Buying an older house: Costs and effort

Hello forum,

we have looked at a house and now have some thoughts that are occupying us.

It is a bungalow, 120sqm, built in 1978, full basement, 600sqm garden, 230,000 - negotiable.
A new drainage and basement insulation were recently installed, which is already worth a lot, I think.
However, no further renovation measures have been carried out yet.

Of course, before buying, we will have an expert inspect the house; I’m not taking any risks there.

What must one generally consider with a house of this age?
The oil heating still works flawlessly, but I have to plan for it. 8,000-15,000€?
What about pipes, plumbing, building fabric? Will that be an issue for the next 20 years?
Do windows (double-glazed) and doors need to be replaced? They are fine so far, not warped, etc.

The ceiling of the ground floor can be easily and cheaply insulated from above, since the attic is too small to be used otherwise.

Renovation will also come, clearly, but that’s something you do voluntarily and can plan well.
I’m more concerned about the necessary, possibly hidden costs and the likely problems that a 30-year-old house brings.

What about the roof – when and why does one have to renew a roof?

I hope you young guys can help me with your experience. I don’t need concrete answers and prices – rather an assessment of the situation.

Regards,
Thorsten

One more thing, can the stove pipe be routed from the living room through the hallway to the fireplace in the kitchen? It's about 1.50 meters apart and just an additional wall. The necessary incline could be a problem; a crooked pipe in the hallway doesn't look very nice.

Summary: The construction site was really fun. On the phone for 700 minutes in two weeks and carrying until my back gave up - luckily everything is healed again : ) The heating system became a Vitodens 300-W 1.9kw-11kw. The gas line for it cost 1300€. Removal of the oil tanks 500€. The electrical work was too experimental for me and we still needed some upgrades: 4500€. I haven’t insulated the upper ceiling yet. No time so far (too lazy). The ceiling consists of concrete, reinforced, a foil, Styropor (with waves - between 3-6cm thick) and screed. Not good, but fine for now. In the living room we now have a chimney for the fireplace. Interior wall, nicely centered in the house. 2000€. It even works really cleanly and without core drilling, but with a hammer drill. Walls and ceilings were plastered by the painter. A few new windows are installed, but not all have been replaced yet. All inclusive, we ended up at 45TEUR for the renovation. 10TEUR more than I could roughly estimate without any knowledge before. Mainly due to additional requests that arose during the remodeling.

So then I'll just answer myself : P

Snapped it up yesterday for 215TEUR. We had an appraiser with us. For 130€ I would always take that along. He simply has a different view of the building fabric.
Didn't find any major problems that wouldn't correspond to the year of construction. I'll probably keep the windows. Glass wool is going on the ground floor ceiling. Exterior walls will stay as they are for now.
The good thing is that we’re only moving in after winter. That way I don’t have to fill up the tank expensively anymore and can take care of a new heating system next year.
Even the appraiser said he would still keep the old one running.
I think I'll do it like that until the first repair.

I bought a house

Congratulations!
At 130 € for the appraiser you really got a bargain, normally you'd have to expect double that plus VAT.

I hope everything turns out as you wish.

Best regards

There was also no binding protocol or anything like that. It was important to me that someone who knows more than I do, an office jockey, looks at the house. I can fix small things, but I wanted to rule out things like a rotten roof or a damp basement.

There was also no binding protocol or anything like that. It was important to me that someone looks at the house who knows better than me, office jockey. I can fix small things, but I wanted to rule out things like a rotten roof or a damp basement.

I understood it that way too and meant it that way. 300,- € for the site visit incl. preparation costs depending on the scope extra at least 250,- €