house, it won’t break because of renting an apartment. You can also have children in rental apartments without anything bad happening. Many other advantages (the word "living experience" was mentioned, and besides flexibility, it’s the most important) also arise.

Conclusion: Even if you could already build a house, and even if you assume that the partnership is stable and will lead to children, renting for now is still highly recommended. You keep all options open; the only loss is the lack of living time in a house, which you might build differently with a few more years of experience. And a few years is a very small price for preserving many options.

I clearly advise: Rent first, keep the plot as an investment, and absolutely don’t build anything to rent out on it. It has very few disadvantages but many advantages, as described above.

And something still needs to be said about a fear-monger

Then usually comes the "closing gates syndrome" :)

The exact opposite happens just as often: Midlife crisis, because (mainly the gentlemen) feel they have to make up for missed opportunities, since they "had" to start a family in their mid-twenties (perhaps to spare their partner the "closing gates panic"?).

You always have to live in the way that suits you, not how others do!

I just find the comment completely out of line. No one would point out a ticking clock to a man at 24.

Well, if the man could have children, I would do it.
Anyone who, like me, sat unsuccessfully in the fertility clinic for three years starting at 35 doesn't give a hoot about such equality theses. All nonsense – anyone who wants children should start thinking about it slowly at 24.

Aside from that, the question of children is by no means linked to building a house – as Chand already said. It was just one of several things here that you can start thinking about at 24 – completely without pressure. I find it much more important to strengthen the relationship stuff. :)

I think to be able to give really good advice here, we would need to know much more about the OP.

Or rather, you should perhaps first think about the following yourself:

- What does my life plan actually look like? Not everyone wants to make a career at any cost; there are also people who prefer to stay where they are and who gladly make compromises in their career for (self-chosen) rootedness. How is it for you?

- Do you want children someday or not? Or do you not know yet?

- How do you assess this current relationship? What about life?

- Your house or our house? Do you want to go through with it alone, also finance it alone? In case of a possible separation, you would be on the safe side.

- What does your boyfriend think about it?

- What does your financial situation look like? Apart from the plot, is there any equity available? A plot is nice, but the house also costs money, and if I understood correctly, you do not yet have a permanent job. Without equity, it won’t be that easy to convince a bank to give you a loan.

Unlike many others, I don’t think it’s bad to start thinking about building a house early. It significantly extends the repayment period ;-)

If I know that I want to stay living there and my professional development is already largely known and beyond that equity is available, then it really isn’t stupid to think about whether you want to start building the house now.
If none of that is decided yet, I wouldn’t even remotely think about it.

On the other hand, I can speak from my own experience. I’ve always wanted to build a house, and designing houses, thinking about where to build what, putting my ideas of a house on paper has always been a lot of fun for me.
And to keep it short: when I try to remember how my dream house looked when I was 24, it is already very different from how I build now.
You evolve, tastes evolve, requirements, circumstances change. So it can be that you build a house now which you later no longer like.
I also actually expected to have children later. It turned out differently (which I’m now not unhappy about, personally I was not a candidate for fertility treatment), but at 24 I would have of course built with two children’s rooms and probably with the option to add a third children’s room. Now I would have two rooms without using them as originally planned. For that, I would have saved space elsewhere which I could currently use differently (e.g. a large wellness bathroom with sauna).

Still, I wouldn’t necessarily advise against starting to build the house now.
If you are 100% sure that this is the life you want to live and some equity is available, then I would only recommend using the most flexible room concept possible (so a good architect should be involved) that you can adapt to various life situations if necessary.
That does not necessarily have to be connected to the relationship; it may even be better in this situation to go through with it alone. But the partner should at least be understanding of this approach. The advantage, as already mentioned above, is the possibility of long repayment periods without the retirement age standing in the way.

I don’t think it’s a bad idea to start thinking about building a house early. It greatly extends the repayment period ;-)

Or you prefer to build the second house earlier and not wait until retirement, but start as soon as the kids have left the nest. Also a perspective that has its merits.

or you build it so that, for example, two apartments can be combined into one and then separated again. I would also calculate this with 3 units. EG+OG and additionally EW above the garage or as an extension

Hello :)

I can already tell there are many different opinions here, thanks for that!

Because of the dogs, I am tied to this place anyway, since my parents take care of them during the day while I go to school or, starting in August, to work. To be honest, I don’t want to leave here either, and it probably won’t be necessary,... ;)

Two semi-detached houses are to be built on the property, the larger side with about 175 sqm for us and about 100 sqm for my parents (or initially it will be rented out), because my brother will get my parents’ house in a few years.
I know that without a permanent job I won’t get financing; before the middle of next year, when we both have a permanent job and have worked a bit, building isn’t planned anyway.

My boyfriend and I are not party-goers; at most, we go out twice a year.
As for building a house and getting married, we agree. Children are also planned once I have gained a few years of professional experience.

Regards

Anja