Finance another house...

For 40km an hour? And can't you somehow travel together? Although the costs are not the problem. But I would first use the equity to do (have done) the most important, bathroom and living room. For the rest, you can easily save money and have it done in the next 2-3 years. A new building would not be finished earlier either, from planning to the outdoor area.

The 10 km was the distance between our two workplaces. Now everyone is exactly 40 km from work. So each one drives an hour one way. As I said, the new construction is off the table. However, having it done has also not worked in the past, otherwise we would not have come to this point.

What was/is the reason, if I may ask?

If the controlled residential ventilation is already prepared, then in principle it should not be a problem and finishing the living spaces (filling, painting, wallpapering, laying floors, etc.) should not be rocket science for trained craftsmen. But since there is quite a lot to do overall, it might be sensible to bring a construction supervisor or architect on board. They can not only calculate the costs but also coordinate the trades, deadlines, etc. Since you apparently have very little time, that would certainly be very well invested money and some of it can pay off again.

You won't get another construction loan, but you will definitely get a regular loan! That would also be affordable with your income, they are not that expensive at the moment - to my knowledge under 5%

You won’t get another construction loan, but you will definitely get a regular loan! That would also be affordable with your incomes, they’re not that expensive at the moment – as far as I know under 5%

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For 40km one hour? And can’t you somehow drive together?

That doesn’t work with flexible working hours, depending on what happens I can’t say whether I finish work at 6 p.m. or only at 9 p.m. today. And one hour is the average, sometimes it’s an hour and a half, if I drive home late in the evening I sometimes need only 40 minutes. That’s just how it is when you have to go into the big city in the morning and out again in the evening.

What was/is the reason, if I may ask? If the controlled residential ventilation is already prepared, then in principle it shouldn’t be a problem and finishing living spaces (filling, painting, wallpapering, laying floors, etc.) shouldn’t be rocket science for skilled tradespeople. But since there is quite a lot to do overall, it might be sensible to bring a construction supervisor or architect on board. They can not only calculate the costs but also coordinate the trades, appointments, etc. Since you apparently have very little time, that would certainly be money well spent and some of it can pay off again.

Many problems in the house come from the fact that the original builder had ideas I don’t know about or that simply weren’t feasible. Unfortunately, he has passed away, so I can’t ask him anymore. The controlled residential ventilation is one of these topics. The pipes to the rooms are already laid and all go into the former chimney, but that’s it. I once had the local heating engineer come by, who told me there was no space left in the cellar for it or that the still available spaces weren’t suitable. On top of that, he wouldn’t install the already existing devices (cross-flow heat exchanger, cooling and heating coils), I would have to buy from him then. Well, somehow it stalled again.

A construction supervisor or architect will probably cost quite a bit, but it seems necessary because I can’t progress with the planning alone.

Could you imagine temporarily renting an apartment near your workplaces? It does cost rent again, but you no longer live on a construction site that stresses you out. With the gained distance and time, you can then properly renovate the house, even if it takes longer. No more time pressure.