Buying a house without a mortgage loan

The question here was how a house purchase could be financed, and the OP shared the real estate listing with us for a better assessment of what we are talking about. Now this is backfiring on her. First, the price was criticized without knowing the region, now it's the accessibility and the lack of a driver’s license. A 50-minute commute to work is called practically unfeasible. I also had that in the big city at a distance of 25 km by car, at least. By public transport with transfers, it was even longer. Maybe we should get back to the topic and not try to talk someone out of their lifestyle.

please report what the appraiser says.

In this forum, justified criticism of decisions is often made.

Here, however, it is more of an "I would never do it like that, so no one should do it like that."

I see the danger much more in the possible backlog of renovations and drastic damages that can come up quite suddenly with such an old house after moving in. If there are then no funds available to address it urgently, you are stuck with the short end of the stick.
Meaning: You better live in such a property with a reserve in hand, unless you know everything is on a secure footing for the next x years.

I can already sense the lack of ability among high earners to imagine a less comfortable life. ;) Of course, it's less convenient without a car. But please don't forget that we are talking about Weidenthal here (I can say that openly since the OP shared the listing with us). This is not a village with 400 inhabitants. The train station is directly on the line between Kaiserslautern and Mannheim/Ludwigshafen. I used to commute there as a vocational student, so I still remember the stop. There is at least a train every half hour to hour per direction, I would say. You can manage with that, as long as the train isn't striking. But they usually strike long-distance trains, rarely S-Bahn trains.

That's it. Of course, that means less comfort, but living with 5 people in not even 80m2...

Living in the countryside without a car is naturally not like in the city. You do suffer some comfort losses. You have to know that. If you are rather home-loving and don't have appointments outside all the time, it might be irrelevant on an individual basis. The OP is already aware of this, at least that's my feeling.

However, I do see the risk that the OP massively underestimates the renovation and restoration effort and the associated costs, and that the house becomes a bottomless pit. So far, I have not gotten the impression that the family is experienced enough here. The financial means to outsource this are unfortunately not available. It should also be clear that pipes and electricity should last another 10-15 years. Otherwise, you live in a dusty shell, which is even worse than living with 3 children on 80m2. More than a few cosmetic repairs or things on the facade are not possible for the next few years for this reason alone, since you want to actually live in there.

Therefore, a meticulous inventory is essential. Only if you truly understand what is ahead should you dare to buy. And no, you do not acquire a basic understanding of electricity, water pipes, heating, etc. in 1-2 days. Usually, you develop that only through (negative) experiences. It is bad if the financial means are missing for that.

Basically, the OP’s model must be as follows: Move into the house in its current condition (minimal effort) and rock the house down for 10-15 years (until the last children have left) and only then carry out major repairs. Legal regulations (insulation, heating) may have to be implemented already when moving in (there is no alternative) and maximum funding should be claimed for that. Since the family's income is rather low, the chances for this are quite good. In any case, the family must go through everything with the bare-bones version – there's no alternative. The family can also handle higher heating costs in winter with their savings rate, so better invest less (keep fixed costs as low as possible) and then just wear one more sweater if necessary...

Regarding the price, however, I am still not sure whether it is not rather too high. If the water pipes and electricity are already 60-70 years old, better leave it alone. The seller will probably not provide information about this – possibly for a good reason.

The house has two wood stoves and when we were there for the viewing, it was really scorching hot, barely bearable inside. She said the pipes are new. The roof is 3 years old. So as I said, I'll take care of it.

And of course I see problems especially in material procurement. I am fully aware of that. I haven’t been doing this just since yesterday. For electrical work I have someone lined up, and for water pipes as well. But of course, like everything in life, that is not guaranteed either. Since they are friends/relatives/acquaintances, it is also possible that they might leave me hanging. But you just don’t know that from the start.

If you have electrical and plumbing work done (and only under the table on weekends), you can at best move in after a year. That is not what you want. You also cannot get a loan for such under-the-table services (that should be clear). Therefore, that is actually not an option. You can’t do it alongside other things either. The house also doesn’t seem to be huge and you need the rooms. You also don’t want to develop pneumoconiosis.

Therefore, for you there is basically only the option to leave everything as it is until the children are at least partly out of the house. That’s why the stuff should hold up for another 10-15 years. Of course, that is always hard to predict, but if nothing has been done since the early post-war years, the risk is quite significant. This risk should then also be reflected in the price. And I don’t see that, because for the mentioned plot (no matter how large) nobody will pay you even a cent. There is no shortage of such properties in these communities, even if nobody here on the forum can imagine that. Maybe I am doing the house an injustice and more has happened in the meantime than I lightly assume. Otherwise, I would try again to negotiate the price. A house from ancient times with massive renovation needs in rural areas like this can also go for five figures. I happened to be in Pirmasens last year and saw the posted real estate ads there. There, the asking price was already significantly! below 100,000. What could still have been negotiated there?

Craftsmen can calculate differently. But that is known. You just cannot be forced to rely exclusively on friends/relatives (and if so, at least a small compensation is customary).

Bathroom and kitchen don't look so bad. You can move in right away. The fact that the owner presents the project in such a neglected condition is now your disadvantage.

I would find a draftsman who can measure it and then have the floor plans drawn. That is the big hurdle for financing at the moment.

That doesn't cost the earth.

There would have been a payment anyway, I am not an inhuman person. As I said, the electrical system is supposed to be new, her husband apparently must have been an electrician, because he also laid underground power in the garden. But as I said, that is what she said and I would have to check everything. Hence the first step is to go through the expert. What definitely needs to be done (I’m just talking about floors and walls) is quite clear to me. Even in the bathroom I would do something, because there is no heating (a gas stove operated with a bottle).