I'm bidding on an apartment

Spiritual_Chaos

JPPJ84 said:

You gave up 52 square meters for 35? That’s got to be one hell of a balcony... are they that rare in Göteborg?

Well, there are some less rational reasons for wanting "something new". I've lived at the same place since 2013, felt like getting something new and sort of "restarting" - with balcony, wooden floors, an apartment that hopefully will rise in value. 

I had also saved up some money and never really decided about what to do with them so infaltion was eating them up on my bank account with next to no interest... so now I just did something with them...

I also do not have a problem living "smaller". My apartment is a lot of empty space. So instead of furnituring it up, why not find a place for the furniture I got? So now I got myself a 1,5 room apartment instead of a 2 room apartment. And 15 square meeters less but 4 square meeters of baclony added. Haha.

The images of the apartment is gone from the internet, with the sale ending... wish I would have saved some of them... so I could show how it looks.

AND YES THE BALCONY WILL HAVE "EVENING SUN" INSTEAD OF "MORNING SUN" - THE MOST IMPORTANT METRIC HERE IN SWEDEN (maybe the world?)!

JPPJ84

Haha, yes, who needs morning sun on their balcony? Mine is in the sun from 1 p.m. till sunset 😎
As long as you’re happy with it, it’s all good. Though I can’t decide if you actually are

Spiritual_Chaos

Should be noted that when the broker called me up, and told me the other bidders had left the bidding she slipped out a "well.. the seller was hoping to get more..." so atleast I feel like I haven't done a "terrible deal" or been taken for a fool. It sold for less than I thought, and less than other apartments of the same design/size in the apartment building.

Purple Fairy Tree

I think this is fantastic @spiritual_chaos I'm sure once you have moved you'll never look back.  Moving can be stressful and I'm sure you and your cat will be really happy in your new apartment with a balcony. Shame we dont get to see the photos, perhaps once you've settled in and organised yourself

GlowGirl

Spiritual_Chaos said:

F Me In The Brain said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

dankind said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

dankind said:

West Coast Dreamgirl said:

Good luck @Spiritual_Chaos sounds like a good move.... nothing ventured, nothing gained.  Sounds nice for the cat and I like what F Me said. @dankind equity is the return on your investment xxx

Also sounds lame. 

A return on my rental investments was that I didn't have to pay out of pocket to fix broken shit. And the monthly payment (i.e., rent) was always lower than every mortgage we've ever had.

That was much better for my peace of mind than worrying about what's going to break next and how much it's going to cost.

But I suppose we've gotta keep those banks solvent somehow. We've all seen what happens when they shit the bed.

I agree with everything here, with me having such low rent as I have had in my rent apartment. 

But somehow I won the bidding... no one bid over me... signed the contract a few hours ago. What happened... 

This wasn't planned...

You’re just one of us squares, now, S_C. 

Next stop, soul-crushing ennui. 

Moving to a smaller apartment. Paying more every month

Getting the apartment on the 23rd of April. Now I will have to find a bank with good mortgage rates... 

I got the "loan commitment" (?) from another bank than the one I belong to - because my bank was so slow... so now I feel pretty open to scout around for a bank that gives me the best deal...

Still... this was all very dumb.

What are loan rates like in Sweden?

My current ordinary rent apartment (52 square metres). 
613 USD (exluding electricty, insurance, broadband etc)

The new one (35,5 square metres but with a balcony for the cat): 
Fee to the "tenant-owned association" - 350 USD (excluding electricity, insurance, broadband etc)

Amortization/repayment of loan - have to be 1-2 % of total loan per month depending of how much of the total cost of the apartment you took a loan for. In Sweden you have to be able to pay at least 15% of the total cost with your own money (cash deposit?).

Mortgage/ - 1.3-1.6 % of total loan (Depending on if you tie yourself up for a couple of years or not, and how big the cash deposit is etc.

Will end up being 730-850 USD depending on how big my cash deposit is.

Wow. 613 USD for rent. I haven't seen that rent around here for a one bedroom in over 20 years. Quadruple that and add a few more hundred, and you've got my rent.

Spiritual_Chaos

West Coast Dreamgirl said:

I think this is fantastic @spiritual_chaos I'm sure once you have moved you'll never look back.  Moving can be stressful and I'm sure you and your cat will be really happy in your new apartment with a balcony. Shame we dont get to see the photos, perhaps once you've settled in and organised yourself

I found some in my "web cashe" from the listing:

JPPJ84

Looks nice! Looks like a closed balcony?!

Spiritual_Chaos

JPPJ84 said:

Looks nice! Looks like a closed balcony?!

We call it "inglasad balkong" (glazed balcony? Verglaster Balkon?). Safe for the cat! and you can use the balcony longer time of the year because it keeps the temperature. But you can slide open the windows.  

Should I paint the wooden wall (Where the TV is in the pictures) completely white? Or should I make it into a smooth wall instead, like the rest are?

Spiritual_Chaos

AND WOULD A BENAROYA HALL VINYL LOOK GOOD IN THAT APARTMENT?!

The Juggler

That looks lovely. I am a loan officer over here so I curious how mortgages work in your country. Quick google search showed a 50 year term is popular....is that right? 

Also I would keep the wooden wall. That is called shiplap or something right? Cool feature. I'd even make it appear more natural wood looking too. 

Congrats. 

Spiritual_Chaos

The Juggler said:

That looks lovely. I am a loan officer over here so I curious how mortgages work in your country. Quick google search showed a 50 year term is popular....is that right? 

Also I would keep the wooden wall. That is called shiplap or something right? Cool feature. I'd even make it appear more natural wood looking too. 

Congrats. 

What does "a 50 year old term" mean? I imagine it mean, how many years the bank decide in theory it will take for someone to pay back the whole loan to use for counting the mortage percentage to be paid per month etc?

The Juggler

Spiritual_Chaos said:

The Juggler said:

That looks lovely. I am a loan officer over here so I curious how mortgages work in your country. Quick google search showed a 50 year term is popular....is that right? 

Also I would keep the wooden wall. That is called shiplap or something right? Cool feature. I'd even make it appear more natural wood looking too. 

Congrats. 

What does "a 50 year old term" mean? I imagine it mean, how many years the bank decide in theory it will take for someone to pay back the whole loan to use for counting the mortage percentage to be paid per month etc?

Kind of. It's not really up to the bank unless someone doesn't qualify for a smaller term due to their debt to income ratio being too high.  Here you can choose terms, usually, anywhere from 10-30 years.

Spiritual_Chaos

Here is another one that went for 25.400 USD more than mine, where no one has built a wall for the sleeping area and have an ugly black renovated kitchen:





And here is another one going for 6000 USD more:





The one I bought, suits me better...

Spiritual_Chaos

The Juggler said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

The Juggler said:

That looks lovely. I am a loan officer over here so I curious how mortgages work in your country. Quick google search showed a 50 year term is popular....is that right? 

Also I would keep the wooden wall. That is called shiplap or something right? Cool feature. I'd even make it appear more natural wood looking too. 

Congrats. 

What does "a 50 year old term" mean? I imagine it mean, how many years the bank decide in theory it will take for someone to pay back the whole loan to use for counting the mortage percentage to be paid per month etc?

Kind of. It's not really up to the bank unless someone doesn't qualify for a smaller term due to their debt to income ratio being too high.  Here you can choose terms, usually, anywhere from 10-30 years.

I think the general rule here is 50 years / 600 payments.  But that is top of my head having information fly passed me this week... so could be wrong. I don't know much about how banks operate.

GlowGirl

It looks beautiful. If it makes you feel better, rent on an apartment that modern with a balcony and a view like that in my neighborhood would be around $4500-5000 a month. To buy something like that where I live would be $600,000-$1,000,000. or maybe more. I haven't priced out apartments lately.

Spiritual_Chaos

GlowGirl said:

It looks beautiful. If it makes you feel better, rent on an apartment that modern with a balcony and a view like that in my neighborhood would be around $4500-5000 a month. To buy something like that where I live would be $600,000-$1,000,000. or maybe more. I haven't priced out apartments lately.

Where do you live?

The Juggler

Spiritual_Chaos said:

The Juggler said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

The Juggler said:

That looks lovely. I am a loan officer over here so I curious how mortgages work in your country. Quick google search showed a 50 year term is popular....is that right? 

Also I would keep the wooden wall. That is called shiplap or something right? Cool feature. I'd even make it appear more natural wood looking too. 

Congrats. 

What does "a 50 year old term" mean? I imagine it mean, how many years the bank decide in theory it will take for someone to pay back the whole loan to use for counting the mortage percentage to be paid per month etc?

Kind of. It's not really up to the bank unless someone doesn't qualify for a smaller term due to their debt to income ratio being too high.  Here you can choose terms, usually, anywhere from 10-30 years.

I think the general rule here is 50 years / 600 payments.  But that is top of my head having information fly passed me this week... so could be wrong. I don't know much about how banks operate.

Also, here, a seller will not accept a bid unless you are already pre approved for a mortgage. Seems like things are kind of opposite over there. haha

GlowGirl

Spiritual_Chaos said:

GlowGirl said:

It looks beautiful. If it makes you feel better, rent on an apartment that modern with a balcony and a view like that in my neighborhood would be around $4500-5000 a month. To buy something like that where I live would be $600,000-$1,000,000. or maybe more. I haven't priced out apartments lately.

Where do you live?

New York City - Downtown Manhattan.

mickeyrat

Alice will remain unimpressed

Spiritual_Chaos

GlowGirl said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

GlowGirl said:

It looks beautiful. If it makes you feel better, rent on an apartment that modern with a balcony and a view like that in my neighborhood would be around $4500-5000 a month. To buy something like that where I live would be $600,000-$1,000,000. or maybe more. I haven't priced out apartments lately.

Where do you live?

New York City - Downtown Manhattan.

Hehe. Well. I live in the city in Sweden with the highest "square metre prices" for buying apartments after Stockholm... but NYC is ofc in another league

Back in my hometown my brother bought a whole house for more than half of what my apartment cost...

When it comes to regular  "rent apartments" though, it should be noted that Sweden is very regulated. You are not allowed to set the rent freely and we do not have "market economy rents". A political idea from far back about not segrating people and having somewhere to live be a "right". So, an apartment in the middle of Stockholm and one in a small isolate town in the north of Sweden has "in theory" a similiar rent level. 
Obviously with the right-wing liberal "everything should be for sale" ideas creeping in, even the Social Democrats has now opened up for "market economy rent" for new apartments.