ᐅ Purchase of a vacant farmhouse in a rural area outside the built-up zone
Created on: 15 Sep 2018 13:08
I
Ilef123
Hello everyone,
I am new here and urgently need some advice. We have fallen in love with an old farmhouse located in a district of our municipality (in Brandenburg). One reason we like the property so much is that it lies on the edge of several fields, with the nearest neighboring house approximately 50–200m (55–220 yards) away. Visually, the property is clearly distinct from the nearby settlement.
A few days ago, we learned that the current owner is willing to sell the farmhouse to us. We immediately started researching and arranged an appointment with the building authority, which will take place soon. During our research, we came across the topics of “outlying area” zoning and “scattered settlement,” which at first felt like a big setback, as we are generally only interested in properties like this. The farmhouse has probably been unoccupied for many years and apparently is not currently habitable (we have yet to do an interior inspection; there is significant damage to several roofs, though most exterior walls appear to be in acceptable condition).
We really want to buy this property and are willing to fight for it if there is a chance of success. Even just the land alone is worth the effort to us, so the poor condition of the buildings doesn’t discourage us much. We both have building experience, but as we are now realizing, not the legal or planning expertise. Our initial idea was, of course, to demolish at will and build a new, custom-designed house (construction would start no earlier than 2020). However, since we have read that the best we might achieve is to restore the existing residential buildings in the same form and in the same place, we would accept that too (although we don’t yet know exactly what counts as living space there, and we are tempted by the idea of turning one of the barns into a living room).
We feel quite overwhelmed and desperate and only have a few days to decide, as there are other interested parties. Could someone advise us on the best approach, what we should absolutely avoid, and what we need to be careful about? Is there a realistic chance of success? We know this probably isn’t a reasonable idea and that it will be a difficult path, but we want to give it a try.
Thanks in advance!
I am new here and urgently need some advice. We have fallen in love with an old farmhouse located in a district of our municipality (in Brandenburg). One reason we like the property so much is that it lies on the edge of several fields, with the nearest neighboring house approximately 50–200m (55–220 yards) away. Visually, the property is clearly distinct from the nearby settlement.
A few days ago, we learned that the current owner is willing to sell the farmhouse to us. We immediately started researching and arranged an appointment with the building authority, which will take place soon. During our research, we came across the topics of “outlying area” zoning and “scattered settlement,” which at first felt like a big setback, as we are generally only interested in properties like this. The farmhouse has probably been unoccupied for many years and apparently is not currently habitable (we have yet to do an interior inspection; there is significant damage to several roofs, though most exterior walls appear to be in acceptable condition).
We really want to buy this property and are willing to fight for it if there is a chance of success. Even just the land alone is worth the effort to us, so the poor condition of the buildings doesn’t discourage us much. We both have building experience, but as we are now realizing, not the legal or planning expertise. Our initial idea was, of course, to demolish at will and build a new, custom-designed house (construction would start no earlier than 2020). However, since we have read that the best we might achieve is to restore the existing residential buildings in the same form and in the same place, we would accept that too (although we don’t yet know exactly what counts as living space there, and we are tempted by the idea of turning one of the barns into a living room).
We feel quite overwhelmed and desperate and only have a few days to decide, as there are other interested parties. Could someone advise us on the best approach, what we should absolutely avoid, and what we need to be careful about? Is there a realistic chance of success? We know this probably isn’t a reasonable idea and that it will be a difficult path, but we want to give it a try.
Thanks in advance!
T
taschenonkel22 Jul 2020 11:18Hello, is there any news here? I saved this thread back in January because I find your project really fascinating!
Hello, yes, now there is some news to share.
We have received the building permit / planning permission for our project, as well as a construction loan with really favorable current conditions and approval for funding grants.
In a few days, official construction will begin. Although it took nearly three years from purchase to the start of construction, we used this time extensively for design planning, clearing out and gutting, as well as demolishing some of our originally eleven building parts (approved). At least, it didn’t feel like three years—perhaps because it has become more of a hobby than work for us by now.
Unfortunately, not much of the original structure will remain in the residential building. The roofs could have been repaired at great expense. Ultimately, we decided on new roofs and a construction method with solid floors and a reinforced concrete ring beam. The old wood from the roofs will be reused for decorative elements inside the house. We also saved thousands of beautiful old bricks, which we will use as cladding for a large part of our facade. Over the past years on our site, we have learned a lot and contributed an enormous amount of personal labor. We now look forward to handing the project over to our trusted contractor and watching the shell construction progress until, in a few months, we will join back in with our own work.
I am very grateful that we are finally allowed to build. It was worth the effort to try and not give up. And all of this without any trouble with the authorities.
We have received the building permit / planning permission for our project, as well as a construction loan with really favorable current conditions and approval for funding grants.
In a few days, official construction will begin. Although it took nearly three years from purchase to the start of construction, we used this time extensively for design planning, clearing out and gutting, as well as demolishing some of our originally eleven building parts (approved). At least, it didn’t feel like three years—perhaps because it has become more of a hobby than work for us by now.
Unfortunately, not much of the original structure will remain in the residential building. The roofs could have been repaired at great expense. Ultimately, we decided on new roofs and a construction method with solid floors and a reinforced concrete ring beam. The old wood from the roofs will be reused for decorative elements inside the house. We also saved thousands of beautiful old bricks, which we will use as cladding for a large part of our facade. Over the past years on our site, we have learned a lot and contributed an enormous amount of personal labor. We now look forward to handing the project over to our trusted contractor and watching the shell construction progress until, in a few months, we will join back in with our own work.
I am very grateful that we are finally allowed to build. It was worth the effort to try and not give up. And all of this without any trouble with the authorities.
Floor plan discussion? Sorry, I have never been very active in this forum. I just want other frustrated people building in rural areas and those with opposing views to know that things can work out well sometimes.
We developed our floor plan independently over three years and eventually incorporated input from colleagues and planners (I work in structural engineering myself). Our house will have an H-shape, and it took us a long time to finally say, this is it. Many aspects could be perfectly solved for us, although a few compromises have to be accepted with this design. Some questions, such as the optimal location for the outdoor trash bins, still need to be clarified. It will not be a typical house with a standard floor plan. Among other things, we are building a large open-plan kitchen and living area in the form of a living barn open all the way up to the roof. The house will have some very large floor-to-ceiling windows, some even arranged around corners, exposed concrete flooring throughout, and a cantilever staircase (not very child-friendly, something we might regret, but we are doing it anyway). We have been maintaining a construction blog on Instagram since 2018, which we will update soon. The blog also includes views of the plans.
We developed our floor plan independently over three years and eventually incorporated input from colleagues and planners (I work in structural engineering myself). Our house will have an H-shape, and it took us a long time to finally say, this is it. Many aspects could be perfectly solved for us, although a few compromises have to be accepted with this design. Some questions, such as the optimal location for the outdoor trash bins, still need to be clarified. It will not be a typical house with a standard floor plan. Among other things, we are building a large open-plan kitchen and living area in the form of a living barn open all the way up to the roof. The house will have some very large floor-to-ceiling windows, some even arranged around corners, exposed concrete flooring throughout, and a cantilever staircase (not very child-friendly, something we might regret, but we are doing it anyway). We have been maintaining a construction blog on Instagram since 2018, which we will update soon. The blog also includes views of the plans.
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