Buying Advice - Difference in Renovation Needs 1965 vs. 1985

For a heat pump, insulation of the facade is almost never necessary.

I would not want to question that technically a heat pump also works without insulation. But with high energy consumption, the electricity consumption of the heat pump should also be correspondingly high, and insulation would make more financial sense. For House 2, I was more concerned about whether insulation is still reasonable at an energy demand of 100 kWh (gas). However, after the viewing, I also somewhat distance myself from the values of the energy certificate. The granny flat is apparently not connected to the normal gas central heating but is heated by electricity (partly storage heaters, partly probably normal radiators). However, this did not appear at all in the energy certificate...

We have now been able to view both houses from the inside. Also from the inside, they were in a normal condition corresponding to their age. But neither of them gave us a cozy living feeling; this was particularly noticeable in House 1. Hence, location and price are probably not everything, but surely someone else will be found to buy it. I am curious which renovations will then be carried out, or if it will simply be painted inside and moved in.

I would not want to question that technically a heat pump also works without insulation. But with high energy consumption, the electricity consumption of the heat pump should also be correspondingly high, and insulation would be financially more sensible.

No, I have to vehemently disagree. With the measures I mentioned – without external insulation, my comparably old place had heating costs under €1,000 for 200 sqm of well-heated living space (each around 22 degrees + a small x / one with 80 sqm with radiators and one with 120 sqm with underfloor heating). Somewhat inefficient, since two heat pumps were installed for two apartments (which I find more charming). Financially, the insulation (which I still have now anyway) only pays off after my death in over 100 years. Insulation (ETICS) is almost never financially worthwhile, but it improves living quality and the “value” of the house. I mainly did it for the subsidy (there was 40% of the costs for all renovation and surrounding measures), because without the ETICS nothing would have come at all.

But with neither of the two did we get a cozy feeling of living, especially in house 1 this became clearly noticeable.

How does the feeling of living in a house make itself noticeable when you first have to make it beautiful according to your wishes? That can only be the floor plan, right?

The granny flat is apparently not connected to the normal gas central heating, but is heated by electricity (partly storage heaters, partly probably normal radiators). This didn’t show up in the energy certificate at all, ...

Depending on location and demand, you may not care. The tenant, who is glad to find an apartment, has to pay anyway. And if it is ever renovated, you include the granny flat and don’t have much extra effort. Wishing you much success in your further search! Keep me posted.

No, I have to vehemently disagree. With the measures I mentioned - without external insulation, my comparably old house had heating costs under €1,000 for 200sqm of well-heated living space

But with your measures, you have already reached a fairly good energy demand for the house. If I estimate your figures with optimistic numbers (0.20 euros/kWh, annual performance factor 4.5), I come to a heat demand of 22,500 kWh, and thus just over 110 kWh/m². The previous measures have already significantly improved the house compared to other existing old buildings on the market with > 250 kWh/m². Insulating the upper floor ceiling is of course practical, as long as it is not a converted attic. Otherwise, the effort multiplies again directly.

How does the feeling of living in a house make itself noticeable when you are still in the process of making it beautiful according to your wishes? It can only be the floor plan, right?

Yes, the floor plan certainly plays a big part in that. But especially in House 1, it was also the doors and windows that were simply quite low. All the interior doors just under 1.95 m, and the windows facing outside were installed in such a way that I’m looking directly at the upper window frame. And even though there is obviously a lot to renovate in the house, I still don’t want to have to touch every single brick. Moreover, although the location overall is quite good, the micro-location within the street is not so great. At least not so much that we could overlook the other issues because of it.

We found out that it can also be different during a spontaneous further viewing (crazy, almost a year without viewings, and then three in one week). A semi-detached house from 1978 that just felt right immediately. There, too, nothing has been done over all those years (except for the bathroom), but we felt comfortable there right away. But again, the problem will probably be how high the renovation costs would be and whether it makes sense at all together with the purchase price.

Depending on location and demand, it may not matter to you.

The electric heating itself doesn’t bother me; we would tackle the heating system anyway. But if one of two apartments is heated with electricity, and this is not mentioned as an energy source in the energy performance certificate, then I tend to be quite cautious about the other values as well.

With your measures, you have already reached a quite good energy demand of the house.

… and with good ETICS I paid €375 for heating and hot water together in 2024 (my part with 120 sqm) - all well planned and now almost KfW 40.
The step with the ETICS never pays off for me, as I said, except for the feeling of comfort (warm walls) and the value of the house. But for you, definitely.