ᐅ Sale resulting from retrofitting heating systems in a house built in 1957?

Hi,

Here’s my situation, and I hope you can help me out as a complete beginner.

My wife inherited a detached house. That’s all fine. Now we have decided to sell the house. It’s quite old (built in 1957), and the last renovation was 25 years ago. Back then, an oil boiler was installed. It doesn’t look good at all and probably lowers the resale value significantly.

I have what might be a naive and somewhat optimistic question: would it be worth investing some money upfront to retrofit a heating system? And if so, which one? I know the local gas supplier is currently expanding the gas network extensively in the area. Could this be our chance to install a natural gas condensing boiler to increase the property’s value? Or would it be enough just to replace the existing boiler?

Brief facts about the house:

106 sqm (1,141 sq ft) living space, very small garden (I don’t have exact plot size at the moment), south-facing, detached.

Thanks and best regards
baubär aka Michael

Just to clarify: You want to invest, let's say, 5,000 euros into the house and expect an increase in the resale value of 10,000 euros?

Counter question: You have a car with a broken engine. Would you install a new engine and expect to make a profit after deducting the costs when selling it?

Personally, I wouldn’t do it.

If you replace the boiler or heating system, the value of the house increases by the cost of the boiler/heating system; otherwise, in my opinion, nothing changes.

If the heating system works, why would you want to spend money when the buyer can do the same and then decide for themselves what they want.

The buyer will most likely need to completely renovate the old house, including the heating pipes and boiler. Often, the (outdated) floor plan is adapted to suit modern needs. Another relevant term is energy-efficient renovation.

A newly installed heating system can impose unwanted limitations and will likely be useless in such cases—resulting in it being removed or scrapped again.

In short: leave the heating system as it is. Be prepared to receive no value for the house itself, only for the land. Potential buyers are more likely to argue that the old house will incur demolition costs and therefore want to pay less.

I would sell it as is.

No one wants to deal with renovation. In the end, things go wrong. I doubt there will be any additional profit.

Leave the house as it is. Renovating only the heating system doesn’t make much sense. If anything, the new buyer should handle that themselves. What if they want to do something completely different with the house?
Sell it as is. Renovations, even just the heating system, cost TIME and money. And you definitely won’t get the time you invested back.

It will probably be more effective to empty the house and make a few minor cosmetic repairs. But nothing more.