Hello everyone,
For two years, there hasn’t been anything suitable or interesting to buy.
Now there are two properties available in 89231 Neu-Ulm. Help!
If both were a good fit for you, which would you generally choose: buying an old house or building new?
Quick facts:
Old house: built in 1967, bathroom renovated 10 years ago, balcony, terrace, semi-detached house, 5.5 rooms, 139 m² (1494 sq ft) plus an unfinished attic (nothing done here), total land area including garden 465 m² (5005 sq ft), garage with electric door, very quiet location in a suburban area, available immediately, oil heating (system, guest toilet so far without sink, expansion vessel etc. renovated a few years ago, so relatively new), central heating, energy efficiency class G-H. All wallpapers and carpets would need to be removed, new flooring and walls painted or papered. Half-spiral staircases throughout, no railings to the basement and attic.
Purchase by bidding process – highest offer wins (inheritance community wants the money). Minimum bid: 300,000 €.
We estimated the costs for flooring, painting, renovation of the WC, removing a wall in the living room, installing a new kitchen, and come to a total of around 370,000 €.
New house:
New build within a building community of 7 units, terraced house with solid carport, total area 214 m² (2303 sq ft), 115 m² (1237 sq ft) with 4 rooms (3 rooms on the upper floor, 1 office with atrium in the basement which could be counted as around 12 m² (129 sq ft) added to the 115), underfloor heating, guest toilet, terrace, flat roof (cube design), open staircase, KfW 55 energy standard.
Costs for everything, move-in ready spring 2017: 400,000 €.
Can anyone tell me what I should consider for each property?
Financially, 400,000 € is our absolute maximum.
For two years, there hasn’t been anything suitable or interesting to buy.
Now there are two properties available in 89231 Neu-Ulm. Help!
If both were a good fit for you, which would you generally choose: buying an old house or building new?
Quick facts:
Old house: built in 1967, bathroom renovated 10 years ago, balcony, terrace, semi-detached house, 5.5 rooms, 139 m² (1494 sq ft) plus an unfinished attic (nothing done here), total land area including garden 465 m² (5005 sq ft), garage with electric door, very quiet location in a suburban area, available immediately, oil heating (system, guest toilet so far without sink, expansion vessel etc. renovated a few years ago, so relatively new), central heating, energy efficiency class G-H. All wallpapers and carpets would need to be removed, new flooring and walls painted or papered. Half-spiral staircases throughout, no railings to the basement and attic.
Purchase by bidding process – highest offer wins (inheritance community wants the money). Minimum bid: 300,000 €.
We estimated the costs for flooring, painting, renovation of the WC, removing a wall in the living room, installing a new kitchen, and come to a total of around 370,000 €.
New house:
New build within a building community of 7 units, terraced house with solid carport, total area 214 m² (2303 sq ft), 115 m² (1237 sq ft) with 4 rooms (3 rooms on the upper floor, 1 office with atrium in the basement which could be counted as around 12 m² (129 sq ft) added to the 115), underfloor heating, guest toilet, terrace, flat roof (cube design), open staircase, KfW 55 energy standard.
Costs for everything, move-in ready spring 2017: 400,000 €.
Can anyone tell me what I should consider for each property?
Financially, 400,000 € is our absolute maximum.
B
Bauexperte21 Aug 2015 23:39Stephina87 schrieb:
We are thinking of hiring an inspector to look at the old house for 250 euros. Very good decision!Regards, Bauexperte
The question is whether old or new buildings are generally better (of course, everyone has their own opinion) or just specifically in this case? In general, I prefer old buildings. Especially since you can get an older building for significantly less—a fraction of the cost—compared to a new build. A new build will always cost a certain minimum amount, plus the land. You will never get one here for less than, say, 150,000 euros, and based on some things I’ve read, it might as well be never less than 300k—and that’s just for the house.
You can also find an older building in urban areas for less than 200k, even in reasonably good condition, although not necessarily up to the latest standards. With an older building, the question is more about how much additional investment you want to put in and how much luxury you need. It’s certainly possible, with a certain level of simplicity, to live in a house from 1970 in its original condition; plenty of (older) people do this.
That is the key point: if you have limited funds, really want your own property, and are willing to accept compromises. Then you can acquire a house for around 150,000 euros—of course, much less is possible, but I’m not talking about bargain demolition properties here. This simply isn’t possible with a new build.
Another factor is the established neighborhood—some people feel uncomfortable in typical new development areas and wouldn’t want to move in there even if it were free. And then there’s the established plot; not everyone wants a completely leveled piece of land either.
But money is probably the most important factor. You can renovate an older building with very low-interest loans (we paid 0.7% back in 2012, today it’s more like 0.25%). There are also better grants available, for example from BAFA for new heating systems. You can take your time and do everything step by step while already living in your own home.
However, if everything has to be technically up to date and you absolutely don’t want to do any work yourself but just move in, then you can invest three times as much and have a new build constructed.
In the end, it’s simply a matter of personal taste.
You can also find an older building in urban areas for less than 200k, even in reasonably good condition, although not necessarily up to the latest standards. With an older building, the question is more about how much additional investment you want to put in and how much luxury you need. It’s certainly possible, with a certain level of simplicity, to live in a house from 1970 in its original condition; plenty of (older) people do this.
That is the key point: if you have limited funds, really want your own property, and are willing to accept compromises. Then you can acquire a house for around 150,000 euros—of course, much less is possible, but I’m not talking about bargain demolition properties here. This simply isn’t possible with a new build.
Another factor is the established neighborhood—some people feel uncomfortable in typical new development areas and wouldn’t want to move in there even if it were free. And then there’s the established plot; not everyone wants a completely leveled piece of land either.
But money is probably the most important factor. You can renovate an older building with very low-interest loans (we paid 0.7% back in 2012, today it’s more like 0.25%). There are also better grants available, for example from BAFA for new heating systems. You can take your time and do everything step by step while already living in your own home.
However, if everything has to be technically up to date and you absolutely don’t want to do any work yourself but just move in, then you can invest three times as much and have a new build constructed.
In the end, it’s simply a matter of personal taste.
I would generally lean towards an older building if the foundation is solid, although in my opinion that’s more a matter of personal preference. A big advantage is that the neighborhood and gardens are usually already established.
What would concern me here are the price expectations of the heirs’ association and your budget in relation to the backlog of repairs. You might manage with €70,000 (about $75,000) if the inspector doesn’t find any issues beyond the obvious ones and if the insulation truly cannot be improved—which I find hard to believe.
Heirs’ associations can also be difficult: if one heir wants the money quickly and another isn’t dependent on it, the second party often pushes the price up—often beyond the actual market value. It can easily take a few years for this to settle. The question is whether you have that time and how long the house has already been on the market.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the inspector already considers the asking price of €300,000 (about $320,000) too high, but you’ll find out soon enough.
Best regards,
Dirk Grafe
What would concern me here are the price expectations of the heirs’ association and your budget in relation to the backlog of repairs. You might manage with €70,000 (about $75,000) if the inspector doesn’t find any issues beyond the obvious ones and if the insulation truly cannot be improved—which I find hard to believe.
Heirs’ associations can also be difficult: if one heir wants the money quickly and another isn’t dependent on it, the second party often pushes the price up—often beyond the actual market value. It can easily take a few years for this to settle. The question is whether you have that time and how long the house has already been on the market.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the inspector already considers the asking price of €300,000 (about $320,000) too high, but you’ll find out soon enough.
Best regards,
Dirk Grafe
S
Stephina8723 Aug 2015 12:33I would say this: I’ll have the inspector take a look for 250 euros so I know if it’s worth bidding, BUT I’m not the only interested party—there are about five of us. The group of heirs initially listed the house with the real estate agent at 380,000 euros. No one responded to that, and then the new minimum price was set at 300,000 euros. They will try to get as much as possible, but I won’t pay more than 308,000 euros for it.
This confirms my statement: if the purchase price is already reduced by €80,000 (~21%) from the start, then people simply don’t know the true value of the property. Wait for the appraiser’s statement and then continue calmly. Other interested buyers don’t matter; if they pay too much, it’s not your loss.
Best regards
Dirk Grafe
Best regards
Dirk Grafe
Dirk Grafe schrieb:
I would always lean towards an older house if the foundation is sound, although I think that’s more a matter of personal preference. A huge advantage is that the neighborhood and gardens are usually already established.A new development also has its appeal. In our area, many residents are around the same age, with children of similar ages, and since everyone is new, social connections form naturally. People also accept that construction noise may continue over the weekends.
With a new house and garden, I can design everything exactly as I want, rather than how the previous owner did.
In an old neighborhood, residents may mostly be retirees without children, and you are always “the newcomer” entering an established community. In the worst case, you might be at odds from the start because of noise from children and construction.
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