ᐅ Building Living Space on Existing Property – Looking for Ideas

Hello everyone,

I’m generally not a big fan of building a house, as I see higher living costs and less flexibility in a house. However, the first issue changes, especially if you can build on existing land. The property in question is a three-sided farmstead (residential house, barn, garage) with green space around it. Since all the possibilities I have in mind are “special cases,” I wanted to gather some initial information about which option might make sense to investigate further.

The preference is for a single-story house (because I like large rooms but don’t need 250m² (2700 sq ft)) without a basement and space for two people (so no children’s rooms, etc.). It should be relatively modern and full of natural light, so somewhat higher costs for windows should be expected. All options depend on the building permit / planning permission required, which certainly varies case by case, but maybe someone can give an initial assessment.

Option 1: New house on the adjacent meadow:
New houses on adjacent meadows (usually from farms) are often built for personal use, even though there is no local development plan from the municipality in this area. The three-sided farmstead is not isolated, but there is also no development plan. What are the chances that the municipality would approve a new build on the adjacent meadow (without “I know someone who…”)? In the past, another adjacent meadow was rezoned for building land. What are the construction costs excluding the land but including utility connections? Would this option save a significant amount?

Option 2: Extension to the existing building.
Here, it is of course unclear whether an extension is allowed. The disadvantage would be that the extension would have to be on the west side, so there would be no southern windows (unless the extension is built at a distance of several meters from the existing building). The advantage, however, is that if the utility connections are sufficiently sized, no new utility connections might be necessary(?).

Option 3: Conversion of the barn.
This option would technically be the nicest or most individual solution. However, from what I have read, you should expect higher costs than with a new build. The plot is already available, and new connections might not be necessary. So wouldn’t a large portion of the new build costs already be eliminated?

As a layperson, this is often wishful thinking, and reality quickly sets in (building permit impossible / costs higher than new build plus land). What information would be necessary for an assessment? Which option might have a chance of success?