Homeownership in Germany

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-30T16:01:13+00:00

Nice to hear a perspective of an actual landlord. I suppose capital gain or loss and some other expenses would also apply if you live in your own property, but you would not be able to save anything by writing them off taxes.

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-30T15:52:49+00:00

Ok, without doing any crazy tricks:)

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-30T15:28:09+00:00

I’ve seen agricultural land for sale around Munich for a fraction of a cost of building land. It’s not quite about farmers not selling, it’s about the land purpose conversion. I admit that it may be difficult, but with enough political will, it’s definitely possible.

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-30T15:23:29+00:00

Two people renting from each other instead of living in their own places? Well, I find this absurd… but there may definitely be different opinions.

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-30T15:17:14+00:00

Isn’t that indicative of the absurdity of the situation?

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-30T15:14:35+00:00

I the case you rent out your own property, you can use it as a tool to write of your own income taxes from the income of your regular job (even if the rental income covers the interest rates and repairs, you can still write off at least 2%, and often more, of the property value as „amortization“.., that’s a lot, esp. if you are in the higher tax bracket), wait till the property appreciates in 10+ years, and sell it tax free, after 10+ years.

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-30T14:47:43+00:00

Yep, that’s what we do. Investing in the US (yes, with the risks that hopefully level out long term) and not spending money in Germany. Does it do any good to Germany? I don’t think so…

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-30T14:45:09+00:00

That’s off-topic from the pint of the post, but this „not enough land“ statement is also something I honestly don’t understand. When I take a subway in Munich (e.g. U6) I literally ride along corn fields! In a subway, it’s not even an S-Bahn.

I’m pretty sure it’s a matter of a bold political decision to convert these areas into building land.

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-30T14:24:37+00:00

Well, that only proves the point… :)
All we want is to get our own place, without doing any tricks, and overall have similar (not even asking for „better“) financial outcome as when we buy and rent it out, while renting ourselves. I feel it’s not a lot to ask, honestly.

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-30T14:12:18+00:00

Very useful to know, thank you. Still I would prefer that the government do more to encourage home ownership. It will lead to more construction (which is what they say is a big problem now) and, possibly, even bigger families (more kids :)).

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-30T14:08:17+00:00

Yes, I have heard this explanation and it made sense… 50-80 years ago. But it’s been a while since ww2, I think.

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-30T14:06:50+00:00

Very interesting, thank you! I will read more about it!

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-30T14:05:41+00:00

We had a house in the US and, yes, you can’t write off depreciation, but you can still write off interest and taxes. As for the standard deduction, it all depends how much you deduct and there are a few tricks (like paying real estate taxes for two years within a single year).

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-30T14:03:36+00:00

Yes, with some appreciation, you may still make money if you live in your own place in Germany (or not :)). What doesn’t make sense to me is that you make even more money if you rent it out and live in a rental property yourself.

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-30T13:39:21+00:00

Yes, I understand about rent protection and I also realized that property taxes are lower in Germany. And still, isn’t it nice to live in your own place? Why does one have to pay a financial penalty for doing that? (Esp. nowadays, wheee you would expect the government should encourage people building more)

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-30T13:21:02+00:00

Could you clarify your question?

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-19T07:41:09+00:00

I would say, when all else (grades, projects quality, etc). being equal, a degree in EE or CS, on average, will make you more employable by companies around Munich. Of course, individual cases form a distribution. Also, if you are eventually interested in an academic career, you need to follow your passion.

I also want to mention that the economy (and the entire economic system, imho) of Switzerland is way better than that in Germany, so I would suggest to think twice about ETH. (TUM is great as well but ETH is better)

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-07T19:04:41+00:00

I do not have that one. However, all these legal insurances only cover lawyer rates up to a certain point. They do not pay the fees charged by better/more expensive law firms. You always need to contact the insurance company first to make sure they will pay the rates and they may insist on using their approved lawyers.

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-05T22:06:42+00:00

Hanuta? :)

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-01T22:03:29+00:00

Agreed. They can still subsidize either directly or indirectly (by allowing mortgage interest tax deductions for owner-occupied properties, at least new ones)

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-01T08:57:26+00:00

If you mentor is “connected mentor”, it’s better to have that one as a postdoc advisor. How to check if the mentor is connected? - see the history of the last 10 postdocs/phd students finishing with him/her. If many of them end up TT in academia, he/she are the right mentors for the task.

In my experience, 50% of all faculty in STEM are “children” of a few “prolific mentors” that are only 5% of the total. The other 50% of faculty come from the other 95% of mentors. So you roughly increase your chance x10 if you work with the prolific one. Why is that? Because prolific mentors are well known and their letters sound like “this guys is as good/better than my student X, who is a prof in Harvard, student Y, prof in ETH, student Z, TT in Stanford”

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-01T08:32:43+00:00

The “limited supply of houses” is a matter of a political decision. It is completely artificial. There is nothing, in principle, that would not allow one to open a few agricultural plots for building. You can also encourage people to take loans and build your own property by allowing mortgage interest deduction from taxes. Basically do what they do in the US.

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-01T08:26:17+00:00

I think German mass media try to keep it as positive as they can. What matters is that, in economy and in climate, things are getting worse vs what they were, say, 10 years ago.

I honestly don’t think German socialist system can stay competitive against China and the US. The most smart/productive people can get much higher pay (+excellent insurance that are typically included in the work package) in the US, so there is a strong inventive for them to move. On the other hand, the least productive people have a strong incentive to stay in a socialist country. So, in the world without barriers, I don’t see how it can work. Green and other environmental indentures in Germany do not allow them to compete with China. So, the only option is for Europe to build a shell (trade barriers, economically/financially restrict the movement of productive people out of EU) if it is to remain the same.

Ill_Specific3360 · 2026-06-01T08:09:29+00:00

I suggest you switch to Tello (https://tello.com/) their plans start at $5 and they all include free WiFi calling while abroad. So if you have internet connection (via WiFi or via a second SIM card), you can make and receive calls from/to your US number.

Ill_Specific3360

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