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allerdings25 Sep 2015 18:13Hello Forum!
After my grandmother’s life estate ended, we now have an unoccupied semi-detached house and face the big question: should we demolish and build new or do a (major) renovation?
What we know:
Not visible in the photo are two garages on the right, which are still in use and could remain untouched for now. How the house looks beneath the facade is unknown.
What we don’t know:
We would be very grateful for any kind of suggestions. For example, do you need a basement? Should you build an additional rental unit as a form of retirement planning, or the opposite – could you omit a floor to reduce costs, and so on…
There are two of us, around 35 years old, without children or pets, though that could change in five years. Unfortunately, the lottery win hasn’t come through yet, so we can’t replace this house with a castle. Ideally, we would like to come in under the architect’s estimated budget.
So, who has an idea, an opinion, a suggestion, or a question?
After my grandmother’s life estate ended, we now have an unoccupied semi-detached house and face the big question: should we demolish and build new or do a (major) renovation?
What we know:
- The house is 90 years old.
- There is a damp rubble stone basement.
- We consulted an architect who pointed out what might be wrong. For example, he picked at a piece of steel beam from the basement ceiling/wall with his fingers, which as a complete layperson I find extremely concerning. However, the houses in the neighborhood are all roughly the same age, none have been demolished so far, and none have collapsed. I am not sure how to evaluate this “the steel beams will eventually become flaky” information. He advised against a minor renovation, calling it a bottomless pit, and said it would ultimately cost much more than planned if something unexpected happens. He threw out the figure of 300,000€ (euros) for both a full renovation, a new build, or a sale. The latter is not an option for now.
- Electrical, plumbing, and heating systems would all need to be replaced.
- A call to the building authority revealed there is no zoning plan. So, basically, anything is possible at this stage.
Not visible in the photo are two garages on the right, which are still in use and could remain untouched for now. How the house looks beneath the facade is unknown.
What we don’t know:
- What we actually want.
- How we should proceed.
- Who to turn to for advice.
We would be very grateful for any kind of suggestions. For example, do you need a basement? Should you build an additional rental unit as a form of retirement planning, or the opposite – could you omit a floor to reduce costs, and so on…
There are two of us, around 35 years old, without children or pets, though that could change in five years. Unfortunately, the lottery win hasn’t come through yet, so we can’t replace this house with a castle. Ideally, we would like to come in under the architect’s estimated budget.
So, who has an idea, an opinion, a suggestion, or a question?
It seems you don’t really want to sell. So the question is whether you plan to move in yourselves or rent the property out.
What are your current financial options and your own living situation? From the outside, the house doesn’t look that bad; there are much worse ruins that aren’t even that old.
If the house could actually fetch 300,000 EUR (about 320,000 USD) on the market, I would probably lean towards selling as well. But I find that hard to believe if the renovation needs are really that extensive. Was the architect also an appraiser for such properties? Is the land value that high?
What are your current financial options and your own living situation? From the outside, the house doesn’t look that bad; there are much worse ruins that aren’t even that old.
If the house could actually fetch 300,000 EUR (about 320,000 USD) on the market, I would probably lean towards selling as well. But I find that hard to believe if the renovation needs are really that extensive. Was the architect also an appraiser for such properties? Is the land value that high?
FrankH schrieb:
You obviously don’t want to sell.Oops...
allerdings schrieb:
What we don’t know:
- What we want.
allerdings schrieb:
people build an additional rental apartment as a retirement investment... I understand from that that the living space is not needed for personal use
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allerdings26 Sep 2015 12:07Oh, did I forget to mention that? We want to live there ourselves!
What I meant was whether to build an extra apartment that could be rented out. Or to keep everything small for ourselves to keep costs low. Maybe the real question is:
how cheaply can you build?
The architect is also a building surveyor, and the only value lies in the plot of land. Although there is also a potential buyer who would fully renovate the house instead of demolishing it. Yes, interested parties just come along even though it’s not officially on the market...
What I meant was whether to build an extra apartment that could be rented out. Or to keep everything small for ourselves to keep costs low. Maybe the real question is:
how cheaply can you build?
The architect is also a building surveyor, and the only value lies in the plot of land. Although there is also a potential buyer who would fully renovate the house instead of demolishing it. Yes, interested parties just come along even though it’s not officially on the market...
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