Hello.
First a bit about me: I am a 25-year-old male, a certified master electrician, and I bought a house in Saarland in November 2015. Since I had very little equity at 23, it was important for me to keep everything as affordable as possible. The plan was to do everything myself. I didn’t have many practical skills except some basic electrical knowledge. So, at 21, I started looking for houses while also beginning my master craftsman training. After two years of searching and countless setbacks (the good houses always get sold quickly), I finally found the right property and bought it.
The Financing:
House price: €138,000 Negotiated down to €128,000
Renovation reserve: €42,000
Total loan amount: €170,000
Equity: approx. €20,000
Additional purchase costs: approx. €16,000
I obtained three bank offers (it was important for me to have an advisor locally, so no direct online banks). The local bank was awarded the loan.
Important for me was a low monthly payment and fixed interest rates over the entire term.
Building savings contract (Bausparvertrag): €120,000 with a 29-year term including pre-financing.
Interest during savings phase: 1.95% for 13 years
Interest after allocation: 2.95% for 16 years
Monthly payment: €470
KfW loan: €50,000
Interest rate: 1.7%
Outstanding balance after 10 years: €34,000
(This will be repaid with the saved amount)
Monthly payment: approx. €180
Total monthly payment: €650 + €20 for term life insurance
Each month I can still save between €500 and €1,000, which I put entirely into the renovation phase of the house.
The House:
Bungalow with approx. 142m² (about 1530 sq ft), of which 120m² (about 1290 sq ft) is on the ground floor.
Usable floor area approx. 116m² (about 1250 sq ft)
Plot size approx. 5600m² (about 1.38 acres)
The house is partially (one quarter) basemented.
There was an outbuilding and some stables, which have since been demolished.
Why am I writing this?
I have been reading this forum for a while and often see recommendations against doing work yourself. With my experience, I want to encourage some users to dare to take on DIY projects.
I also believe that doing your own work can save a lot of money compared to a turnkey house build or renovation done by professionals. The opinion here in the forum generally tends toward the other direction.
In my opinion, you only need a lot of time and perseverance, but it can save a significant amount of money.
The Renovation:
Initially, the plan was just to replace the roof, add some new paint to the walls, and do a few small things.
What it turned into:
- Roof replacement
- Bathroom renovations
- Completely new floor plan
- Electrical system renewal with home automation via Wago
- Water/sewage system
- Underfloor heating
- Windows
- Insulation
- Floor, wall, and ceiling coverings
- Everything else inside that was still needed
Old floor plan
New floor plan
Attic floor
Overall, I made the house more open.
For rooms 1 and 2, I removed the suspended ceiling, giving a room height of 4.5m (15 feet).
Since I replaced the roof and switched from bitumen shingles to tiles, I also had to reinforce the roof structure.
For this, I had a new structural calculation done and reinforced the main beams with steel, installed new posts, and doubled the rafters.
I was actually going to write more, but I’m feeling lazy, and pictures say more than a thousand words. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.
Some additional data:
Invested so far: €44,000 of which:
approx. €20,000 roof
approx. €8,000 windows with built-in roller shutters and motors (triple-glazed safety glass SK2)
€16,000 for the rest
Still available: approx. €22,000
What’s left to do:
Plastering
Floor + underfloor heating installation
Sanitary fixtures
Floor, wall, ceiling coverings
A few small drywall tasks
So far, everything has been done by myself, except for the roof, where I had help from a roofer.
Planned move-in date is autumn 2017.
According to the plan, the remaining funds should be sufficient for the rest of the work.
This post will be updated later.
First a bit about me: I am a 25-year-old male, a certified master electrician, and I bought a house in Saarland in November 2015. Since I had very little equity at 23, it was important for me to keep everything as affordable as possible. The plan was to do everything myself. I didn’t have many practical skills except some basic electrical knowledge. So, at 21, I started looking for houses while also beginning my master craftsman training. After two years of searching and countless setbacks (the good houses always get sold quickly), I finally found the right property and bought it.
The Financing:
House price: €138,000 Negotiated down to €128,000
Renovation reserve: €42,000
Total loan amount: €170,000
Equity: approx. €20,000
Additional purchase costs: approx. €16,000
I obtained three bank offers (it was important for me to have an advisor locally, so no direct online banks). The local bank was awarded the loan.
Important for me was a low monthly payment and fixed interest rates over the entire term.
Building savings contract (Bausparvertrag): €120,000 with a 29-year term including pre-financing.
Interest during savings phase: 1.95% for 13 years
Interest after allocation: 2.95% for 16 years
Monthly payment: €470
KfW loan: €50,000
Interest rate: 1.7%
Outstanding balance after 10 years: €34,000
(This will be repaid with the saved amount)
Monthly payment: approx. €180
Total monthly payment: €650 + €20 for term life insurance
Each month I can still save between €500 and €1,000, which I put entirely into the renovation phase of the house.
The House:
Bungalow with approx. 142m² (about 1530 sq ft), of which 120m² (about 1290 sq ft) is on the ground floor.
Usable floor area approx. 116m² (about 1250 sq ft)
Plot size approx. 5600m² (about 1.38 acres)
The house is partially (one quarter) basemented.
There was an outbuilding and some stables, which have since been demolished.
Why am I writing this?
I have been reading this forum for a while and often see recommendations against doing work yourself. With my experience, I want to encourage some users to dare to take on DIY projects.
I also believe that doing your own work can save a lot of money compared to a turnkey house build or renovation done by professionals. The opinion here in the forum generally tends toward the other direction.
In my opinion, you only need a lot of time and perseverance, but it can save a significant amount of money.
The Renovation:
Initially, the plan was just to replace the roof, add some new paint to the walls, and do a few small things.
What it turned into:
- Roof replacement
- Bathroom renovations
- Completely new floor plan
- Electrical system renewal with home automation via Wago
- Water/sewage system
- Underfloor heating
- Windows
- Insulation
- Floor, wall, and ceiling coverings
- Everything else inside that was still needed
Old floor plan
New floor plan
Attic floor
Overall, I made the house more open.
For rooms 1 and 2, I removed the suspended ceiling, giving a room height of 4.5m (15 feet).
Since I replaced the roof and switched from bitumen shingles to tiles, I also had to reinforce the roof structure.
For this, I had a new structural calculation done and reinforced the main beams with steel, installed new posts, and doubled the rafters.
I was actually going to write more, but I’m feeling lazy, and pictures say more than a thousand words. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.
Some additional data:
Invested so far: €44,000 of which:
approx. €20,000 roof
approx. €8,000 windows with built-in roller shutters and motors (triple-glazed safety glass SK2)
€16,000 for the rest
Still available: approx. €22,000
What’s left to do:
Plastering
Floor + underfloor heating installation
Sanitary fixtures
Floor, wall, ceiling coverings
A few small drywall tasks
So far, everything has been done by myself, except for the roof, where I had help from a roofer.
Planned move-in date is autumn 2017.
According to the plan, the remaining funds should be sufficient for the rest of the work.
This post will be updated later.
nelly190 schrieb:
Respect for the achievement. Finally someone in the forum who thinks like me.
I also have to say that people in the forum tend to be quite skeptical about doing things yourself. I also try to do a lot myself. I did that with my first house as well.
The problem with building new is often the schedule.
Doing work yourself takes a lot of time and (to the extent described here) a lot of patience.
I only renovated part-time over six months without additional training and ended up completely exhausted.
Rarely did something work out exactly as planned right away. That was really tough and only possible because I was able to dedicate a small portion of my time alongside everything else.
That’s why I also have great respect for the original poster.
H
HilfeHilfe19 Jun 2017 06:57Hello there,
I really like your thread and respect that you have such a clear goal at a young age and are following through with it. Very down-to-earth.
Of course, it is possible to achieve something with little equity, but in your case, you are young, child-free, and skilled in a trade. This means you have the time factor and the ability to manage such a project. Even with children’s bathrooms, money can be saved.
Finally, you found a good deal in Saarland. It’s not exactly a high-price region.
Here, unrealistic financing arrangements are rather being exposed.
I really like your thread and respect that you have such a clear goal at a young age and are following through with it. Very down-to-earth.
Of course, it is possible to achieve something with little equity, but in your case, you are young, child-free, and skilled in a trade. This means you have the time factor and the ability to manage such a project. Even with children’s bathrooms, money can be saved.
Finally, you found a good deal in Saarland. It’s not exactly a high-price region.
Here, unrealistic financing arrangements are rather being exposed.
It already looks good! Respect. We are in the final phase of our house construction (wallpapering, painting, and so on) and are really running on empty.
Yes, renovations can be manageable. It’s especially "easier" if you don’t have children. Once the whole family is involved, it becomes significantly more difficult. Relationships can suffer quickly when a house is being renovated for two years and mom hardly sees dad anymore. (We are currently witnessing this situation with relatives. We hope their marriage can withstand it.)
We are critical of renovations mainly because many newcomers greatly underestimate the effort and stress involved. In our circle of friends and acquaintances, everyone who has done major renovations has said, “never again!”
Yes, renovations can be manageable. It’s especially "easier" if you don’t have children. Once the whole family is involved, it becomes significantly more difficult. Relationships can suffer quickly when a house is being renovated for two years and mom hardly sees dad anymore. (We are currently witnessing this situation with relatives. We hope their marriage can withstand it.)
We are critical of renovations mainly because many newcomers greatly underestimate the effort and stress involved. In our circle of friends and acquaintances, everyone who has done major renovations has said, “never again!”
B
Bieber081519 Jun 2017 09:41saar2and schrieb:
With my experience, I want to encourage some users to dare to do it themselves.First of all, respect from my side for your courage and accomplishment!On the other hand, your example also serves as a warning: you are alone (meaning no partner or children), young (meaning healthy and fit), and professionally qualified in the field. So that’s three major advantages for this task. Experience and a professional network might still be lacking (a 40-year-old master electrician would likely have a much better network with other trades... that could make things easier).
Still, two years will pass until the planned move-in date (November 2015 to the end of 2017, planned).
For working families, this is generally not reasonable. Most people I know want to move into their own home faster and are not able to handle the multiple burdens that result from such a project over such a long period.
