ᐅ Building, Buying, or Renovating? – What Makes the Most Sense When You Want a Modern Home?
Created on: 8 Aug 2021 17:13
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PeterPan1986
Hello dear forum community,
after my partner and I have been intensively working on our homebuilding project since January, we have now reached a point where we rely on your detailed experiences.
We currently live affordably in the Eifel region and are increasing our equity in line with our plans. With a budget of 500-550k euros, we want to own a modern single-family house for the future.
Unfortunately, the search for a house/plot is proving to be (unsurprisingly) difficult. Our preferences would be a well-maintained house in a neat neighborhood with houses built from 1980 onwards (or correspondingly modernized). A rural setting with existing infrastructure is also important to us, as we value that our children can later get around by bike.
Unfortunately, the waiting lists for the corresponding new development areas are long, although we have a promising position in our hometown. As an alternative to new construction, we could imagine buying a house, but unfortunately, the properties we have considered (from the 1990s onward) are exorbitantly expensive and not modernized—or in a poor location. Occasionally, we come across houses built in the 1970s that would require extensive modernization to meet our expectations.
This raises several questions for us:
1. Assuming we buy a house from the 1970s and bring it up to the latest technical standards, the construction year does not change. What disadvantages arise from this regarding durability, etc.?
2. Who among you has experience with such a project and would be willing to share it here? Was it worth it? Would you do it again? What are, in your opinion, the pros and cons?
3. We place importance on energy efficiency and modern heating technology (preferably air-to-air or air-to-water heat pumps including a photovoltaic system). Is this feasible within a renovation and a normal cost framework?
Thank you in advance for your experiences and answers.
Have a nice Sunday!
after my partner and I have been intensively working on our homebuilding project since January, we have now reached a point where we rely on your detailed experiences.
We currently live affordably in the Eifel region and are increasing our equity in line with our plans. With a budget of 500-550k euros, we want to own a modern single-family house for the future.
Unfortunately, the search for a house/plot is proving to be (unsurprisingly) difficult. Our preferences would be a well-maintained house in a neat neighborhood with houses built from 1980 onwards (or correspondingly modernized). A rural setting with existing infrastructure is also important to us, as we value that our children can later get around by bike.
Unfortunately, the waiting lists for the corresponding new development areas are long, although we have a promising position in our hometown. As an alternative to new construction, we could imagine buying a house, but unfortunately, the properties we have considered (from the 1990s onward) are exorbitantly expensive and not modernized—or in a poor location. Occasionally, we come across houses built in the 1970s that would require extensive modernization to meet our expectations.
This raises several questions for us:
1. Assuming we buy a house from the 1970s and bring it up to the latest technical standards, the construction year does not change. What disadvantages arise from this regarding durability, etc.?
2. Who among you has experience with such a project and would be willing to share it here? Was it worth it? Would you do it again? What are, in your opinion, the pros and cons?
3. We place importance on energy efficiency and modern heating technology (preferably air-to-air or air-to-water heat pumps including a photovoltaic system). Is this feasible within a renovation and a normal cost framework?
Thank you in advance for your experiences and answers.
Have a nice Sunday!
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PeterPan198613 Aug 2021 18:51@11ant We would like to move up the list ourselves. There are just over 70 plots, and we are number 19 on the waiting list. There have already been at least 5 withdrawals. However, it seems that no credit checks were carried out during the reservation process. I believe the applications were submitted last November.
PeterPan1986 schrieb:
We are currently in 19th place on the waiting list. There have been at least 5 withdrawals so far. So, now you are in 14th place?
Out of curiosity:
How large and how expensive are the plots? Price per square meter (sq m)?
(With a budget of 500,000 € including land, you probably won’t be able to build a single-family house if even 50-year-old “huts” cost that much (440,000 € plus additional purchase costs), even if the plot is sufficiently large.
Have you already reviewed the zoning plan (building plan / planning permission)?
There are indeed some “peculiar” zoning plans that impose strict restrictions (full stories, roof pitch, etc.).
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PeterPan198613 Aug 2021 20:17The price per square meter (fully developed) is €113.50. This covers everything for plots ranging from 500 square meters to 800 square meters (5,382 sq ft to 8,611 sq ft).
In this area, prices vary significantly overall, depending largely on the infrastructure.
In this area, prices vary significantly overall, depending largely on the infrastructure.
PeterPan1986 schrieb:
The price per square meter (fully serviced) is €113.50.Okay, that price is definitely more than reasonable (given the current situation). But the house from the 1970s isn’t just 120 sqm (square meters), right? More like 150 plus a basement!?
Land plus new build, that should work out…
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PeterPan198614 Aug 2021 18:41The houses usually have 150sqm (1,615 sq ft) or more, with plots over 700sqm (7,535 sq ft), and are fully basemented. They are mostly marketed as renovated or modernized (although this is not evident in the listing, as the typical bathrooms/kitchens from that era are still in place). New construction here in the village would be my preferred option, but having a plan B is always a good idea.
PeterPan1986 schrieb:
The price per square meter (fully developed) is €113.50. Everything is included for plots between 500m² (5381 ft²) and 800m² (8611 ft²).
In this area, prices vary a lot overall, always depending on the infrastructure. Regarding the BRW, if a 1970s house already costs 440, I would definitely prefer a new build. In the existing house, you ultimately won’t live for under 500 if you make some adjustments, and it still won’t be up to the latest standards. Better to have a slightly smaller plot and go for new construction.
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