Hello dear forum members!
Background: My boyfriend bought a house at a forced auction, quite cheaply, basically for the land value. He placed the lowest bid, assuming others would outbid him. However, no one did, and now he owns a house (which we/he do not urgently want to live in ourselves, at least not for the time being).
The house:
Overall, the house is in good condition, at least at first glance. Some renovations are necessary (e.g., the heating system). The last major refurbishment was apparently done in the 1980s. I can’t say much more about it at the moment.
My question:
Based on your experience, what is the best course of action? What makes sense financially?
For example:
1. Simply sell the house again (possibly after partial renovation and definitely at a higher price)
2. Renovate the house and rent it out as soon as possible? (The house could accommodate two tenants, and a part of it used to be a restaurant, which might be leased out again)
3. Renovate the house completely and then sell it.
What other options do you see from your experience? Where is the return on investment best?
I look forward to your answers and advice!
Best regards
Berenike
Background: My boyfriend bought a house at a forced auction, quite cheaply, basically for the land value. He placed the lowest bid, assuming others would outbid him. However, no one did, and now he owns a house (which we/he do not urgently want to live in ourselves, at least not for the time being).
The house:
Overall, the house is in good condition, at least at first glance. Some renovations are necessary (e.g., the heating system). The last major refurbishment was apparently done in the 1980s. I can’t say much more about it at the moment.
My question:
Based on your experience, what is the best course of action? What makes sense financially?
For example:
1. Simply sell the house again (possibly after partial renovation and definitely at a higher price)
2. Renovate the house and rent it out as soon as possible? (The house could accommodate two tenants, and a part of it used to be a restaurant, which might be leased out again)
3. Renovate the house completely and then sell it.
What other options do you see from your experience? Where is the return on investment best?
I look forward to your answers and advice!
Best regards
Berenike
pagoni2020 schrieb:
Well, with that idea you could start your own thread, couldn’t you? Yes, but certainly not in this forum.
pagoni2020 schrieb:
“Premarital counseling” certainly doesn’t harm anyone, especially not when building or buying a house. If some people had gone there a bit earlier, there wouldn’t be so many houses being resold and livelihoods auctioned off today (as in this thread). That may be true, but there is a difference between someone asking for help and someone being forced to accept unwanted help—and that has happened several times in this thread.
pagoni2020 schrieb:
Some people even ran into their partner there unexpectedly at a first counseling appointment—someone who had been going there regularly and with good reason… or the unfortunate fact was simply communicated in the usual way by registered mail without such counseling. But that does not automatically qualify every random internet user as a therapist.
I would be glad if this forum simply focused on the original questions asked by the topic starters, instead of always posting some know-it-all, overly confident answers. And no, this is not directed specifically at you—there are quite a few users here who do that. Apparently, this has become the standard over the past few years and unfortunately causes help-seekers to avoid the forum again after only a few days, just like in this thread. It’s no surprise that in a forum with over 100 registered users online at any time of day, only a handful of posts are made each day.
BackSteinGotik schrieb:
Is Scripted Reality a role model for behavior in Germany?Whether it should be, I would answer "no" – but in response to your question whether it is, the answer is probably "yes" tens of thousands of times every day. People who consider reality to be just the uninteresting younger sibling of GZSZ, to put it kindly, are not exactly becoming fewer ;-(https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Joedreck schrieb:
Take it slow. There’s no rush at all. The first step is an honest assessment of the current situation. What was done and when, and what still needs to be done?
What is the value of plots in the area?
Do you want to live there or not?
Think about how things should proceed. If the house was purchased with equity, you have more time.
I’m just an amateur, but I’ve bought and renovated two old houses. A lot of work in the East as well.
So, take some time to think.
Take photos and share them here. Photos of heating, water supply, sewage, roof, windows. Often the production date is stamped between the window panes.
Was there a pub inside? Enquire with the local authority about the cost of a change of use (building permit / planning permission).
Draw and share floor plans. Great, thanks for the advice, Joedreck. Exactly, it was bought with equity. I will upload photos gradually; I’m quite busy at work right now and have limited time.
And wow, this is a very active community—I didn’t expect so many responses. I need to process all of this first.
moHouse schrieb:
Now, show us some photos!
And tell us a bit about the location.
Unfortunately, it sounds to me a bit like a very remote area. (My interpretation based on the lonely auction date with the mayor present)
I have to fully agree with nordanney here. Around the Düsseldorf area, it’s rare to find anything affordable on the market. But if something does come up, it’s usually old houses with an abandoned pub inside. They’re even hard to sell here.
Even more so in the outback.
So I don’t believe in the illusion of flipping the property for a profit right away.
If you renovate the house so that you would move in yourself, it will be converted into a single-family home, right?
If there is generally demand for that in the village, I would renovate with the option to move in yourself and keep an eye on the market.
Once you’ve completed the change of use and done some of the renovation yourself, I can imagine you might be able to make a good profit.
Otherwise, just live in it yourself. The location is central in a village of about 1,000 inhabitants. It is a very lively community. The nearest train station is about 17 minutes away by car. There is a regular bus service. The nearest larger town (about 78,000 inhabitants) is approximately 20 minutes by car. Shopping facilities are about 7 minutes away by car. In fact, several villagers have already approached my friend, expressing interest in leasing the pub and even offered to help with renovations and other work. This group of villagers had also considered bidding but could not reach an agreement before the auction date, so they didn’t place a bid in the end.
There is already a fully finished apartment upstairs, so one could move in initially without any alterations. Only the water pipes and heating system need to be inspected. If the pub and bar area were converted, it would probably be possible to create up to two additional apartments.
No problem. Since it was purchased with equity, there is really no pressure at all.
Whether the people actually want to lease it remains to be seen, I think. If it works out, great, but you might want to not count on it right away.
As long as the house is priced within the range of comparable condominiums, it might even have been a good purchase. Sometimes you can just get lucky. But as I said, it’s hard to assess.
Now it’s about making decisions and exploring the options.
I would appreciate it if you could keep us updated.
Whether the people actually want to lease it remains to be seen, I think. If it works out, great, but you might want to not count on it right away.
As long as the house is priced within the range of comparable condominiums, it might even have been a good purchase. Sometimes you can just get lucky. But as I said, it’s hard to assess.
Now it’s about making decisions and exploring the options.
I would appreciate it if you could keep us updated.
Thanks for the responses, Berenike!
To me, it all sounds a bit over the top.
That might be hard to imagine for some homebuilders who are very security-conscious and started saving for their own house at age 12. (No offense meant to anyone who feels addressed… always add a to keep it light).
But there are also crazy people who just follow through on spontaneous ideas and jump from one adventure to the next. And they are happy doing so.
I think that’s great.
I don’t really believe in the revival of the inn either. Among acquaintances, it really sounds like one of those typical ideas that come up after 2 to 8 beers around the campfire but fail in sober reality.
Still, I can imagine that you might manage to create something good there.
I still can’t quite judge how remote the deepest outback really is based on your description. For me, northern Brandenburg is always synonymous with the outback. You can live 20 minutes from Neubrandenburg (about 70,000 inhabitants) and still be in the middle of nowhere.
To me, it all sounds a bit over the top.
That might be hard to imagine for some homebuilders who are very security-conscious and started saving for their own house at age 12. (No offense meant to anyone who feels addressed… always add a to keep it light).
But there are also crazy people who just follow through on spontaneous ideas and jump from one adventure to the next. And they are happy doing so.
I think that’s great.
I don’t really believe in the revival of the inn either. Among acquaintances, it really sounds like one of those typical ideas that come up after 2 to 8 beers around the campfire but fail in sober reality.
Still, I can imagine that you might manage to create something good there.
I still can’t quite judge how remote the deepest outback really is based on your description. For me, northern Brandenburg is always synonymous with the outback. You can live 20 minutes from Neubrandenburg (about 70,000 inhabitants) and still be in the middle of nowhere.