ᐅ Conversion to Residential Use (Ground Floor)

Hello Dear Community,

My wife and I plan to purchase a courtyard property where a multi-family house is located at the front and is currently rented out.

We would like to convert the rear area, marked in red, which was formerly used as a bakery with adjoining rooms, into a residential unit (floor plan/sample) and move in there ourselves.

The layout should include 2 children’s bedrooms, 1 master bedroom, a living room with dining area and open kitchen, a guest toilet, and a large bathroom. If there is space for an additional room, we would gladly accept that as well. I have marked all the existing windows on the plan.

The space between the bakery building and the new unit, with a distance of 6.50 m (21 feet 4 inches), is intended to be used as a terrace and should extend to the end of the bakery, where there is vehicle access to the garage.

Demolition is not an option because it would result in significant loss of space, as the exterior walls are located directly on the property boundary.
All buildings at the rear are single-story, and in my opinion, adding an additional floor would be difficult due to warranty issues (developer). Of course, anything is possible, but the costs for structural engineering and related work would, in my opinion, be too high compared to the benefit of usage.

I estimate the cost to convert the ground floor into comfortable living space to be around €200,000.

We would be very grateful for your suggestions and thank you in advance.

Yours, hahesc

Hello,

first of all – this project requires a skilled architect. Are you aware of that?

hahesc schrieb:

We want to convert the rear area outlined in red, like the old bakehouse with the adjacent rooms, into a residential unit...

What does the accompanying expert say about the building’s condition? What does your tax advisor say about the cost-benefit calculation for the rental property? What does the building authority say about the planned renovation (building permit / planning permission)?

Regards, Bauexperte

Hello building expert,

I understand that I will need an architect for this.
An assessment is currently being carried out by an appraiser, commissioned by the current owner. The appraiser said that the building’s structural condition is good and that it was built properly.

You probably mean my tax advisor??? He has not been informed yet, but I can say that the three units that are rented out generate rental income that covers the purchase price including reserves, and in my view, this makes financial sense.
For reserves, I have calculated €10 per m² (approximately $10 per 10.8 ft²) for the rented units.

The part that my wife and I want to renovate for our own use we could finance from our own equity, but we would ask the tax advisor first to see if that makes sense.

How would you, building expert, handle this from a tax perspective?

Good luck

The floor plan is attached again, and the walls highlighted in green are the load-bearing walls.
Maybe you can provide better suggestions this way.

The walls are about 35 cm (14 inches) thick, and the ceilings are made of concrete. I have also attached photos showing the ceiling construction.

Thank you

Hello everyone,

I’m sharing our rough floor plan and hope that some of you can offer advice or suggestions. According to the 2007 NRW law, only a change of use notification is required since no structural alterations will be made.

Thank you in advance.

Should the staircase be located at the top right of the floor plan in the room that is only 320 cm (126 inches) wide?

That won’t work. Here are some example space requirements for staircases.

EDIT:
And why are there 3 children's bedrooms again on the ground floor?

Unfortunately, the floor plans are not very clear. Where is the hallway, and where is the main entrance?