ᐅ Anyone with too much money and poor judgment buys an old house and renovates it.

Here I even created an overview for this:

https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/zweifamilienhaus-bj-64-Renovierungskosten-uebersicht.26131/?_params=Array

Everything is doable if you want to!
But no one has to do it; for some (or even most), building new is probably the better option.

Well, if you hire tradespeople, not everything is usually perfect either.

Specki schrieb:
Most of the work was done by ourselves with the help of family and friends.
I am an environmental and process engineering professional, I have no formal training in crafts, but I have always done a lot of hands-on work.

Yes, it was a stressful year.

I’d rather spend time with my child and wife. No family father needs that kind of stress, especially if the wife also works full-time.

Contrary to popular belief, there are women who are useful on construction sites and enjoy doing such work. In other words, depending on the people involved, a renovation can be something where you spend time together and work on it as a team. Children, depending on their age, can also often be enthusiastic helpers.

Knallkörper schrieb:
I’d rather spend time with my child and wife. No family father needs that kind of stress, especially if the wife also works full-time.

Sure, but not everyone has the equity and/or income for a new house.

HilfeHilfe schrieb:
Of course, but not everyone has the equity and/or income for a new house.

Additional reasons:
- Otherwise, you won’t get anything in an established neighborhood, only in the unattractive new developments.
- Otherwise, we would never have gotten so close to the train station. Since I have to commute there every day for work, that was important.
- If it were a new build, my wife would also have to work; now she can take care of the children for a few years.
- A new build wouldn’t have been possible with such a large plot. In new developments, you mostly only get 400 to 500 sqm (4300 to 5400 sq ft) parcels, maybe up to around 700 sqm (7500 sq ft) if you’re lucky. But never 1600 sqm (17,200 sq ft).

Every option has its advantages and disadvantages! But I really can’t stand this blanket criticism of one option.