ᐅ Complete Renovation of a 150 sqm Semi-Detached House Built in 1925

Hello everyone,

We have been actively searching for a house for a year now. Unfortunately, the situation here is very tense and prices are skyrocketing—if anything is even sold at all. In the year we have been looking, we were only able to view two houses. For the few other interesting properties, we were too late, even though we contacted the seller on the day the listing was posted. My girlfriend’s bank advisor indicated that they regularly receive triple-digit numbers of inquiries for houses in our area. Here you can find the old thread—basically, not much has changed: we have saved some money, but at the same time prices are rising (faster than we can save). We are still in a good position financially, but there are still very few properties available.

However, we actually have a viewing appointment this Thursday for a semi-detached house from 1925 in a perfect location (a beautiful, central quiet side cul-de-sac). We know the street and even dropped a letter with an inquiry in that very house (though the appointment came about through the bank). A large plot (1250 sqm (0.31 acres)) is included. So, in principle, it’s ideal.

The house (150 sqm (1615 sq ft), fully basemented, 2 full floors plus attic) needs complete renovation except for the hipped roof (1995). The heating, bathrooms, floors, windows, insulation, etc. all need work. The bank advisor reportedly walked through the house with a contractor who estimated renovation costs at about €175,000 (~$190,000), which seems very optimistic to us for everything that needs to be done. We will bring an architect/structural engineer to the appointment—she estimated the costs after reviewing the listing at around €400,000-500,000 (~$430,000-$540,000), depending on what needs or can be done with the basement. Personally, I would estimate the costs somewhere in the middle range of €300,000-350,000 (~$320,000-$375,000), and perhaps our architect included a bit of extra luxury? Well, we will know more on Thursday. The problem: €500,000 (~$540,000) is definitely beyond what we can or want to afford, €400,000 (~$430,000) is borderline, and anything below that would be manageable.

We will have to decide very quickly, so I wanted to open this topic here and gather some initial feedback. A few questions as preparation:

1) The house is completely empty. From the floor plan and photos, the kitchen is currently at the rear, and the living and dining rooms face the front. Since it's a full renovation, would moving the kitchen to the front have a significant impact on costs? Naively, I would think the pipes just need to be extended and that’s about it?

2) Another thing we don’t like is that there is currently no terrace at the back. Instead, the basement stairs lead out to the garden from the laundry room. Does it make sense or is it expensive to “seal off” the stairs and build a terrace above them (the kitchen is on the elevated ground floor)? We wouldn’t really need the stairs since there is also a shed in the garden.

3) Do you have a rough idea how much funding or subsidies one could receive for such a complete renovation? New regulations with significant amounts apply starting July 1st. As mentioned, new heating, windows, insulation… What standard would be realistic or sensible for a house like this?

4) Regarding semi-detached houses in general: Are roofs usually renovated together with the neighboring half? From the photos, it looks like that was done during the last renovation.

5) In a full renovation, are there still likely to be nasty surprises or is it relatively predictable when everything is going to be replaced and the risk of needing extra funding well manageable?

Thanks in advance for your input!