Assessment Purchase Price / Market Price Single-family House from 1900

That is quite a steep number for 160m² with 100 kwh/m2a. 550k divided by 160m² is 3437€/m², which is actually more the price you can ask for a new build.

3500€/m² is currently absolutely realistic for a complete renovation of a listed building. The requirements of the monument preservation office make building expensive – more expensive than new construction with standard plastic windows, etc. I will even be slightly above that with the exterior facilities, but a property developer will probably get cheaper craftsmen (for which, of course, they also want to make a profit).

Monument protection is expensive, listed properties stay on the portals forever here.
You can do it for renting, because of (special) depreciation.
For own use, I wouldn’t tie myself to a listed property. I can’t act as freely as I want and pay double/triple for every little thing.
Not my thing...

The special depreciation also applies to owner-occupiers, but not 100% of the renovation costs over 12 years, rather "only" 90% over 10 years (§ 10 f of the Income Tax Act). Attention, the depreciation only relates to the renovation costs. When buying from the developer, there are 3 components: 1. land value, 2. building value before renovation (for year built 1900, 2.5% depreciation), and 3. renovation costs with 100% (or 90%).

But for both investment and own use, the property must be PURCHASED BEFORE the renovation! Otherwise, there is no special depreciation at all!

By the way, this is also the reason why listed properties stay "forever" on the portals. Usually, renovation only begins when all apartments are sold. Why the developer deviated from this here is probably because he had deadlines for the semi-detached houses. However, this makes the listed property a real slow mover.

It's difficult here since you share the driveway. So you’ll inevitably have contact points.
The property surely looks great, but I still wouldn’t start with it. The monument authority can be very annoying, plus it’s expensive, and I also don’t see 30 years without worrying about renovation. It’s still heated with gas anyway. Are there no young houses in your price range around there?

So I just checked and in the region where TE is, there are many new houses between 500-650k. However, almost only semi-detached houses at that price with 150-160 m2 of living space. That would of course be the safe alternative. And then you’re either, like now, in a WEG (with the same disadvantages and advantages) or maybe even divided in real terms. What speaks against that?

Yes, there are also younger houses, but nothing existing that fits in this price range. I only roughly indicated the region so as not to be identifiable by a stupid coincidence. In reality, we have a comparatively narrow search radius, since my parents & parents-in-law as well as siblings of mine and siblings of my wife live in the surrounding communities and towns. There are only a handful of places that are both attractive with a perceived high quality of life and from which the driving time to almost all relatives living in the region is at most 15 - 20 minutes. I am aware that I may have to pay a high premium or make compromises on the house because of such tight location requirements.

The special depreciation also applies to owner-occupiers, but not 100% of the renovation costs over 12 years, rather "only" 90% over 10 years (§ 10 f of the Income Tax Act). Note, the depreciation refers only to the renovation costs. When buying from the developer, there are therefore 3 components: 1. land value, 2. building value before renovation (for construction year 1900, 2.5% depreciation), and 3. renovation costs with 100% (or 90%).

But in both investment and owner-occupation, the property must be acquired BEFORE the renovation! Otherwise, there is no special depreciation at all!

By the way, this is also the reason why listed properties remain "forever" in the portals. Normally, renovation only begins when all apartments have been sold. Why the developer deviated from this here is probably because he had deadlines for the semi-detached houses. But this makes the listed property a real slow seller.

Thank you, especially also for the critical opinion on the topic of listed buildings. I had already read up on the special depreciation. Why exactly it is not utilized by the company through the chosen approach is not really clear to me; that leaves a lot of money on the table.

I think I now understand the disadvantages and risks of a listed building as well as of the house itself reasonably well and will let it sink in over the next few days. At the moment, it does not feel like a stop for us on this property, but rather like negotiating a larger risk discount.

Thank you, especially for the critical opinion on the topic of the monument.

I myself am the owner of two (individual) monuments, so I can't be that critical :-) . But sometimes you do get quite annoyed with the monument office.

With that price, the main question is also how was it renovated? So is everything new (except for the walls)? Electrical wiring, plumbing, heating? Both of my properties are/will be renovated to a high new-build standard. Including underfloor heating, modern electrical system with LAN and enough sockets, completely new sanitary installation, partly new room layout. Then the costs are above pure new construction. The "disadvantage" for the residents is then only worse insulation, although I renovate according to the Efficiency House Monument standard.

Additions (awning, conservatory, photovoltaics) are of course a critical point and "actually" not allowed. Why do I say actually - my renovation with building permit has elaborate windows made according to historical models. In the neighboring terraced house, plastic windows were simply installed years ago; today the monument office doesn't care at all. Just like a glass dirt trap built in front. The monument office is very good at making demands during the building permit process. What is done after completion of construction is rarely checked and even more rarely punished (I can tell quite a few other stories about that).

I had also already read up on the topic of special depreciation. Why exactly this is not utilized by the company due to the chosen approach is not really clear to me, a lot of money is left on the table.

It always depends, as only the renovation costs can be deducted. If only the exterior shell remains of a building and the inside is completely new construction, the renovation portion is relatively small. Earlier there was the example of a mill that was converted into apartments – the apartments are all new and not a renovation – therefore the depreciation would only apply to the facade and windows. However, if you renovate 150m2 of living space to 150m2 of living space, you can write off almost everything.