Hello,
we are planning to purchase a single-family house.
Here are some details:
Year built: 1957
Living area: 130 m² (1400 sq ft) / basement
Plot size: 830 m² (0.2 acres)
Price: €85,000
Gas heating from 2005
Garage
Windows from 1980
Double-layer exterior walls
3-core wiring without RCD
Clay roof tiles / no insulation
That should be enough for now.
We really like the room layout.
- Upstairs, only a non-load-bearing wall needs to be removed to create a large bathroom.
- Downstairs, there is a guest toilet that also needs to be renovated.
- Inside, everything must be completely stripped out, meaning carpets and wallpaper.
- The subfloor consists of wooden floorboards that we want to sand and restore, at least in the living room.
- In the upper rooms, we plan to just repaint the floorboards for now.
- The windows need to be replaced.
- New kitchen (relocating connections)
- Blown-in insulation or ETICS (external thermal insulation composite system)
The electrical distribution panel dates from around 1980 and has 3-core wiring but no RCD. The question is whether to completely renew the electrical system while the walls are already open.
The pipes are galvanized and according to the realtor do not need to be replaced.
We have an inspection by a building surveyor scheduled for tomorrow, who will thoroughly check the entire house.
So far we have optimistically estimated renovation costs at around €70,000.
Basically, we have a shell and plan to rebuild everything internally.
What are your experiences with such renovations? What additional issues could arise that we might not have considered? Where can problems occur?
We have already agreed with the realtor that he will "hold" the house for us. We are happy to pay the costs for the surveyor because if everything is okay we get a good feeling. If the surveyor advises us against it, he will have saved us from a bad purchase. He should also give us an approximate idea of what costs to expect.
Do you have general experience with houses from the 1950s regarding structural condition or durability?
Best regards
we are planning to purchase a single-family house.
Here are some details:
Year built: 1957
Living area: 130 m² (1400 sq ft) / basement
Plot size: 830 m² (0.2 acres)
Price: €85,000
Gas heating from 2005
Garage
Windows from 1980
Double-layer exterior walls
3-core wiring without RCD
Clay roof tiles / no insulation
That should be enough for now.
We really like the room layout.
- Upstairs, only a non-load-bearing wall needs to be removed to create a large bathroom.
- Downstairs, there is a guest toilet that also needs to be renovated.
- Inside, everything must be completely stripped out, meaning carpets and wallpaper.
- The subfloor consists of wooden floorboards that we want to sand and restore, at least in the living room.
- In the upper rooms, we plan to just repaint the floorboards for now.
- The windows need to be replaced.
- New kitchen (relocating connections)
- Blown-in insulation or ETICS (external thermal insulation composite system)
The electrical distribution panel dates from around 1980 and has 3-core wiring but no RCD. The question is whether to completely renew the electrical system while the walls are already open.
The pipes are galvanized and according to the realtor do not need to be replaced.
We have an inspection by a building surveyor scheduled for tomorrow, who will thoroughly check the entire house.
So far we have optimistically estimated renovation costs at around €70,000.
Basically, we have a shell and plan to rebuild everything internally.
What are your experiences with such renovations? What additional issues could arise that we might not have considered? Where can problems occur?
We have already agreed with the realtor that he will "hold" the house for us. We are happy to pay the costs for the surveyor because if everything is okay we get a good feeling. If the surveyor advises us against it, he will have saved us from a bad purchase. He should also give us an approximate idea of what costs to expect.
Do you have general experience with houses from the 1950s regarding structural condition or durability?
Best regards
P
Peanuts7417 Aug 2016 12:57Well, without seeing it, I would also estimate significantly higher costs for the renovation. Is the roof still the original one??? Just that alone could soon require a mid five-figure amount.
I would redo the electrical work if the walls are going to be opened anyway. If you do it yourself and order the materials online, depending on the level of equipment, you could probably manage with around €5,000 (about $5,400), but costs can be much higher, especially with systems like KNX.
If water has always been standing in the pipes, they are quite likely still in good condition; the inspector might be able to provide more insight here.
But then you have to remove a wall here, renovate bathrooms, replace windows and floors, and so on.
The €70,000 (about $75,000) is probably the absolute minimum; if the roof needs to be replaced, the cost will be well over €100,000 (about $108,000).
I would redo the electrical work if the walls are going to be opened anyway. If you do it yourself and order the materials online, depending on the level of equipment, you could probably manage with around €5,000 (about $5,400), but costs can be much higher, especially with systems like KNX.
If water has always been standing in the pipes, they are quite likely still in good condition; the inspector might be able to provide more insight here.
But then you have to remove a wall here, renovate bathrooms, replace windows and floors, and so on.
The €70,000 (about $75,000) is probably the absolute minimum; if the roof needs to be replaced, the cost will be well over €100,000 (about $108,000).
Yes, unfortunately the roof is still the original one. For the kitchen and bathroom, we are also budgeting around 25,000 (about 27,500) each. So the 70,000 (about 77,000) might actually be a bit underestimated. Although the realtor said that insulation is only needed from the inside. But I am waiting to see what the surveyor says about that.
Overall, it is very tempting because it would still be cheaper than building a new house. The question is whether it will be worthwhile in the long run, since you have to do some maintenance or renovations from time to time.
Overall, it is very tempting because it would still be cheaper than building a new house. The question is whether it will be worthwhile in the long run, since you have to do some maintenance or renovations from time to time.
R
roadrun8717 Aug 2016 13:31Regarding the roof:
It’s not necessary to bring the entire house up to new build standards.
There are good opportunities to save here as well.
Remove the roofing yourself, have a roofer check the rafters and install the underlayment, then re-roof the house yourself. If possible, reuse the "old" tiles.
It’s not necessary to bring the entire house up to new build standards.
There are good opportunities to save here as well.
Remove the roofing yourself, have a roofer check the rafters and install the underlayment, then re-roof the house yourself. If possible, reuse the "old" tiles.
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