ᐅ Building a House or Buying an Existing One

Hello everyone,

I have been following the forum for a while and really appreciate it. There is a very positive and helpful atmosphere here that I miss in other forums.
Now to my concern. My wife, our two daughters (1 and 7 years old), and I bought a small mid-terrace house in 2011. As you can tell from the age of our youngest, we were still just three back then, and the 70m² (750 sq ft) of the house were enough for us. Now that we are four, we need more space.
The prices for existing properties in the areas we are looking in Kiel are so high that after a long search, we decided it might be worth building, even if it costs a bit more.
We found a great plot of land in a new development in a neighboring municipality and have had initial talks with the developer the land is tied to.
We had already been mentally preparing for building a house when, over the weekend, our neighbor came to us and said that they (as tenants) would be moving out of the adjacent house.
On the spur of the moment, we called the owners and asked if they might be interested in selling. Long story short: we are now facing the decision to either combine our terrace house with the neighboring house or continue with our plan to build new.
Of course, no one can make the decision for us or help directly, but I would be interested in hearing your opinions.
The choice is between:
- A connected mid-terrace house, 350m² (3,770 sq ft) plot, 140m² (1,510 sq ft) living space, 80m² (860 sq ft) basement from 1957, in a well-known and very nice location
- A new detached house on a 560m² (6,030 sq ft) plot, 125m² (1,345 sq ft) living space, no basement, in a pleasant suburban area

The new build would be about 50,000 EUR more expensive, but because of higher loan costs (we would probably have to keep the old financing) the monthly burden would be about the same.
Is it economically sensible to keep the old house? We feel very comfortable there. Or would the new build be a more future-proof choice, especially since we have already decided to move to the neighboring municipality?

As I said, the decision depends on many factors, and nobody should or can make it for us, but I would be very interested in your perspective—looking ahead—whether you think keeping the old house or going for the new build outside our current area makes more sense.

If this question is inappropriate, feel free to delete it. 🙂

Thanks and best regards,
Chrischan

Since I have previously avoided new builds and preferred to buy an existing house, I also find the offer of the two semi-detached houses better here. Location and space are hard to beat...

I would just carefully check what renovation or even refurbishment might be needed now or in the near future. Given the age, I can think of quite a few things, unless they have already been done.

Hello Chrischan,

as you already said, no one can make that decision for you.

My initial thoughts on the matter would be:

- Major renovation work when combining two terraced houses (stairs, bathrooms, kitchens, heating, utility connections…)

- Approval from the city for combining the properties (breaking through firewalls…)?

- Up-to-date heating systems and insulation (future costs)

- Upcoming renovations (roof, heating, plumbing, electrical…)

- A new house on significantly more land (space for children, pets…)

- Naturally, many children in the new development area (playmates for the kids…)

Personally, I would tend to favor the new build (if the higher costs are manageable), but of course, I can’t judge how attached you are to your current neighborhood…

Regards,

Dirk

Thanks in advance for the quick responses. 🙂

As an addition, both houses have already undergone extensive renovation. We have renewed the roof, windows, electrical system, heating, and installed cavity wall insulation. The neighboring house received all of this as well, though a little earlier than us.

The point Dirk made about the renovation effort is also a bit discouraging. Since the houses are exact mirror images, at least the staircases are ideally located at the far sides.

The factors of plot size and social contacts for the children are also important and clearly an advantage for the new build.

Would you consider the inheritance aspect? I would like to leave something material to my children, and in that regard, a 40-year-old house is probably better than a 100-year-old one. Or should that not play a role?

Regards,
Chrischan

Hello Chrischan,

I would set the topic of inheritance aside for now.

I believe that a house built today probably won’t match the tastes of your children in 40 years, just like a building that is 100 years old at that time.

In that case, the land itself is likely to be more valuable, and 560 m² (6028 sq ft) clearly beats 350 m² (3767 sq ft). Especially since a detached house on the larger plot can be much easier to demolish or renovate.

Last year, we also faced the decision of whether to renovate and extend a 60-year-old house or to demolish and rebuild.

In the end, we chose to build entirely new, even though it was my grandparents’ house.

Best regards,

Dirk

We are currently doing the opposite and renovating a house from 1962 🙂

And 350 sqm (3750 sq ft) in the right location can be worth significantly more than 560 sqm (6028 sq ft) in a wrong location ;-)