Assessment using a checklist of an existing property

Hello everyone,

we received a tip yesterday regarding an existing property that we might be able to view as early as tomorrow.

Do you have any tips for us on what we should definitely pay attention to? Can someone possibly provide me with some kind of checklist or something similar?

At the moment we don’t know much about the house except that it is in the neighboring town, has a pool and a garage...

.... a pool .... has...

Reminds me of the old days; when a boah ey car was sold, we - young as we were - neglected caution :D

Take a look and if it appeals to you, arrange a second appointment in which you can walk through the property with an expert! The expert will then tell you whether to buy or not and if yes, what renovation costs you should expect.

Rhenish regards

Checklists can be found on the internet, but it is highly recommended to bring along an architect, expert, or the like, as it is difficult for laypeople to identify construction defects or issues that could become problematic during renovation/conversion/demolition. However, this can also be done at the second appointment; the first one is more or less just about whether the property is even an option.

Best regards
Dirk Grafe

I will ask the architect we were last in contact with regarding the new build. Thanks to you all first, I will definitely get back to you tomorrow after the appointment.

Hello,

We viewed the property today. It is a typical DDR house EW65-b from 1979, which gave us laymen a quite good impression.

New windows were installed after the reunification, there was a new Buderus gas condensing boiler installed in 2009, the garden with pool and garage appear to be well maintained. In my opinion, the roof still looks okay but may need to be replaced in 10-15 years (however, it has already been done once since 1979).

We have now scheduled another appointment for next Friday with an architect since we do not have any expertise in construction ourselves.

Are there still things or questions which, in your opinion, we definitely should clarify? Is there a kind of rule of thumb for how much discount can be achieved on an existing property?

Here are a few questions that just came to mind that we would like to have answered later.

1.) Gas costs for the last 3 years (total – consumption as well as costs are sufficient here, we do not need copies of the bills)

2.) Electricity costs for the last 3 years

3.) Are there electrical plans?

4.) Floor plans for every floor (currently only a foundation plan is available)

5.) Are there records for the subsequent renovations (e.g. new windows, heating, roof, pipes, etc.)?

6.) Do you have a current excerpt from the land register?

7.) Are there any regulations regarding right of way? Who owns the access road?

Does anyone have tips for us? Does anyone possibly know the weak points of the DDR houses so that we can ask cross-questions independently of the architect during the next visit?