If you're young and haven't inherited a property from your ancestors, chances are that you're forced to rent. Personally, I've been renting for over 6 years and have been living with my girlfriend for the last 4, sharing rent and utilities. Overall, we've both spent over €25,000 together, and after spending all this money, you're practically left with nothing and may be subject to looking for a new house at any moment.
The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is between €300 and €400 at best; thus, I was thinking that taking a loan is as costly as paying rent per month, but after 15-20 years, you end up with a house. My main concerns are the following: First, if you're in a long-term relationship like myself, you can never be 100% sure that you'll be with that person in 20 or 30 years from now, which might prevent you from opting for a loan. Secondly, you need to be certain that the location or city of the property to be bought is convenient for future job offers and so on. Thirdly, because a loan is a many-year commitment, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to afford the monthly payment 15 years from now.
On top of that, finding the ideal house as a renter is almost impossible; there's a lack of housing, and rents are extremely expensive and unreasonable at the same time. We had a difficult time finding a house recently, and it's far from ideal. There is now a new government-funded loan program that is about to start, funding up to 75% of the loan interest-free while the rest is funded by private banks and is subject to a relatively low interest rate. This led me to think about taking a loan and purchasing an average two-bedroom apartment, but I have the concerns that I voiced earlier.
The answer is of course not black and white. Both, renting and owning come with a lot of pros and cons.
Just a few things to consider, when renting:
- the money you would have to pay to your bank every month (which is usally more than rent) can now be used to invest in other things, such as Bitcoin
- you will be a slave to a bank-contract for 20 - 40 years unless you manage to achive quite some financial wealth in the meantime - which is more difficult now (see my first point)
- owning property comes with a lot of stress and time investment if you rent it out to someone else; in contrast to stock bonds or crypto assets mainting your property takes a lot of extra expenses and effort
- you are more flexible to move from a rented place without much liabilities compared to living in your own home
There are some nice benefits from owning property, too. But these are usually well-known and highlighted without the downsides, so I just gave you my idea on the latter.