ᐅ Comprehensive Renovation of an Older Building: Expectations, Budget Planning, and More

Hello everyone,

We are considering purchasing an older property and would like to share some thoughts and ideas we have so far. We hope to receive support, suggestions, critiques, or alternative proposals!

First, the key points:
- Plot size approximately 1120m² (land value 20€/m²)
- House about 180m² (1937 ft²) of living space over 2 floors, with the attic possibly able to be converted later.

We are aiming for a purchase price of 40,000€. The house is located in a village with around 300 residents, and based on experience, the number of interested buyers for properties there is very limited. Furthermore, no major investments or renovations have been made in at least 40 years. We have not yet entered negotiations with the seller!

Our expectations:
- Roof: complete insulation plus new roof tiles (material costs only)
- Facade: complete exterior wall insulation (material costs only, currently about 1/6 covered with fiber cement panels—higher disposal effort!)
- Windows: all new, possibly additional windows, floor-to-ceiling windows to be added in the living area, double or triple glazing?
- Heating: no heating system currently! Underfloor heating to be installed. Heating fuel source: oil or pellet/wood chip? Solar thermal energy? (underfloor heating installation/material costs only)
- Electrical installation: completely new (material costs only). KNX system?
- Pipes: water and sewage completely new (material costs only)
- Floors: entirely new; tiles in bathrooms and kitchen, parquet elsewhere (parquet installation/material costs only)
- Interior: 1 main bathroom + 1 guest bathroom, kitchen and doors, etc., completely new
- Garage: none currently; possibly a double garage plus new and enlarged driveway paving (partially own work)
- Outdoor area: garden well maintained, fallow land to be seeded. New fence (material costs only)
- Basement: fully basemented, possibly renovated if budget allows, otherwise later

Photovoltaic system with self-consumption and possibly (later?) battery storage? (separate financing, possibly with KfW or similar?)

Budget (estimated): 185,000€, which we do not want to exceed. I find it interesting that with this amount, it would be possible to be free of debt after 10 years (end of interest rate fix period)!

I look forward to any feedback, including suggestions, experiences, or criticism! Especially, I would appreciate your experiences regarding the costs of the individual trades mentioned above.

Thank you in advance!

Best regards

ShawN46 schrieb:

However, we have not yet started negotiations with the seller!

Do that first; discussing issues before they arise doesn’t really make sense ;-)

Have you ever considered demolition and rebuilding?

Even if you apparently want or can do a lot yourselves, this is quite a major project. In the end, you will probably face costs that are not far off from those of a new build. Additionally, unexpected expenses often arise during renovations. I would recommend planning a 20% contingency buffer.

Ultimately, it remains an old house. That means low basement heights, partly clay ceilings, uneven or slanted walls, small kitchens, bathrooms, windows, etc. Most of these can be changed, but only with considerable expense. The only parts you could realistically keep are the exterior and interior walls.

The resale value is also likely to be far below what you put into it. So if you are planning it as a retirement home, that’s fine. But if there is a chance you might want to sell it later, that will be very difficult. You’re also currently planning to pay just slightly above the land value.

Before you finalize the purchase, you should bring in a surveyor or structural engineer to check if the building fabric is suitable for renovations and if your plans are feasible.

Hi,

that’s quite ambitious. 180,000 with a new garage build – in a rural area in Hesse with a lot of self-labor? I would suggest getting some tradespeople to provide cost estimates so you get a clearer picture. We have also been calculating for about a year now and are only starting to see things more clearly. Considering the falling interest rates, it’s not too bad…

I would also consider demolition and rebuilding for an entire house. While you can do a lot when renovating an old building, the finished house usually won't come close to the quality of a new build. With an old building, you always have to accept some compromises, there’s no way around it. In my opinion, it all comes down to the costs. If it’s not going to be much cheaper than a new build in the end, then why go for renovation?

1. Things turn out differently than you expect... 🙂

At the end of last year, we ended up purchasing a different house, so this thread can be closed by an admin if needed!

Thanks for all the responses!