Buy a house with electric heating? Or a new terraced house?

Hello everyone,

first of all, thank you very much for your help. My husband and I have been looking for a house for many years and now have the choice between 2 houses.

House 1: Existing house built in 2008
Prefabricated house manufacturer Town & Country
No basement
Ground floor built solid with aerated concrete blocks, upper floor timber frame walls
Insulated roof
110 sqm living space
670 sqm plot
Energy class B
Location: outside the city
Double garage (prefabricated garage)
Carport
Equipment rather inexpensive, low quality, no expensive brands
House is well maintained and in good condition
Bathroom renovated 2 years ago (unfortunately not to our taste - but manageable for now)
New kitchen available - also not our taste but manageable

Our concerns: type of heating. The house was equipped with a solar system 1 year ago and is heated with infrared ceiling heaters (electricity). Additionally, there is a pellet stove in the living room. This is also 1 year old. The occupants are satisfied. We find the panels on the ceilings disturbing. In the living room, 5 panels have been installed. When there is enough energy in the solar storage, the electric heating is powered from there, otherwise from the power grid. In every room there is such a panel on the ceiling.

What should we pay attention to with this house? Does the type of heating pose a problem in the long term? What alternatives would we have? Somehow it feels strange to buy a house without a classic heating system.

House 2: New build terraced mid-house
140 sqm living space
However, the entrance is very narrow and the living-kitchen-dining area is small
House is centrally located
350 sqm plot
Energy class A
House costs 80K more than the existing house.

What makes more sense from your perspective in the long term? We are somehow team new build. But we are not opposed to buying an existing house, especially because of the plot size and layout.

Thank you very much
Hans and Petra

You can replace a heating system, but not the neighbors.
This year, after 12 years in a terraced house (which was also newly built), we are moving to a detached house outside the city and cannot recommend a terraced house to anyone, at least not if peace and quiet mean anything to you. There is really noise around the clock. The best time is the summer holidays, because then either you yourself are not there or the others are not. Without a doubt, the terraced house was an exciting project, but we are glad to be getting out of here. We can also confirm the space problems, that everything is very cramped; our house has approximately the same living area.

Terraced house only if there are no alternatives.

An infrared heater provides quick and pleasant warmth, but in winter, the solar system will not even come close to covering the electricity demand.

A townhouse is not a KO for me (it's even better when it comes to heating costs). KO for me is Town & Country with electric heating. Between autumn and winter, the electricity comes from the socket and is expensive. Retrofitting the heating system only makes sense up to an air-to-air heat pump, as a classic heat pump with underfloor heating is a major effort. Additionally, the basic qualities of Town & Country.

no one can recommend a terraced house, at least not if peace means something to you. It's really noisy around the clock.

I can't confirm that. Despite children to the left and diagonally opposite. It probably also depends on where normal ambient noise ends and noise begins for someone.

cannot recommend a terraced house to anyone, at least not if peace means something to you.

Cannot recommend a rental apartment anywhere if peace means something to you…

That is why I wrote that it is not recommendable if alternatives are available. Of course, it can also work out well and you end up with a great community where everyone is considerate of each other. But it only takes 1-2 troublemakers whose quirks you have to endure daily to significantly reduce the quality of life. In our case, there are a few more whose motto is "Me first and after me the flood."

But it probably also depends on where the terraced house is located.