To buy or not to buy a property? That is the question!

Real Estate
41

What a nice read! I am thinking the same at the moment, whether it makes sense or not. I ended up having the conclusion that is more of an emotional feeling for me.

42

Since it’s few months now, I was wondering if you already own this property in Schaffhausen and are you happy with your decision?

Any unexpected (positive or negative) experiences ?

I am asking because I think Schaffhausen is a good area and have decent pricing. It’s a city where I might consider buying in future.

43

I lived in SH for a few years and loved it. It is a great city with good transport links. I actually bought a place across the river in Flurlingen which is Kt. ZH and benefits from low taxes.

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44

I guess income tax wise ZH is better and lump sum tax wise SH is better. Isn’t it?

45

You have to compare different taxes at different income/wealth levels to see how they compare for you. However, the decision will probably be made not on taxes, but rather on housing availability and whether you want to live in a neighbouring small village or in the larger town.

I’d actually prefer Schaffhausen, but had better property options come up in Flurlingen and since it is a 5 min bike ride, it wasn’t a big deal for me to cycle to Schaffhausen (where I worked).

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46

Totally agreed. I was only responding to tax advantage comment because often discussion between ZH and SH has tax advantage on either side as a variable for various topics

47

Thank you for all your comments! I apologize for my late response; the past few months have been quite exhausting, but things are now returning to normal.

The mortgage process was a nightmare. Despite trusting MoneyPark, it turned out to be a huge disappointment as I mentioned in another thread

We gave notice for our rented apartment at the end of February, received the keys for the new place in April, and completed our move by the end of May. So far, everything has been going well. Our kids love the new place, which is full of children around their age. Almost no cars, and they can ride their bikes or play with balls all day. Additionally, we’re close to the Rhein, where there’s a badi just a few hundred meters away. Our neighbors are fantastic.

Working from home, having a proper workspace, even in my bedroom, is really appreciated.

Surprisingly, there was no bidding process; it was first-come, first-served. However, I think, bidding typically occurs in only a few districts of Schaffhausen: Breite, Emmersberg, and Buchthalen. Our new home is not in Schaffhausen itself but rather 5-10 minutes away (about 5-6 km).

We love Schaffhausen and its surroundings in Kanton Zurich (including Langwisen, Feuerthalen, Flurlingen, and Dachsen). It’s an ideal place for families, with almost everything within reach. Zurich airport is just 40 minutes away, and there are German supermarkets (Lidl, Edeka, and Aldi) about 7 km from here. Numerous playgrounds, forests, and access to the river. However, for young people or singles, it might be bit boring.

Schaffhausen and Kanton Schaffhausen are actively working to attract new companies and families to work here. This is why regarding taxes, income tax rates have decreased over the last 4-5 years, and currently, they are nearly on par with those in Kanton Zurich (Langwisen, Feuerthalen, Flurlingen and Dachsen). Families benefit from additional subsidies in Schaffhausen. For instance, if both parents work, there’s a daily subsidy of 20 CHF per child in the Kita. We used to pay 82 CHF instead of the maximum 102 CHF per day. Moreover, there are better deductions for children on income tax declarations.

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48

Thanks

I think this is great that your family loves the place. I can imagine the anxiety in the beginning of the year is now gone and all of you feel great about the decision.

I have a question around costs to actually buy the property and then own it. So I understand there is a price for the asset asked by seller and you either fund it yourself or you take a loan.

But how about others costs (if any).

Annual costs

  • renovation / maintenance fund contribution

  • utility costs / service costs

  • property insurance costs

  • Any other annual costs to be taken into account? Often banks recommend to assume 1% of asset value to be costs on annual basis to own a property. But wanted to ask if that is covers all of the above.

One time costs

  • property transfer tax

  • notary fees

  • registration fees

  • other fees?

49

What are the fees for house purchase in SH? I know ZH and BL are relatively low, but know that other cantons are much higher.

50

Based on our experience and case:

Annual costs

  • Renovation / Maintenance fund contribution: Our apartment was renovated by the previous owners after they left the apartment to their new place: new kitchen with new appliances never used by them, new floor and new 2 bathrooms. So we don’t expect any major renovation or maintenance for the next 5-10 years or even longer due to the good quality. However, regarding the building itself, there is an existing fund of 60K. The management anticipates that the roof will need renovation in 3-5 years, and the heating pump will also require replacement within the same timeframe. They aim to accumulate 120K over the next 3-5 years. With 6 neighbors: ~2-2.5K CHF per year for each of us.
  • Utility costs / Service costs: We got detailed documents from the management company from last year, per neighbor: Nebenkosten ~4k CHF, heating and warm water ~2K CHF, water and sewage ~600 CHF, house maintenance ~1K CHF, Lift ~200 CHF (since we live on the ground floor)
  • Property insurance costs: 1K CHF for the building insurance from the Kanton, so 170 CHF/neighbor. Additionally, we have DieMobiliar insurance, which costs around 350 CHF per year.
  • Other Annual Costs: I think the 1% cost can vary based on the specific property and renovation needs. We don’t expect it, anyway, our bank used this 1% figure for their calculations.

One time costs

  • Property Transfer Tax: depends on the Kanton. I have already provided a lot of information, so who cares? We moved to Dachsen, in Kanton Zurich, so there was no transfer tax.
  • Notary Fees: in Zurich it is 0.2% of the sale price. In our case, we paid 0.1%, and the sellers covered the other 0.1%. So we paid ~1200 CHF. Additionally, there were two registration fees of 110 CHF each to register the withdrawal of my wife and myself 2nd Pilar
  • Registration Fees: We paid an additional 900 CHF to the notary for registering the new mortgage.
  • Other Fees: 250 CHF to register in Dachsen. We have 2 cars and paid 650 CHF for the car plates from SH to ZH including the car tax and we got back around 250 CHF from SH for the FY24 car tax that we already paid. 500 CHF AXA 2P withdrawal. And as far as I remember, there were no other significant fees.
51

Thank you for sharing other info. Very helpful

P.S -: somehow I assumed that your new house was also in Schaffhausen. I didn’t capture that you actually moved to Kanton ZH even though it’s close to Schaffhausen still. Sorry if some questions were redundant due to this misunderstanding

52

I didnt provide this infromation until my last post, there is no need to apologyze.

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