Well, I just stumbled upon this thread, which I made almost 2 years ago. So to update...
At the beginning of 2020 I actually bought an apartment.
The price is 50,000 euros (about $55,000 dollars). It's about 54 square meters. It has a kitchen + living room as one room, and a bathroom, and 2 rooms. It's on the first floor. And I also bought a parking place for about $1,100.
Due to a local law, if you're buying a new apartment (so still in building phase), and it's your first ever piece of real estate in your name, then you can get 10% back for up to 40 square meters. Seeing as I'm paying 920euros per square meter, that's 36,800 euros on 40 square meters, and 10% of that is 3,680 euros. This is the amount I will get back after the final contract is signed... assuming the law doesn't change, and I manage to do all the paperwork in time, and the government doesn't just deny me this money because, you know, they can do whatever they want.
But if all goes well, I will have paid 50,000 euros, and get back about 3,600 euros, so let's say final price 46,400 euros... plus another 1,000 euros for the parking spot, so total final price not a cent over 47,500 euros (including lawyer + other government bullshit fees).
I bought 2 rooms because I want one to be my bedroom, and the other to be my work room (and if things ever get hot financially I can rent the extra room, or make it a baby room, etc).
I bought first floor because, well, it's a choice between nice view and waste of time. Let's say you're on the 5th floor, and you come home, and the elevator is on the 5th floor. Now you have to wait for the elevator to come down, and then take you up. Or let's say the elevator breaks, so now you have to walk up and down like an asshole. And this could be a pleasant exercise or an annoying process, depending on how you're feeling and what you're carrying. Or let's say you come home and the elevator is just leaving, and it's full. Now you have to wait for the elevator to go up, for all the people to exit, then wait for it to come down, and then wait for it to take you up. It's ridiculous.
But I'm on the first floor, and elevator problems and delays can suck my dick. I'll jump up 10 stairs and I'm home, praise Jesus
And my not so great view, well, I made my choice. Time > View
I bought the apartment in my hometown, where real estate prices are not that high. But I'm literally 5 minutes from the center, and I get to be in a quiet area. And the area is projected to be built in the future, more buildings, supermarkets, all that kinda stuff. So barring any unpredictabilities and fuck ups, the price of my apartment should remain the same or increase.
Okay, well that's it. Now all I can do is wait and hope that the apartment is ready for me to move in by December, and that nothing dodgy happens until then of after... because there's a lot of dirty shit going on in this world, and in this country, and when it's all said and done, if the company that built the building doesn't pay back the bank for example, the bank could come asking for the apartments in order to repay the loan. I mean, I found the place through an agency which connected me to the company that's building the building, and I got a lawyer to check the company to make sure they're legit. I did everything in my power to make sure this is legit. The rest is out of my hands...
