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How crazy is it to buy a plane before a house ?

I am looking for a number, 0 being just “plain crazy”, 10 being “the most crazy thing ever heard on Earth”

We might not know where to settle down for some months if not years, so is it better to go for it now ?

LFOU, France

Depends on the airplane. A PC12 fitted out as a campervan ? I think it would be called batshit crazy by most people – but I LOVE the idea !

Sorry 172, the idea is buying a plane while renting an apartment (which is not cheap either).
I have a cultural incentive to own the things I use, especially real estate. But now in Paris, any apartment bought must be kept 7-8 years to be profitable vs renting. Plus the time it takes to find the right one, find the bank etc…
OTOH, buying a plane is more expensive than renting, blocks some cash and implies a learning/spending curve in the first years of ownership. And when we move, a new ground setup will be needed etc…

I am afraid if I wait for us to be well settled, I may wait for long or end up in a worse financial situation (kids..).

What makes most sense ?

LFOU, France

This is one of those questions that really no one can answer but you and your family.

My personal opinion is that if you had to pick one or the other, then it would have to be the house as it is a long term (generally appreciating) asset that gives you and your family security. However, If buying an aeroplane first doesn’t jeopardise the home, I don’t see a problem with it. If you were going to tell me you could buy a home next year, but if you buy a plane first and it will delay the home by a year or two then I don’t see a problem with it. How long a delay is acceptable is for you to decide. For me personally, if buying an aeroplane was going to postpone a house purchase for me by more than 2/3 years I think I would have to put the house first.

United Kingdom

Jujupilote wrote:

But now in Paris, any apartment bought must be kept 7-8 years to be profitable vs renting.

I would say whether to buy a plane and whether to buy a house are two separate questions, unless, as @Pirho said, the one prevents the other from happening. Also worth mentioning that not all markets make sense to buy a house, and Paris is probably one of those. And not in these market conditions for sure. The real estate market has gone totally mad almost everywhere.

Second thing, as I’m now learning, is that ownership has quite a learning curve and may require more funds than you think.

How long before you plan to have kids? I guarantee that will change things. I kept flying for about 3 years after kids, then had to take a break for a while during the early years due to the all-hands-on-deck nature of babies and super young kids. Now they love it and enjoy going with me, but there was definitely a period where my domestic duties overruled flying (and all other personal ventures for that matter).

EHRD, Netherlands

I see nothing inherently crazy in it. I haven’t been in such a situation myself but can easily imagine facing this kind of choice. I also had a three-year period in my life when I owned a plane but didn’t have a car. Both a house and an aeroplane may take an unpredictably long time to find, so in your situation I’d probably be on the lookout for three things simultaneously: (1) a particularly good deal on real estate purchase, (2) a particularly good deal on long-term rental (sometimes a good rental may trump a purchase for all kinds of obscure reasons, especially in big cities), and (3) a particularly good deal on an aeroplane, and snap up whichever one comes first.

Last Edited by Ultranomad at 17 May 16:46
LKBU (near Prague), Czech Republic

You can sleep in a ‘plane but you can’t fly a house :)

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

AirPark in a rural area comes cheaper: big villa with microlight sitting under, the crazy bit will be using it to commute to London everyday :)

Last Edited by Ibra at 17 May 17:34
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

You can sleep in a ‘plane but you can’t fly a house :)

Haha, robert, but not entirely true



Jujupilote, I would say that it very much depends on whether your partner is as devoted as you are with regard to aviation.

Last Edited by aart at 17 May 19:31
Private field, Mallorca, Spain

Won’t rate on a 1-10 scale because it’s always difficult to rate oneself on such a scale.

All I can say, I’ve done exactly that for a simple reason: The right plane “flew across” much earlier than the right house.
If you know that the right house won’t come across for some time (until your disposable assets have recovered from the airplane purchase), why not buy a plane before? There are many reasons why you can know that, e.g.: You are currently on a time limited assignment in another city, you know that you want to have family and raise it in the country side but until that happens you prefer living in the city, you will take over the estate from your parents at some point in the future, etc.

Germany
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