300 m², hillside location, built in 1963, buy or not?

Hello everyone,

my wife and I have been considering the property with Scout-ID 155185823 for several weeks.

Key data:

[*]Single-family house on a hillside
[*]Plot size 2,342 m²
[*]Built in 1963 with extension (swimming pool) from 1973
[*]approx. 300 m² living space + 120 m² swimming hall
[*]Converted attic, ground floor, basement
[*]Equipment mostly from the year of construction, oil central heating
[*]Energy efficiency 258.9 kWh/m²/a

The house is located at Beethovenstraße 10, 37154 Northeim. The asking purchase price is €480,000. The advertisement went online for the first time on 12.02.2024; whether already at this price, I cannot determine.

I estimate renovation costs of around €300,000 to achieve a move-in ready condition.

[*]€60,000 heating system (heat pump) and surface heating / underfloor heating
[*]€40,000 windows
[*]€50,000 insulation
[*]€30,000 electrical work (with own contribution, my father is an electrician)
[*]€30,000 bathrooms
[*]€20,000 water pipes
[*]€15,000 interior finishing (floors, walls, own contribution)
[*]€5,000 decommissioning swimming pool
[*]€10,000 construction management
[*]€40,000 reserve (e.g. roof frame, perimeter insulation)

With KfW 458 and BAFA subsidies for measures on the building envelope, I have calculated about €40,000 in grants. That brings us close to our budget limit. The swimming pool is of course excluded from this consideration. The roof covering looks okay in the pictures.

I find the house and its location beautiful, but I have serious reservations. After all, the house has been listed for almost two years. What particularly concerns me:

[*]Hazardous materials (asbestos, PCB)
[*]Insulation of the floor slab, since the basement is living space
[*]Accessibility with construction machinery (the house is located high up on a hillside plot)
[*]Accessibility in old age

Due to the need for renovation, the low price per square meter is of course relativized or would have to be significantly lower again. Actually, we are currently looking more for good reasons to put the matter to rest even before the viewing.

I estimate renovation costs of around €300,000

There is no renovation for 300k. That is just a refurbishment – for a house of this size, a proper renovation will rather be around a million. Everything is old.

What is especially on my mind:

431 sqm have to be sensibly livable, maintained (including the property) and heated. With the year of construction, practically everything is old and has to be dealt with – unless you’re into that. I would only tackle it if my wallet was SIGNIFICANTLY bigger than yours. What do you think is the reason why no one has bought this "villa" so far? P.S. How do you come up with the calculation? Just the materials for e.g. 300 sqm living area floors and/or 1,200 sqm wall/ceiling surfaces will make your allocated budget explode massively. And do you also have time for all of that?

This is not a marketable property and never will be again. Out of time, and the land will not be developable in the foreseeable future either. Simply shutting down the swimming pool will not reduce maintenance costs here. If I owned it, I would want to get rid of it. Basically, it is a lost place without broken windows. A backdrop for a film about the conditions of wealthy people half a century ago, nothing more. Even a so-called broker would only find such a property suitable for, I’d say, psychological purposes. Forget it.

A setting for a film about the circumstances of wealthy people half a century ago, nothing more. Even a Von-Makler would only find such a property useful for, I’d say, psychological purposes. Forget it.

You could make a nice 70s movie there :)

I think it’s super cool, but I believe you have to multiply your calculated costs by a factor of 1.5-2 in some cases.

This is a beautiful house on a beautiful plot with a beautiful view. The builders in the 60s knew what they were doing and fulfilled the dream of that time. I understand the appeal immediately. What a shame to leave it empty and what an effort it is to bring it into modern times. And the swimming pool belongs—modern or not—centrally to the thoughtfully designed arrangement and therefore also needs to be renovated. Heat pump installed, counter-current system added.

There are enough strategies for the unreasonable "lying to oneself" and tackling the project against reason. I would understand that, as I often find reason overrated and living a dream underrated.

The oil consumption for the house is probably around 12,000 liters per year; with the swimming pool usable all year round, perhaps double that. At an assumed oil price of €1 (high), that amounts to €24,000 per year. If you can save 75% of these costs through renovation, you achieve a calculated advantage of €18,000 per year.

If I roughly calculate your renovation numbers with this €18,000 saving, you are already at the edge of economic feasibility assuming an interest rate of 3% and a planning horizon of 25 years— , please correct this plausibility check if I am completely off. Now you can still fool yourself with added value and opportunity costs (what would a 430 sqm new build cost...).

Now your renovation approach also seems rather optimistic to me—not being a construction expert.

Whoever has the self-confidence (others call it hubris) to put their will above reason can accomplish the unimaginable for others, as well as cause grand crash landings where everyone who previously shook their heads speaks up.

Will and doubt don’t get along well. Will and a clear view of the challenges that repeatedly arise do. What kind of person are you?

The question arises as to which family needs a single-family house of 300m2 living space. One should only acquire/build a property whose size corresponds to the actual need. The remaining building stock only causes operating and maintenance costs - see swimming pool.

In connection with such a property, it is imperative to check whether everything offered for purchase has also been approved for construction.
From numerous purchase consultations, the following insight emerges:

[*]Attics are almost 100% not approved or built differently than approved
[*]also ground floors/upper floors can deviate from the approved state. they are built differently or larger
[*]occasionally entire basements are additionally built on slopes without approval

These points must be checked using the approved existing plans - with green stamp and AZ - from the building authority's archive during the purchase consultation. If any one of points 1-3 applies, the building permit expires.

[*]Buildings on slopes are only very difficult/impossible to renovate regarding moisture protection. This is a prerequisite for any energetic renovation (interior insulation)
[*]Plots on slopes are possibly difficult to access (construction site access/material transport/crane positioning) and cause high costs for later exterior design (stairs/ramps/retaining walls/drainage)

The 60s building must be taken back to the shell and rebuilt for a serious (energetic) renovation, including the roof structure. The currently estimated construction costs for this are around 1 million, which is rather at the lower end of the cost spectrum. More precise figures can only be determined after an inventory, as construction damage/moisture damage will also play a role in such a property.

Presumably a nice property, but only for a buyer with a very well-filled construction budget who can also finance surprises.