Hello.
First a bit about me: I am a 25-year-old male, a certified master electrician, and I bought a house in Saarland in November 2015. Since I had very little equity at 23, it was important for me to keep everything as affordable as possible. The plan was to do everything myself. I didn’t have many practical skills except some basic electrical knowledge. So, at 21, I started looking for houses while also beginning my master craftsman training. After two years of searching and countless setbacks (the good houses always get sold quickly), I finally found the right property and bought it.
The Financing:
House price: €138,000 Negotiated down to €128,000
Renovation reserve: €42,000
Total loan amount: €170,000
Equity: approx. €20,000
Additional purchase costs: approx. €16,000
I obtained three bank offers (it was important for me to have an advisor locally, so no direct online banks). The local bank was awarded the loan.
Important for me was a low monthly payment and fixed interest rates over the entire term.
Building savings contract (Bausparvertrag): €120,000 with a 29-year term including pre-financing.
Interest during savings phase: 1.95% for 13 years
Interest after allocation: 2.95% for 16 years
Monthly payment: €470
KfW loan: €50,000
Interest rate: 1.7%
Outstanding balance after 10 years: €34,000
(This will be repaid with the saved amount)
Monthly payment: approx. €180
Total monthly payment: €650 + €20 for term life insurance
Each month I can still save between €500 and €1,000, which I put entirely into the renovation phase of the house.
The House:
Bungalow with approx. 142m² (about 1530 sq ft), of which 120m² (about 1290 sq ft) is on the ground floor.
Usable floor area approx. 116m² (about 1250 sq ft)
Plot size approx. 5600m² (about 1.38 acres)
The house is partially (one quarter) basemented.
There was an outbuilding and some stables, which have since been demolished.
Why am I writing this?
I have been reading this forum for a while and often see recommendations against doing work yourself. With my experience, I want to encourage some users to dare to take on DIY projects.
I also believe that doing your own work can save a lot of money compared to a turnkey house build or renovation done by professionals. The opinion here in the forum generally tends toward the other direction.
In my opinion, you only need a lot of time and perseverance, but it can save a significant amount of money.
The Renovation:
Initially, the plan was just to replace the roof, add some new paint to the walls, and do a few small things.
What it turned into:
- Roof replacement
- Bathroom renovations
- Completely new floor plan
- Electrical system renewal with home automation via Wago
- Water/sewage system
- Underfloor heating
- Windows
- Insulation
- Floor, wall, and ceiling coverings
- Everything else inside that was still needed
Old floor plan
New floor plan
Attic floor
Overall, I made the house more open.
For rooms 1 and 2, I removed the suspended ceiling, giving a room height of 4.5m (15 feet).
Since I replaced the roof and switched from bitumen shingles to tiles, I also had to reinforce the roof structure.
For this, I had a new structural calculation done and reinforced the main beams with steel, installed new posts, and doubled the rafters.
I was actually going to write more, but I’m feeling lazy, and pictures say more than a thousand words. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.
Some additional data:
Invested so far: €44,000 of which:
approx. €20,000 roof
approx. €8,000 windows with built-in roller shutters and motors (triple-glazed safety glass SK2)
€16,000 for the rest
Still available: approx. €22,000
What’s left to do:
Plastering
Floor + underfloor heating installation
Sanitary fixtures
Floor, wall, ceiling coverings
A few small drywall tasks
So far, everything has been done by myself, except for the roof, where I had help from a roofer.
Planned move-in date is autumn 2017.
According to the plan, the remaining funds should be sufficient for the rest of the work.
This post will be updated later.
First a bit about me: I am a 25-year-old male, a certified master electrician, and I bought a house in Saarland in November 2015. Since I had very little equity at 23, it was important for me to keep everything as affordable as possible. The plan was to do everything myself. I didn’t have many practical skills except some basic electrical knowledge. So, at 21, I started looking for houses while also beginning my master craftsman training. After two years of searching and countless setbacks (the good houses always get sold quickly), I finally found the right property and bought it.
The Financing:
House price: €138,000 Negotiated down to €128,000
Renovation reserve: €42,000
Total loan amount: €170,000
Equity: approx. €20,000
Additional purchase costs: approx. €16,000
I obtained three bank offers (it was important for me to have an advisor locally, so no direct online banks). The local bank was awarded the loan.
Important for me was a low monthly payment and fixed interest rates over the entire term.
Building savings contract (Bausparvertrag): €120,000 with a 29-year term including pre-financing.
Interest during savings phase: 1.95% for 13 years
Interest after allocation: 2.95% for 16 years
Monthly payment: €470
KfW loan: €50,000
Interest rate: 1.7%
Outstanding balance after 10 years: €34,000
(This will be repaid with the saved amount)
Monthly payment: approx. €180
Total monthly payment: €650 + €20 for term life insurance
Each month I can still save between €500 and €1,000, which I put entirely into the renovation phase of the house.
The House:
Bungalow with approx. 142m² (about 1530 sq ft), of which 120m² (about 1290 sq ft) is on the ground floor.
Usable floor area approx. 116m² (about 1250 sq ft)
Plot size approx. 5600m² (about 1.38 acres)
The house is partially (one quarter) basemented.
There was an outbuilding and some stables, which have since been demolished.
Why am I writing this?
I have been reading this forum for a while and often see recommendations against doing work yourself. With my experience, I want to encourage some users to dare to take on DIY projects.
I also believe that doing your own work can save a lot of money compared to a turnkey house build or renovation done by professionals. The opinion here in the forum generally tends toward the other direction.
In my opinion, you only need a lot of time and perseverance, but it can save a significant amount of money.
The Renovation:
Initially, the plan was just to replace the roof, add some new paint to the walls, and do a few small things.
What it turned into:
- Roof replacement
- Bathroom renovations
- Completely new floor plan
- Electrical system renewal with home automation via Wago
- Water/sewage system
- Underfloor heating
- Windows
- Insulation
- Floor, wall, and ceiling coverings
- Everything else inside that was still needed
Old floor plan
New floor plan
Attic floor
Overall, I made the house more open.
For rooms 1 and 2, I removed the suspended ceiling, giving a room height of 4.5m (15 feet).
Since I replaced the roof and switched from bitumen shingles to tiles, I also had to reinforce the roof structure.
For this, I had a new structural calculation done and reinforced the main beams with steel, installed new posts, and doubled the rafters.
I was actually going to write more, but I’m feeling lazy, and pictures say more than a thousand words. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.
Some additional data:
Invested so far: €44,000 of which:
approx. €20,000 roof
approx. €8,000 windows with built-in roller shutters and motors (triple-glazed safety glass SK2)
€16,000 for the rest
Still available: approx. €22,000
What’s left to do:
Plastering
Floor + underfloor heating installation
Sanitary fixtures
Floor, wall, ceiling coverings
A few small drywall tasks
So far, everything has been done by myself, except for the roof, where I had help from a roofer.
Planned move-in date is autumn 2017.
According to the plan, the remaining funds should be sufficient for the rest of the work.
This post will be updated later.
No, not a family. It's not planned either.
I work in a rotating shift schedule with 3 shifts, 56 hours per week. Until April this year, I also attended a master craftsman course in the evenings or Saturday mornings, about 20 hours per week. Depending on the shift, I worked on the house during the week. On weekends, I spent time with friends unless I was working.
Now that school is over, I can really see the house progressing quickly.
I work in a rotating shift schedule with 3 shifts, 56 hours per week. Until April this year, I also attended a master craftsman course in the evenings or Saturday mornings, about 20 hours per week. Depending on the shift, I worked on the house during the week. On weekends, I spent time with friends unless I was working.
Now that school is over, I can really see the house progressing quickly.
My respect as well – today’s youth really are capable after all
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Congratulations and sincere respect—balancing this alongside work and school is a real feat of energy. A tough bird, that guy. But the reward is great: an affordable and solid house, and a homeowner before 30.
It’s a pity my daughter is already married, otherwise I would share her mobile number with you. Karsten
It’s a pity my daughter is already married, otherwise I would share her mobile number with you. Karsten
