Quote from Gerhard on 2026-07-27, 06:55

Everyone deserves a house with a cherry tree in the backyard. The cherry tree is a metaphor — but in a healthy society — every sincere participant deserves an actual house. You deserve a house!

Ahrhr, but let us embrace the gloom. Property is very expensive! Not everywhere — but in many cities and towns — a working class person is pushed out of the market. I blame the investors for pushing the prices so high — and also — human beings may be overpopulating a lot of cities.

Get rid of that gloom! Let me share with you one tip that I think is genuinely useful when planning to buy a house.

The tip is the opposite of a mistake; and most people do make this mistake. People make this long, mental list of their desires for a house, and everyone wants the same things, really → A good location, big, a nice neighborhood with sexy neighbors, modern and new, not too noisy... But this dream house is going to be expensive!

Instead, what terrible qualities in a house are you ok with? That's the question! That's the tip. And this is a way to hopefully find a below market house. Let's not dwell on vaguities. Let's present some realistic examples.

Maybe you live in super-hot France! Everyone wants a house with AC these days. Eh, but maybe the heat doesn't bother you — you could get a €20,000 lower price, perhaps, if you're like me, and heat isn't an issue.

Next, maybe you are deaf. You would be watching with captions then! Being deaf is not ideal — but for you, maybe you are fine living in a house next to a fire department. That is a silly example of course, but the point is, for you to be creative, and find a "negative" quality of a house which you are fine with.

In particular — most people do not want housemates — but if you are a social person, you can plan for buying a house with some extra rooms — and subletting effectively makes the house less expensive.

Also, most people want a house in the city where you live. But if you are not so attached to where you live — and you have a job that is easy to transfer, like a mechanic or a barber, you can buy a house anywhere in the country. In that case, you could find a very affordable house somewhere more rural. Most people of course don't want to live rural, but if you love nature, maybe it's fine with you.

Be creative! Find something unique to you, where you don't mind a particular "bad" quality of a house. If you don't like this advice, then my second best advice is to be born to very rich parents, next time!

Let's bring the gloom back — it is still very challenging to afford a nice house in most cities. My tip isn't some magnificent game-changer cheat code — instead — this tip is the only advice I have to give. Of course, it would be perfect if you could time the market to buy at a crash in prices, but this is very hard to predict, honestly. And rent is so expensive, people feel in a rush to buy instead.

Here are a few more ideas for specific "bad" qualities that could present a good deal:

• Would you mind living in a house near a nuclear power station? Honestly, I'd be super cool about that.
• How about a house or apartment with the number 13, or on floor 13?
• Does an old house containing asbestos concern you?
• If you don't have a car, what about a place with no parking spots? Or at least, renting out a parking spot could bring in some cash.
• What about a house near some wind turbines?
• Or a house near an electrical distribution plant?
• Even something like a house with ugly paint colors can present an opportunity.

I know that you do deserve a house, and you deserve a cherry tree in your backyard. If you want, comment your first name below, and I will commit a sincere little prayer for you, to find a wholesome home at a price that could work out.