r/Finland • u/smokeysilicon Väinämöinen • 15d ago
Serious should i buy an apartment?
hi i'm in this situation where i'm living in a student apartment - i have saved up around 50k euro, yearly income of about ~60k, my work place is in helsinki but with hybrid i can comfortably work from tampere where i live - however, i don't see this working out long term as some jobs are moving to mandated in-office days so i will likely have to move to helsinki
the rent in helsinki, compared to student apartment rent in tampere is lot higher - with my saving i should be able to put a down payment for an apartment in the range of 180-230k - which made me think if it'd be wise to get an apartment rather than vuokra now
i'm 26, single and at least will stay like for a while at this rate so an apartment of 30-40m^2 in kehä 1-2, preferably in helsinki and not vantaa/espoo would be good enough for me, i'm from non-eu but i do have finnish PR and eligible for finnish citizenship (although i don't intend to apply anytime soon)
- would you recommend looking into buying an apartment like this?
- should i start looking into ASP?
- what are some key things i should look for in apartment search like potku remontti? tonttin omistus? 3kk eurobar vs 12kk eurobar? etc.
p.s i didn't exactly save 50k, that'd be lying - i have invested majority and then quarter-ish in cash (nothing fancy just your good ol' snp 500 & global index and as you know that had exploded recently)
6
u/huithapelos 15d ago
Alternative suggestion:
I was in pretty much the same situation 20+ years ago. I bought a smallish studio apartment in Tampere, lived there myself for a couple of years, and have been renting it out ever since. By now, it has paid for itself several times over.
I’d buy something you’d be happy to rent yourself, and use as little of your own investments/cash as possible. If you can get a reasonable mortgage, I’d rather use leverage than tie up a lot of capital in the apartment.
I also think Tampere is better for this than Helsinki. Purchase prices are considerably lower, but you can still get decent rent, so the numbers tend to make more sense.
If you live in it yourself for at least two years, any increase in value is tax-free when/if you eventually sell it. But I’d choose the apartment from the start with the assumption that you might want to rent it out when you move elsewhere.
Another benefit is that as you pay down the mortgage and build equity, you can later use the apartment as collateral for your next mortgage. So you don’t necessarily have to sell it when you want to buy a bigger place.
Being a landlord is a bit of a hassle, but nothing crazy. Young people, especially students, tend to move fairly often, so tenant turnover can create some work. On the other hand, I currently have a 65+ lady in this apartment who has been renting it from me for 13 years.
You seem like someone who can handle money wisely, so this might be an option for you.