Real Estate Purchase: What If We Started by Asking the Right Questions?

🏠 Buying Property: The Quiet Holy Grail?

Buying your own home remains a powerful symbol. It’s often seen as a marker of social success, a refuge against economic uncertainty, a way to anchor your future in something tangible. Yet in a complex market and with so many personal situations, one simple but fundamental question arises: Am I truly ready?

🌟 Why Am I Buying? Purpose Before Numbers

The first step isn’t financial, it’s existential. Buying to live in a home doesn’t carry the same implications as buying to rent out or to pass on to heirs. Buying to settle down is completely different from buying as an escape from social pressure or rising rents.

Clarifying your intention helps define your project. A couple planning to have a child won’t have the same needs as a property investor. The first will look at environment, school proximity, adaptability of the home. The second must consider rental demand, net returns, and tax regimes.

The best way to avoid regret is to start with a simple exercise: write down, in black and white, why you want to buy and what you expect from the property.

💼 Am I Ready? The Practical Prerequisites of a Thoughtful Purchase

Having “prerequisites” doesn’t mean you need to tick every box to buy. But certain indicators should alert, or reassure, you. A stable job, a reasonable down payment (at least 10% of the property price), and the capacity to absorb unexpected costs (construction delays, high fees, etc.) all count.

But being ready also means being informed: about mortgages (fixed vs. variable rates, ideal loan length, borrower insurance), about the local market (pressure, outlook, price history), and about your rights and responsibilities (co-ownership rules, zoning laws, local taxes). Buying without understanding these, is like walking blindfolded.

🏦 What Does It Really Cost? Think Holistically

Price per square meter can be misleading if you ignore the rest. A property listed at €250,000 could end up costing €300,000 or more after notary fees, renovations, agency costs, property taxes, and loan interest.

Let’s take a simple example: buying a home for €250,000, with a 10% down payment and a 20-year loan at 4%, means around €100,000 in interest alone. Add €20,000 in additional costs and €5,000 in yearly expenses, and you’re looking at a total cost of over €385,000 over 20 years. This number isn’t necessarily scary—but it deserves to be compared with other options.

Doing this math gives you back control. It also allows for fair comparisons: renting, investing differently, or waiting for a more favorable market.

🌬 What If Renting Was a Strategic Choice?

Renting doesn’t have to be a short-term fix or a financial failure. In many cases, it’s a smart answer to a need for flexibility. Young mobile professionals, couples just starting out, people changing careers, or those testing out a new area often have every reason to rent.

In some high-demand areas, the gap between rent and the true cost of owning can be several hundred euros a month. That money can be saved, invested, or used to build a stronger down payment. Renting also lets you try out a lifestyle, a neighborhood, or a type of property, without committing long-term. It’s a form of strategic intelligence.

🔍 Buying Is Fine. But How Do You Build a Solid Project?

A good real estate project starts with good framing. It means knowing your non-negotiables (location, size, budget, surroundings) and your flex points. It’s about accepting that you won’t get everything, but aiming for a healthy balance between function, cost, and potential for evolution.

It also means surrounding yourself with the right people: mortgage brokers, notaries, inspectors, real estate agents… Knowing who to trust is crucial. And, of course, it means anticipating resale. A home might suit you perfectly today, but be hard to sell in a few years. Always ask yourself: If I had to move in three years, would this property be difficult to sell?

🌱 Clarity Leads to Better Decisions

Buying is not a must. It’s one option among others. And like any life-shaping decision, it deserves to be approached with seriousness, clarity, and a touch of distance. The right property isn’t the one someone told you to buy or the one that “can’t be missed”, it’s the one that fits naturally into your life trajectory.

Clarifying your intentions, running the numbers, comparing options with a cool head, that’s the key.
At Apana, we believe the best financial decisions always start with the right questions.