Hi everyone, we (F28, M28, no kids, EU citizens, living&working in Switzerland) are thinking about buying a house in CH we saw and aren’t sure about it. We’re not asking whether the property is worth the price. What we’d really like to know is: Based on our pros and cons, would you buy under these conditions, or would you not be willing to? Key facts Household net income: CHF 10k, total net worth CHF ~140k We save arround 50k per year. Current rent (incl. utilities): CHF 1,800 (about 18% of our income) Equity: we have about 16% of the purchase price in total capital. The bank loan is very cheap thanks to our current employee conditions. According to 3 different banks, we can buy the house and all the bank would finance it Pros We’d stop paying CHF 1,800 in rent. We’re very handy and know a lot of tradespeople through friends, family and acquaintances. Through our jobs we get extremely favorable mortgage conditions (about 0.5% SARON). Something newer isn’t affordable and wouldn’t pass the bank’s affordability calculation (Tragbarkeit) in the foreseeable future. We’d buy at today’s prices rather than possibly higher ones in 2–3 years. We’d double our living space while cutting our housing costs in half (interest + repayment + utilities + reserves). Our family would give us about CHF 100k extra as a repayment loan for the purchase. It’s unclear whether that will still be possible in 2–3 years. We really like the layout and style of the house. The location is very good for both of our workplaces, and we also like it a lot in general. The timing works. We’d like to have kids in about 2 years. After that, buying wouldn’t be possible because of the affordability calculation (wife stays at home), and moving with a baby would be hardly manageable stress-wise. We could move in and renovate step by step, without paying for rent and a mortgage at the same time. Cons The house needs extensive renovation. The costs are very hard to estimate, and there may be asbestos. The house is being sold through a bidding process. Communication with the real estate agent is very frustrating, long waits no real updates, etc. The living space is only about 120 m². The financing also depends on the loan from our parents. Renovating while living in the house may put a strain on our relationship and jobs. The bank’s valuation of the house is [amount X]. It’s listed at about 7% above the bank’s valuation, and the current highest bid is 10% above it. This is maybe the most prominent contra According to the bank’s affordability calculation, we could pay up to 14.5% above the valuation, but we’d only be willing to pay 12% at most. Our questions for you In our position, would you buy under these conditions, or would it be too much for the risk we’re taking on? Do the pros (no more rent, family planning, timing) outweigh the cons (renovation risk, dependence on the parental loan) for you? Is it realistic to live in a house while renovating it extensively, or is that a relationship killer? Buy now because the timing works, or wait and keep renting, even if kids are on the way? Honest opinions are welcome, even critical ones. Thanks! Disclaimer: Repost from ( https://www.reddit.com/r/SwissPersonalFinance/s/VU94nfCvUF ) submitted by /u/apt-get-
Originally posted by u/apt-get- on r/Switzerland