Energetic renovation, financing and KFW 261

Good morning everyone,
we are currently in advanced talks to purchase a single-family house in RLP. In the course of this, of course, many questions arise regarding:
- How do I finance most sensibly with subsidies?
- Which renovation measures make sense or are necessary (to qualify for subsidies and are sensible)?

About the building:
Year built: 1986; 2003 extension 26 sqm with large window front.
Area: 196 sqm spread over ground floor and attic + simple finished garage attached to the building
Construction:
- Mostly double-glazed windows
- Frankfurter Pfanne roof, no dormers except for the extension
- Masonry: 30cm aerated concrete blocks
Heating: Oil heating from 1986, 90% radiators in the building.
Energy: Currently C/D (67,000 kWh over 5 years according to consumption certificate).
Condition: General condition of the building is good, bathroom on ground floor modernized in 2015.
Building style: Gable roof, with large overhangs and proportionate
Purchase price: 510,000, of which according to Geoportal 400€*630 sqm = approx. 250,000€ land portion.

Planning / Renovation: - costs approx. 50k € with own labor
- Installation of underfloor heating, remove screed and completely rebuild
- Window replacement + front door
- Minor adjustments to the floor plan
- New doors
- Painting work
- Kitchen + 25k €

Current thoughts:
We see that in the future, the heating definitely needs to be replaced and an extension of the attic with dormers is planned.
Additionally, we are now considering whether it makes sense to renovate directly to KFW 55, KFW 40, or similar in order to accordingly access a KFW loan and also subsidies.

Financing would look as follows:
530k € bank loan at 3.7%, installment 2500€
Remaining equity 100-150k €

Unfortunately, we fall out of eligibility for this subsidized loan with income limits.

Thank you very much for your thoughts.

Best regards

Do you want to carry out all the planned renovation work yourselves? Either way, it will be very tight: just the windows ("large window front", large front door in the picture) will already cost around €30k for the living area alone. Interior doors were about €500 each including installation for us. "Minor floor plan adjustments" always depend on whether they are structurally relevant. The heating alone will probably cost you around €50k, and depending on what you have in mind for painting work, that can also get expensive again (just painting? or also wallpapering? what about floor coverings on the new underfloor heating?)...

KfW 55 probably doesn't make sense because you likely won't achieve it without insulation/roof, which would cause significantly higher costs for energy consultants, etc. I would have individual measures subsidized here. If you can split that over 2 years (e.g., heating this year, windows next year), you can save quite a bit.

Also remember that the electrical system in the main house is probably already 40 years old...

Thank you for the initial feedback.

The electrical system is in good condition, with 3-wire installation and sufficient sockets + fuses. (Fortunately, my father is an electrician and was able to assess this on site.)

To clarify, there are 2 scenarios:
A) Individual measures
B) Renovation to Efficiency House KFW 55 was once a suggestion, possibly also only 85, in order to qualify for the subsidized interest rate.

In A)
-Windows/front door 15k € (9 windows, 1 front door); installation partly in own work. The large window front would remain, as it is from 2006 and already has a reasonable U-value.
-Floor ground floor + upper floor approx. 17k €; demolition + screed + insulation in own work; underfloor heating installation by a company.
-Interior doors approx. 3k €
-Painting approx. 6k €
-Rest 10k €, including repairing lintels, installing water for kitchen.

=>Here, in the coming years, a replacement of the oil heating with a heat pump is planned as well as installation of dormers on the upper floor.
=>In addition, there is discussion about setting up a one-bedroom apartment on the upper floor, but this is more likely in scenario 2.
=>BAFA subsidies, if a heat pump installation takes place.

In B)
-Windows, front door,
-ETICS (external thermal insulation composite system)
-Insulating the basement ceiling
-Insulation between rafters
-Installing dormers
-Installation of heat pump (I have an offer of approx. 30k € for 177 sqm including installation of underfloor heating)
->Renew screed on the ground floor, as in A)
+Measures for interior finishing as in A)

=>Here the crucial question is which energy standard I achieve with which capital investment. The advantage would be that a large part of the renovation measures would be financed via KFW 261 with at least 1% less interest than the current bank loans.
In addition, I would not have to start the renovation twice....

Here is the crucial question: which energy standard do I achieve with which capital investment.

If you are already leaning towards KfW XY, then go directly for 55. The additional effort from 85 to 55 is not that big – the unavoidable costs like scaffolding/tradesmen for insulation or new windows etc. you will pay anyway. You just "have to" use better material (probably not even that for windows) or adjust the thickness of the insulation. I myself went for 55 (in the end it will be almost 40) because there was not much difference in the initial cost. The €3 extra per sqm for insulation (no idea how much it actually was) was bearable.

If you are already going in the direction of KfW XY, then look directly at 55. The additional effort from 85 to 55 is no longer significant - you will incur the same costs anyway like scaffolding/craftsmen for insulation or new windows, etc.

That’s basically how I see it too. The renovation of the roof will probably be too expensive for me, we’re easily talking about €60-90k depending on the scope of the dormers and the type of roofing. If I understood correctly, I would receive €45k in funding at 50% for heating replacement through BAFA for 2 residential units (30% + 20% speed bonus); if I need more, up to €60k at 15% funding for individual measures would also be possible.

Am I correct or did I misunderstand something? Disadvantage: no access to cheaper loans.

For a 40-year-old oil heating system, I think I would immediately take action if at all possible.

In option A, I see the individual items as rather more expensive. A painter for 6,000 € for almost 200 sqm is hard for me to imagine. In our renovation, we alone paid 6,500 € for the paint on 195 sqm, and at 6.80 € net per sqm of wall surface, that was very cheap compared to the offers. Our old apartment (100 sqm living space) was painted black by our landlord for 2,700 €... But you also have quite a bit of patchwork to be done, which will probably be charged by the hour (window lintels, changed floor plan, holes from old radiators?, ...).

The floor will probably be more expensive as well, if the 17,000 € is supposed to already include the underfloor heating.