Hello,
I’m reaching out to the forum because I have no idea how to proceed.
I will inherit a semi-detached house in the town center (20m (65 feet) from the market square) of a small village with 10,000 inhabitants in the Swabian region.
My grandmother wants me to start thinking about whether to sell, renovate, or something else. Unfortunately, I don’t know how old the house is… certainly well over 50 years.
I lived there myself for 25 years and believe it’s not easy to just rent it out, since some parts need renovation and there aren’t really separate sections with separate entrances to clearly define rental units.
Only the right half of the semi-detached house has two rooms and a kitchen on the first floor that are separated. The rest shares the stairway over three floors.
Additionally, the rooms are relatively small (20m² (215 sq ft)) and low (sometimes about 2.30m (7 ft 7 in) high). (I am 1.74m (5 ft 9 in) and can touch the ceiling on tiptoes.)
I was very dissatisfied living there recently because the plaster behind the wallpaper is crumbling in the corners, the floors and ceilings feel very thin and creaky, and the rooms are just too small. Some ceilings even sag downward a bit… but that’s always been the case. The bathrooms aren’t tiled at all, if you can even call them bathrooms.
Now I’m considering a complete renovation… replastering, tiling, laying new floors, and so on… but that won’t make the rooms any bigger. Nor will it make the walls and floors more stable, right?
I have thought about going a step further… for example, removing the floors and raising them higher… but that is almost like a demolition, isn’t it? Is something like that even possible?
Also, I wonder what is allowed, since it’s right in the town center surrounded by other three-story houses, wall to wall.
Maybe no one is bothered by the low ceilings… and I’m just imagining it…
But as I said, you can’t really rent it out at the moment because everything depends on one stairway and, besides, there is no kitchen available for tenants.
The house has more than 300m² (3,230 sq ft) plus garage, garden, and large balcony. Two relatives still live there for now. I think the house has a lot of potential.
Another option would be to simply sell it and leave the stress to someone else.
Do you have any advice for me?
Best regards,
Michael
PS: I have no experience with building or renovating. But I guess that’s all something you can learn 🙂
I’m reaching out to the forum because I have no idea how to proceed.
I will inherit a semi-detached house in the town center (20m (65 feet) from the market square) of a small village with 10,000 inhabitants in the Swabian region.
My grandmother wants me to start thinking about whether to sell, renovate, or something else. Unfortunately, I don’t know how old the house is… certainly well over 50 years.
I lived there myself for 25 years and believe it’s not easy to just rent it out, since some parts need renovation and there aren’t really separate sections with separate entrances to clearly define rental units.
Only the right half of the semi-detached house has two rooms and a kitchen on the first floor that are separated. The rest shares the stairway over three floors.
Additionally, the rooms are relatively small (20m² (215 sq ft)) and low (sometimes about 2.30m (7 ft 7 in) high). (I am 1.74m (5 ft 9 in) and can touch the ceiling on tiptoes.)
I was very dissatisfied living there recently because the plaster behind the wallpaper is crumbling in the corners, the floors and ceilings feel very thin and creaky, and the rooms are just too small. Some ceilings even sag downward a bit… but that’s always been the case. The bathrooms aren’t tiled at all, if you can even call them bathrooms.
Now I’m considering a complete renovation… replastering, tiling, laying new floors, and so on… but that won’t make the rooms any bigger. Nor will it make the walls and floors more stable, right?
I have thought about going a step further… for example, removing the floors and raising them higher… but that is almost like a demolition, isn’t it? Is something like that even possible?
Also, I wonder what is allowed, since it’s right in the town center surrounded by other three-story houses, wall to wall.
Maybe no one is bothered by the low ceilings… and I’m just imagining it…
But as I said, you can’t really rent it out at the moment because everything depends on one stairway and, besides, there is no kitchen available for tenants.
The house has more than 300m² (3,230 sq ft) plus garage, garden, and large balcony. Two relatives still live there for now. I think the house has a lot of potential.
Another option would be to simply sell it and leave the stress to someone else.
Do you have any advice for me?
Best regards,
Michael
PS: I have no experience with building or renovating. But I guess that’s all something you can learn 🙂
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