"Only $1000 was available": these Minsk residents bought an apartment almost without savings

Buying your own home is the dream of millions of Belarusians. For many, it's almost unattainable or requires serious restrictions and savings. Especially for those who want to settle in Minsk. What to do if you didn't inherit anything, your salary doesn't allow you to save or take out a loan, and rental housing already eats up half your earnings?

"Tochka" found two real stories of unexpected apartment purchases in the capital — without savings and large down payments. These now Minsk residents solved their housing problem a couple of years ago, when lending conditions and the market situation were different, but still difficult in their own way.

"I thought I'd live in a rented apartment all my life"

Lilia moved from a district center to Minsk at 18, when she entered university. She is now 33, and has lived in her "one-room apartment" for 4 years.

"Almost all my life I lived in rented apartments or dormitories, from early childhood until I was 13, and then again dormitories, rented housing, but already in Minsk. I always wanted to have my own corner and not live on borrowed time. Anyone who has rented an apartment will understand perfectly what I mean," Lilia begins her story.

The girl says that immediately after her studies, she earned quite well:

"But rented housing took a good part of my income. Plus, you're young, just became independent, with your own salary: you wanted to travel, and relax somewhere, and just buy something. So I was constantly torn between saving: for travel or for housing."

Her average income at that time was about $1200 per month (at the exchange rate of 2016-2018). And even such a relatively good salary, according to the banks, was not enough to take a good amount of credit. They approved about half the cost of the simplest "one-room apartment."

"In short, that's how I lived. Sometimes saving for an apartment, sometimes spending everything on travel. With such a banking situation, I needed to save at least $20,000 for housing. It was unrealistic," says Lilia.

Павялічыць

Just went to look at an apartment

At the same time, Lilia constantly monitored real estate listings and interest rates all these years. But one day she decided to do a little more than just calculate the probability of buying an apartment, that is, to go for a viewing.

She practically had no money – only $1000.

"Exactly the same way, 'just for fun', I decided to calculate everything on the credit calculator again. Then I just as casually signed up for a consultation at the bank. And then I started thinking about how to get my loan approved," the girl recounts.

The interest rate at that moment was not the most attractive — something around 22% per annum. But the apartment was inexpensive, they were asking $38,500.

The girl earned about $880 at the exchange rate of that time. It seemed not bad. The bank was even ready to provide 100% of the value of the housing. But the salary at the same time had to be some unrealistic amount by Belarusian standards.

"They calculated that I should be earning about 3800 rubles a month, but I had 2200 rubles. But if I had such a salary at that time, I would hardly need a loan," Lilia laughs.

The girl calculated: the maximum she was willing to pay for a loan from her salary was 1600 rubles.

"I would have to severely restrict myself, continue to grab side jobs, but overall I would manage somehow. Then I would take $32,000 from the bank at the current exchange rate. I dared."

How to get a loan if…

There were several options: to consider the joint income with her mother, who lives in another city. That would almost reach the required monthly income for approval.

The girl chose another way: she went on vacation, then received her 13th salary. As a result, her average monthly income in the certificate was very attractive.

"They would have given me the whole sum with plenty to spare, but I was also calculating my own strength. And the payment that resulted was 1750 rubles a month. This was 80% of my salary. I remember and am shocked at myself: how did I dare back then?" Lilia laughs.

She still remembers in detail how she waited for the loan approval from the bank, how she tracked the exchange rate difference, and how she eventually looked for the missing amount.

"I borrowed $1000 from one acquaintance and $2000 from another, with repayment over 1-2 years. That is, I had to save something else after the loan payment. My mother gave me a thousand. As a result, my loan was somewhere around $33,000. Due to the exchange rate difference, I had to urgently look for another thousand – there were a lot of nerves."

"I pay a lot, but for my own"

In January 2022, she received the keys to her apartment. She had to do minimal repairs in two weeks to move out of the rented accommodation.

"There was no money. I thought I'd live with bare walls. But my friends pitched in, bought me wallpaper, and put it up. Then someone gave me a kitchen. All my appliances and almost all my furniture I already had — I had been renting an empty apartment before this. So I moved into the neighboring building," Lilia recalls.

She admits: when she made her first loan payment, she didn't know how she would live further. But everything somehow started to fall into place on its own.

"My salary was raised, a little, but at least I had 300 rubles more on hand. And then I immediately got a very good side job — it was already a decent amount. All this is to say: if you want something very much, it's as if everything in this world helps you," Lilia smiles.

And then there were several more happy moments: the refinancing rate in 2023 fell again and again. Now she pays 44% of her main salary (from 2600 rubles) for the loan.

"Now my payment is about 1150 rubles a month. And it's gradually decreasing, but very slowly. But almost as much is paid by my friends, currently renting a 'one-room apartment' in Minsk. And I'm paying for my own. Plus, I know how the loan depreciates over the years: I have examples from my mother, who now pays only 9 rubles, and many other acquaintances," Lilia doesn't lose heart.

At the same time, she admits: during these four years, she had to restrict herself in the main thing — in travels. For the first time, she went somewhere to relax only last year, very budget-friendly.

"Otherwise, I wouldn't say I severely restricted myself in anything and denied myself everything. No, everything was within reasonable limits, but, of course, not like before. I allow myself 'excesses' sometimes. But at the same time, I always had side jobs to live more or less normally," says Lilia.

Another downside is that the Belarusian woman can hardly save anything now. Ahead is another dream — to renovate the apartment to her taste.

"And I've been postponing this moment for four years, thinking exactly the same way that renovating with such a loan is unrealistic. And now I've plunged headfirst into the whirlpool again — I ordered a project from a designer, for which I have no money. I have a couple of months in reserve to save $1000. The process has been launched," Lilia laughs.

The girl's main message in all this is not to be afraid.

"If you've already gotten involved in this dubious venture, everything will start to fall into place. Money will be found, and opportunities to earn it, and even some seemingly incredible things that will help you along the way," the girl concludes.

Moreover, she adds, inflation also plays its part: the amount gradually becomes smaller, only the first two or three years are difficult. And her apartment has now grown significantly in price and is currently worth about $70,000. The loan from the bank, when converted to dollars, on the contrary, has decreased.

Two loans and the first "one-room apartment"

Tatsiana moved to Minsk in 2014. Four years later, she bought her apartment - also without proper savings.

"We lived with my husband's parents in Zhdanovichi for three years first. Our relationship is wonderful, but we still wanted something of our own. We didn't really have any money of our own: we bought a car after the wedding, a couple of thousands in savings. This was very much not enough for a down payment," Tatsiana recalls.

But at work, the girl's employer had a very pleasant "perk" for employees: they were willing to issue a loan at a very low interest rate - only 5% per annum for 20 years.

"They approved 25% of the cost of the housing for me — this amount became our down payment. The monthly payment was only 180 rubles," Tatsiana calculates.

The "one-room apartment" she liked cost $54,000 in 2018. The family took the remaining amount from another bank, under general conditions. As a result, they bought their own home without a down payment.

"Our combined income was not enough: we also included my in-laws' salaries, they were also guarantors. As a result, we had another monthly payment - 1300 rubles. I'll be honest, at first we couldn't manage, and my husband's parents helped us a lot - they covered almost half the amount," Tatsiana admits.

That's why it was decided to rent out the newly bought apartment – they managed to pay something towards the loan. This continued for about six months, but the family really wanted to move into their own apartment.

"We decided, we moved in, although we thought we'd rent it out for a couple of years until we got on our feet. Gradually we made repairs, took out some installments for household appliances. The first three years were the hardest. And then in recent months, the 'main' loan dropped to 900 rubles. My husband quit and started working for himself. Money appeared," the girl says.

Now they've bought an expensive "two-room apartment"

The plan was to buy a larger apartment - the child was growing up, and the "one-room apartment" was becoming cramped. Last year, they decided to expand. But they really wanted to keep their first apartment, into which they had put all their heart.

"I remember how we were walking through the shops and saw paintings that would perfectly fit above our sofa. We had absolutely no money: we scraped together every last penny. But what happiness it was! In short, we really wanted to keep that apartment," Tatsiana recounts.

Before buying a new home, they paid off their main loan early. Only one payment of 180 rubles remained. And again, they decided to take out a new one.

"At work, it was no longer possible to get a favorable loan. We took a regular one. So we still had to sell our first apartment to add money. We earned a decent amount - $91,000," the girl calculates.

They liked a two-room apartment in Ratomka - not cheap, $146,000. But after the profitable sale of the apartment, the couple even had a decent amount of money left, which they decided not to use to close the loan.

"We didn't have to invest in the apartment; it came fully furnished with appliances. We sold ours the same way. Even with those paintings of ours," Tatsiana smiles sadly.

Now the monthly payment for the "main" loan is 1960 rubles. Plus the same 180 rubles from the previous loan. The couple says that for them now, this amount is not noticeable at all.

"For us now, it's completely easy, you could say we don't even notice this amount. Maybe we should have taken a 'three-room apartment' right away, but then we would have had to restrict ourselves. So this apartment is not our last; in a couple of years, we want to get a bigger one," Tatsiana says.

Next year, the family has set another goal for themselves — to buy a one-room apartment. Maybe the simplest one, specifically for renting out. And in a couple of years, using a similar lending scheme, but with their own savings, to exchange their apartment for a three-room one.

"Yes, it was difficult at first. But everything eventually turned out great: who knows if we would have started our small business if it weren't for all this? And now we're setting very serious goals. My advice is — don't wait for the perfect moment. It will never come," Tatsiana believes.

And she is sure: you shouldn't be afraid to take that scariest first step. And then everything will fall into place in such a way that you will definitely not regret it later.

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