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| Thanks for the tip ... I wasn't really thinking about buy straight away, but within 6 months after arrival I figured that I should have a fairly good idea if I want to stay or not. Then I would look around to buying something. And the reason that I'm thinking of this is that I've noticed though that (at first appearance) that it seems to be cheaper to buy something and pay a mortgage on it, then to actually rent a similar apartment. ie. the interest payments on the mortgage would be about the same as the actual rent itself, especially if you work for a bank and get discounted rates.  What that also means is that if I were to leave Swiss, then the rent payments that I would collect from the apartment would be sufficient in paying the apartment off ... means that it would be a neutral investment, not requiring "financial maintenance" from my part in the future. Maybe I've just got the wrong impression? | |
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You also need to factor in maintenance costs. Assume 1% of the purchase price per year - this is what UBS does on their affordability calculator. Repairs ain't cheap here.
Interest rates (Libor) have also more than doubled in the last 3 years. Working for a bank won't necesarily get you the best interest rate either. You will also pay extra taxes for the deemed rental income. In my case, the deemed rental income for our home is close to my part-time salary - so be aware of this.
As for renting your place out when you leave, the amount of money tied up in your home may mean you can't buy elsewhere when you move.