Good morning everyone,
I have inherited an older house and originally planned to renovate it. So far, I have been in contact with three architects. One suggested a new build, while the others recommended renovation. With the chosen architect, we went through the renovation planning.
Today, after half a year, I received the cost estimate, and I was almost shocked. The estimate is just under €900,000, including the landscaping and terrace planning.
The house is very old, there are not even proper plans (built around 1800), and it is only habitable on one level with about 90 m² (970 sq ft). The ground floor and attic should actually be converted into living space after the renovation. The roof is dilapidated and definitely needs to be completely replaced, as the ceilings are only about 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) high and are sloped. An extension must also be built onto the house because a rather narrow staircase inside ruins the entire layout. The electrical system is decades old, and there is no heating at all. The windows also need to be replaced.
Now, of course, I have started to reconsider, as I never expected such enormous costs. Paying off the house for a lifetime doesn’t make sense to me.
I am now looking into prefabricated houses again and the demolition of the existing building. Turnkey or ready-to-finish houses seem to be available from about €150,000, although that is probably the absolute basic construction. But even if I factor in a buffer (x2) and estimate the foundation slab plus demolition at €100,000, I am still much better off with a new build. Of course, I would have to forgo subsidies, but in this case, that is probably negligible. Besides, I can choose the type of house I want and have something brand new.
What do you think? Maybe someone has gone through something similar or can share their experience with a prefab house 🙂
Thank you very much
I have inherited an older house and originally planned to renovate it. So far, I have been in contact with three architects. One suggested a new build, while the others recommended renovation. With the chosen architect, we went through the renovation planning.
Today, after half a year, I received the cost estimate, and I was almost shocked. The estimate is just under €900,000, including the landscaping and terrace planning.
The house is very old, there are not even proper plans (built around 1800), and it is only habitable on one level with about 90 m² (970 sq ft). The ground floor and attic should actually be converted into living space after the renovation. The roof is dilapidated and definitely needs to be completely replaced, as the ceilings are only about 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) high and are sloped. An extension must also be built onto the house because a rather narrow staircase inside ruins the entire layout. The electrical system is decades old, and there is no heating at all. The windows also need to be replaced.
Now, of course, I have started to reconsider, as I never expected such enormous costs. Paying off the house for a lifetime doesn’t make sense to me.
I am now looking into prefabricated houses again and the demolition of the existing building. Turnkey or ready-to-finish houses seem to be available from about €150,000, although that is probably the absolute basic construction. But even if I factor in a buffer (x2) and estimate the foundation slab plus demolition at €100,000, I am still much better off with a new build. Of course, I would have to forgo subsidies, but in this case, that is probably negligible. Besides, I can choose the type of house I want and have something brand new.
What do you think? Maybe someone has gone through something similar or can share their experience with a prefab house 🙂
Thank you very much
ypg schrieb:
That’s also my opinion,
however, just because building authorities list this value on their website, doesn’t make it true.I actually find it a bit too good to be true, which is why I used x2 as a basis.
S
SaniererNRW12324 Aug 2022 13:00Reim2022 schrieb:
Today, after half a year, I received the cost estimate, and I was almost shocked.
Estimated just under €900,000 (approximately $980,000), including planning for the outdoor area and terrace. Simply saying “€900K (about $980K) and you’re shocked” doesn’t help us at all. If the house has 450sqm (4844 sqft) of living space, the price including the extension is actually quite reasonable. If it’s 120sqm (1292 sqft), then it’s way beyond reasonable.
Pictures, location, and so on also help a lot.
Aside from that, building a new house at about €2,500 (around $2,700) per sqm (10.8 sq ft) of living space (minimal standard) is typical. So for a small 120sqm (1292 sqft) house, you’d have to expect around €300,000 (approx. $326,000).
Reim2022 schrieb:
Turnkey houses are apparently available from around €150,000 (about $163,000). These prices for a turnkey house (plus foundation slab) are worth about as much as the €900K (around $980K) estimate for a renovation.
SaniererNRW123 schrieb:
It’s easy to say “€900,000” and shock you, but that doesn’t help us at all. If the house has 450 sqm (4844 sq ft) of living space, that price including the extension is actually quite reasonable. If it’s only 120 sqm (1292 sq ft), then that’s way beyond normal.
Photos, location, and so on also help a lot.
Aside from that, new construction costs around €2,500 per sqm (232 sq ft) of living space (minimum standard). So you should expect around €300,000 for a small 120 sqm (1292 sq ft) house.
These prices for a turnkey house (plus foundation slab) are worth as much as €900,000 for a renovation. Thanks for this “friendly” reply...
I already wrote that the house currently has 90 sqm (969 sq ft) of living space. In a finished condition, it would be around 200 sqm (2153 sq ft).
S
SaniererNRW12324 Aug 2022 13:24Reim2022 schrieb:
Thanks for this “friendly” response... You’re welcome. But you’re not providing any useful information either 😉 I have read that 90m² (970 sq ft) are livable. However, there’s no clear info on the total area, how much is being added, and so on.
Detailed information helps to give concrete answers ==> A cost estimate of €90,000 for a 210m² (2,260 sq ft) house with a complete core renovation (maybe room heights are being adjusted, but we don’t even know that) is quite a hefty amount. For high-quality work, though, it’s actually within a realistic range. Especially since the exterior work is included as well (which, by the way, what portion of the total costs do they represent? The area and planning by the architect? Unfortunately, I didn’t see that either). But landscaping a 1,000m² (10,760 sq ft) lot, including terraces, can quickly reach six figures.
Do you now understand why I said that your question cannot expect an answer without details? No offense intended. But if you say a car dealer told you a car costs €100,000 and you find that price unbelievable, a third party could say the offer a) is overpriced for a Golf or b) too cheap for a Ferrari...
W
WilderSueden24 Aug 2022 13:24Reim2022 schrieb:
I am now looking into prefabricated houses again and the demolition of the existing building. Turnkey or shell houses seem to start at around €150,000, although that is probably the absolute basic construction. But even if I double that estimate and budget €100,000 for the foundation slab plus demolition, a new build still seems much more advantageous, right? Of course, I would then have to forgo subsidies, but in this case, that would probably be negligible. Forget those prices immediately. Even as catalogue prices, they are far too low. Realistically, depending on the region, expect €2500–3000 per square meter (approximately $230–280 per square foot) plus additional construction incidental costs. That will still likely be significantly cheaper than renovating for €900,000, but it is a completely different scale than you thought.
(You are probably mistaken because you mention shell houses and turnkey homes in the same breath. Simply put, a shell house is basically a structural shell. The term turnkey isn’t always used consistently; sometimes flooring and painting are included, sometimes not.)
Basically, with a budget of €900,000 for a renovation that essentially rebuilds the entire house, I would also lean towards demolition.
Winniefred24 Aug 2022 17:02Please also answer the questions already asked by others. And how much of the 900,000€ is allocated to the landscaping and outdoor areas? With a 2,000 m² (21,500 sq ft) plot, that can be a significant amount. With the information provided, no one here can give you proper advice.
A construction year of 1800 is personally very appealing to me, but of course, I don’t know the house. A dilapidated roof, no heating, etc., sound more like neglect.
A construction year of 1800 is personally very appealing to me, but of course, I don’t know the house. A dilapidated roof, no heating, etc., sound more like neglect.
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