Is home buying advice an outrageous offer?

Good morning everyone,

my wife and I have been planning for some time to buy a house in our small village of 500 inhabitants. Until now, there hadn’t been the right one, until now.

As it is in the village, you learn everything through word of mouth, which means there is currently no realtor involved, which is already a good thing. The house was built around the 1970s and has been repaired here and there from time to time. The house is not insulated, but it has received triple glazing, a photovoltaic system with 21 kW peak on the roof, and a solar battery of 4 kW + wallbox for vehicles. There is a rainwater harvesting system and two smaller garages, where today's cars hardly fit anymore, more like the old tractors from the past. The living area for "our apartment" is 180 m², and the one for the granny flat is 110 m².

All of this sounds great at first, and with the price of 500k negotiable, it is doable. Until we looked at the house. We assumed that the house had been continuously renovated and maintained. Basically, my wife and I entered the house and first noticed only cosmetic things: bits flaking off the wall here and there, door frames with dents, the usual stuff. Unfortunately, there is no kitchen inside. I noticed that surface-mounted sockets were installed flush-mounted – all things that can be easily fixed. The rainwater harvesting system is currently unusable because the rainwater-carrying pipe can be switched to the drinking water as needed. My toenails curled up. As a master plumber and heating technician, I know that rainwater belongs to the worst water categories. That is another factor that needs to be fixed. Unfortunately, I no longer work hands-on outside, so I have to borrow everything.

When asked what the house would cost, 450 - 520k was considered. Since we still need to invest quite a bit and the house is not necessarily 100% move-in ready, we would like to make an offer of 420k. Since I unfortunately have no clue about negotiating and bargaining, I don’t know if the offer is super cheeky. There are three other interested parties with us, but they have not yet been able to make an offer, as they have not yet seen the house. Or should we wait until other offers have been made?

The price is hot, many factors play a role. Location, demand, whether the seller is under pressure to sell or can wait.

It may be that the 420k scares off the seller, but it may also be that the other 2 interested parties make an offer around that price. I would wait and inquire discreetly. Under no circumstances get into a bidding war.

I think there is pressure because the sale came about due to a separation. A comparable house in the area with 400 m² more land but 40 m² less living space and in a very well renovated condition was sold for 490k. PS: The heating also needs to be replaced. that is also about [Eigenkapital 10k] again.

A comparable house in the village with 400 m² more land area, but 40 m² less living space and in a very well-maintained condition,

That already makes the house no longer comparable and unsuitable.

What is the land price in your area or how large is it? Then you can calculate backwards. And where is your village located? In the East, in flourishing landscapes, it may be outrageous; in the Munich suburbs, people line up with cash to pay for such a bargain immediately.

Building nearly 300 sqm new already costs a million today. Without a basement, without garages, without garden and terrace. Without land. Is €500,000 too much for everything?

You yourself seem to dislike many things about the house...

The location is in the Taunus, so rather convenient and inland. The plot has 800 m² on a hillside, so it first has to be developed in order to properly use the garden at all. The house also has no basement. Due to the hillside location, there is a half floor and a full floor. We like the house very much, but there is a lot to do, which does not justify the price and in my opinion is set far too high.

in my opinion

That is very subjective.

But 800sqm of land estimated at €100/sqm (Taunus is not quite that cheap depending on proximity to Ffm/Wiesbaden) - you can check online - is €80k.
Then we subtract €30k for the two garages and there remains €350-390k for the house. That is just about it. For the stated living area you can a) assume that a lot has to be done (the value per sqm of living space is just €1,200 = usually not far from a dump, since it is just 1/3 of a new build) and b) the price is not unreasonable.