In the category House we will add pages for every major building step we have made; hence the name Built-it. We are a young and ignorant couple but these days housing is getting more and more expensive in Belgium (Europe).
Taxes
When you build a new house over here, you need to save up to be able to build your taxes. When you buy a property, you need to pay around 10% of taxes (so every time a property owner changes, the state charges its civilians). When you want to build a new building on that property you pay 21% BTW (translated as Value Added Tax) next to other smaller fees and taxes. If you die, your relatives pay an extra 3% to 65%. If they get your property, they pay that percentage on the taxation value of the property. In short: buildings are big business for our beloved State.
Stepping up
We want to raise our children in a good quality house (that’s also affordable) so we are totally renovating an old house to be our home. On mainland Europe, houses with a wooden structure are not that common. If you hire contractors to build a stud house, you are likely to spend a little more then using the brick/concrete traditional way. Wooden structures are only cheaper because they allow you to do much more of the work yourself. I happen to enjoy working in and around the house. The advantage of rebuilding/adding on to an existing traditional house is that we can combine the advantages of both. Brick homes are far more easy to keep cool in the summer due to their thermal inertia. A wooden structure on the other hand allows for more insulation which is important for the colder winters.
TL;DR:
Young people as off today can only afford to buy either a very small house or renovate an existing house in Belgium (for which the tax rate is ‘only’ 10+6%). We are not afraid of getting our hands dirty so it seems that we are going on a building adventure trip. New pages will be added for major steps and for those who want to follow our smaller updates: we will be posting blog articles down here.
Plans for total home renovation
The house to start with
Attic renovation
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