Regarding the actual question of whether the architect’s cost estimate is appropriate, unfortunately no one will be able to give a well-founded statement from a distance and without knowing all the details of the building.
Yes, that is probably the biggest problem, and logically no one can make a well-founded statement here.
Friends of ours also renovated a listed half-timbered house, and one cost driver was indeed a very "fussy" monument protection office.
That is at least (so far) not the case with us. We also had to deal with the monument protection office as part of the building permit. They had some demands and there was a lot of discussion, especially regarding the solar system, etc., but they were reserved when it came to details. They were only vehement about the window design and the doors. I suspect this is also because they are aware of the very poor condition of the building, and are therefore glad that someone is even willing to take on the whole project.
I wonder if, with 3000 sqm of land, there might be the option to divide it and sell one half as a building plot?
The option certainly exists, but from our point of view that would really be the last option, since cutting the property would leave us without a single direct neighbor—and we would like to keep it that way.
Hallelujah, I really did a lot myself on my construction sites, but doing exterior and interior plastering yourself—and preferably without a plastering machine, silo, or anything like that—would be something I’d reconsider or look for other possibilities for own work.
The plastering work is also something we would like to have done by a professional company. We will do so if the money suffices. However, if it does not, we will do it ourselves after prior professional instruction.
It’s not just an old listed hut, it has also been left alone for over 50 years. That’s not good for any house, even less so for such an old one. But I think the architect took that into account.
Yes exactly, the vacancy-related condition and damages were of course considered by the architect.
The long vacancy is a point that would also cause me some concern. What is the story of the house in the last decades, @Moni258? Has the property been in your family for a long time? Do you know if there were any renovation attempts?
The house belonged to a farming family until the 1950s, who had passed down the building within the family for a long time.
After that, it was sold to another family due to financial difficulties, who unfortunately (according to the neighbors) "always had big plans, but never did anything." They let the house run down and fall into disrepair. Because of the monument protection, they were never able to sell the building for a profit, but at some point, due to its increasingly poor condition and need for renovation, they no longer lived there either, as they themselves had no money for any measures. There is also some village gossip or rumors. Namely, that the last owners deliberately removed bricks to deliberately accelerate the decay, so that the building would eventually collapse, the monument protection would lapse, and at least the land could be sold as building land for better money.
We actually came to the building more or less by chance. After years of legal disputes with the monument protection office and other authorities, the previous owners were forced to sell, and we bought the building (after hearing about the sale from a friend) at that time for very, very little money along with the land, with the condition of at least provisionally securing the building and closing the holes in the roof.
There are those who see the man at EL laying click flooring while they stay with the children. Others see themselves as a team, where everyone does more than the classical role dictates. If I was mistaken about the OP, then so be it. Every person is different, and we do not know one another.
We are definitely a team and want to do it together as far as time with children allows.