Hello, dear forum community,
I have been reading along for some time and have already learned a lot, so thank you very much for that!
My husband and I have been searching for a home for ourselves and our two young children for 10 months. Currently, I am interested in a semi-detached house listed as having 4 rooms. However, these are not fully separate rooms. I have two questions about this:
1) One of the four rooms is a converted attic that is open to the stairwell (with a small gallery overlooking the staircase) — so it is not a fully enclosed room. How much would it typically cost to replace the gallery on the top floor with a drywall partition to create a fully separated room from the rest of the house?
2) According to the listing, one of the two fully enclosed rooms on the first floor can be "easily divided." In my opinion, it would only be possible to add a drywall partition through the room (which has two windows), but this would inevitably make one half a walkthrough room since it wouldn’t be possible to fit a second door. Additionally, there is only one radiator in this room. Is it feasible to install a second radiator "with minimal effort"?
Otherwise, the semi-detached house meets our requirements quite well: built in 2017, gas condensing boiler, and photovoltaic system, with no renovation backlog. The location and number of rooms represent a compromise we are willing to accept for financial reasons (yes, I know there are forum members who advise against any compromise, but after extensive searching and many disappointments, I no longer share that view. Therefore, it makes little sense to advise us to simply keep looking for five fully separate rooms in the desired area, as these cost more than 750,000 euros and such offers are very rare at our current place of residence).
Thank you in advance for your answers! Warm regards!
I have been reading along for some time and have already learned a lot, so thank you very much for that!
My husband and I have been searching for a home for ourselves and our two young children for 10 months. Currently, I am interested in a semi-detached house listed as having 4 rooms. However, these are not fully separate rooms. I have two questions about this:
1) One of the four rooms is a converted attic that is open to the stairwell (with a small gallery overlooking the staircase) — so it is not a fully enclosed room. How much would it typically cost to replace the gallery on the top floor with a drywall partition to create a fully separated room from the rest of the house?
2) According to the listing, one of the two fully enclosed rooms on the first floor can be "easily divided." In my opinion, it would only be possible to add a drywall partition through the room (which has two windows), but this would inevitably make one half a walkthrough room since it wouldn’t be possible to fit a second door. Additionally, there is only one radiator in this room. Is it feasible to install a second radiator "with minimal effort"?
Otherwise, the semi-detached house meets our requirements quite well: built in 2017, gas condensing boiler, and photovoltaic system, with no renovation backlog. The location and number of rooms represent a compromise we are willing to accept for financial reasons (yes, I know there are forum members who advise against any compromise, but after extensive searching and many disappointments, I no longer share that view. Therefore, it makes little sense to advise us to simply keep looking for five fully separate rooms in the desired area, as these cost more than 750,000 euros and such offers are very rare at our current place of residence).
Thank you in advance for your answers! Warm regards!
Kensington schrieb:
What is the cost of installing a drywall partition instead of an open gallery on the top floor to create a separate room from the rest of the house?If you do it yourself, well under 1000€ (about $1100). Drywall is really affordable. With a contractor, low four figures.
Kensington schrieb:
Is it possible to install a second radiator "with little effort"?What does "little effort" mean to you? Are you okay with surface-mounted heating pipes? Then probably yes. Otherwise, you would need to chisel out sections of the wall, lay the pipes, plaster, wallpaper, and paint. You’ll have to do some of that anyway for the drywall walls. It’s still manageable. Also consider additional chisel work for your own lights, switches and outlets, network cabling, etc. Don’t forget soundproofing and the floor covering as well.
Winniefred31 Aug 2021 14:32Yes, insulation in the attic is important, depending on how it is done. You mentioned the building year is 2017, so hopefully it is already well insulated. We insulated in 2017, using both between-rafter and under-rafter insulation, with a total thickness of 21cm (8 inches). We have good roof windows, with external blinds on two of the three windows and an internal blind on the third one (east side). I highly recommend external blinds in the attic because without them even the best insulation won’t be very effective. We can sleep quite well, although during heatwaves it can still be challenging. However, with prolonged heat, there’s eventually little you can do. We have windows on three sides and create a cross breeze. We plan to add an external blind on the third window when we have the budget^^.
K
Kensington2 Sep 2021 10:55Hello, dear advisors,
Thank you again for your advice and your time!
The mentioned house is no longer an option.
I’m not very upset about it because another possibility has come up that I’m really hopeful about. It’s a mid-terrace house from 2005, with 6 rooms plus a converted basement room. As usual, there is another catch, but it’s not related to the construction itself; it’s of a legal nature. The house will be handed over no earlier than autumn next year because the owners are probably building a new property at a high cost, and the bank, it seems, is requiring them to sell their current house now (?) to approve the loan. It’s tricky to create legal certainty for both parties here.
I will get back to you with the outcome of this matter…
Best regards!
Thank you again for your advice and your time!
The mentioned house is no longer an option.
I’m not very upset about it because another possibility has come up that I’m really hopeful about. It’s a mid-terrace house from 2005, with 6 rooms plus a converted basement room. As usual, there is another catch, but it’s not related to the construction itself; it’s of a legal nature. The house will be handed over no earlier than autumn next year because the owners are probably building a new property at a high cost, and the bank, it seems, is requiring them to sell their current house now (?) to approve the loan. It’s tricky to create legal certainty for both parties here.
I will get back to you with the outcome of this matter…
Best regards!
Kensington schrieb:
Hello, dear advisors,
Thank you again for your advice and your time!
It looks like the mentioned house is no longer an option.
I'm not very upset about it, because another opportunity has come up that I am really hopeful about. It’s a mid-terrace house built in 2005 with 6 rooms plus a finished basement room. As is often the case, there is another catch, but it’s not related to the building itself—it’s more of a legal issue. The house will be handed over no earlier than autumn next year because the owners (likely at a high cost) are planning new construction, and the bank, it seems, is requiring them to sell their current house now (?) in order to approve the loan. It’s tricky to create legal certainty for both parties in this situation.
I will update you once I know how it turns out...
Best regards! It’s actually not that tricky. My brother just went through the same process.
He bought the house, paid the purchase price, and in advance arranged a written agreement (I believe even included in the notary contract) for the corresponding rent to be paid until the time of moving out. Additionally, a date was agreed upon by which the sellers must vacate, regardless of whether their new construction is finished or not. You just have to wait a little longer before you can move into the property, but this is not uncommon given the sometimes limited selection on the real estate market.
Get advice about the options available to you so you know all the possibilities.
It might even be an advantage for you, as some people shy away from this (just like you are now). But in reality, it’s not a big deal...
REH70Bi schrieb:
It's actually not that tricky. My brother just did that recently.Several forum members have already worked through this here, I just can't recall all of them right now... @Pinkiponk (?)https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
K
Kensington2 Sep 2021 11:31Ok, thank you very much for the tips!
I’m not afraid to do it either, I would go ahead.
But I am somewhat concerned about the rental agreement, as tenants are rightfully very well protected legally. I *cannot* simply terminate it if, for example, the developer goes bankrupt and they don’t get a new home. Or if the fixed move-out date is delayed by more than a year due to construction defects in the new building or supply shortages. And so on.
I didn’t really want to become a landlord. But I will ask the forum about this again at the appropriate time if we get the “award.”
Thanks to you all for the encouragement, I am very interested in that house!
I’m not afraid to do it either, I would go ahead.
But I am somewhat concerned about the rental agreement, as tenants are rightfully very well protected legally. I *cannot* simply terminate it if, for example, the developer goes bankrupt and they don’t get a new home. Or if the fixed move-out date is delayed by more than a year due to construction defects in the new building or supply shortages. And so on.
I didn’t really want to become a landlord. But I will ask the forum about this again at the appropriate time if we get the “award.”
Thanks to you all for the encouragement, I am very interested in that house!
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