Is purchasing a house and complete renovation affordable?

Either way, 400k€ for an old house is quite normal to cheap nowadays depending on the location, but I still wonder how others manage who are not lucky enough to get a house cheaper.
Our salaries aren't that bad after all..

Not at all anymore – without a really high income and large equity, the game is simply over. Even if it's still not liked to be heard – the 10% to 30% price overvaluation is simply there. It's a bubble, and only those who still bring enough spare money might get a loan to join the gamble. Prices are completely detached and the asking prices (for the few visible properties) have increased by another 15%+ compared to last year. So anyone who can and wants to spend around 100,000 or more this year might still strike a deal. But there will probably be fewer and fewer of those..

Sorry, didn’t mean to leave anyone behind here.

The house is being sold within the family. Since there is a desire to keep it in the family, we would get a "special price."
(I think I’ve mentioned that somewhere before)

Either way, 400k€ for an old house is quite normal to cheap these days depending on the location, but I still wonder how others manage who are not lucky enough to get a house cheaper.
Our salaries are not that bad either..

Thanks, now I’m back on track.

Given the conditions:

[*]Equity top
[*]Income above average with potential for growth
[*]"Discounted" purchase price in a good/very good location

In my opinion, you can only be congratulated and told: go for it! Even with 300k renovation costs, you’re still in a good position. :)

We are currently also renovating a semi-detached house 58' in Cologne and are almost finished. The walls still need to be completed and the floor laid. The price with you is of course very good, we paid the land value + 80,000 EUR for our heavily renovation-needed house.

Here is what we have done on the house:
- Screed with underfloor heating 10,000 EUR: Old screed completely removed and new screed with underfloor heating installed. Milling wouldn’t have been possible at all, as it was not very thick and poorly insulated. Additionally, the pipes can be laid more densely when new, etc. We had very little build-up height in places, which is normal for such houses.
- Heating 10,000 EUR: We initially wanted only a heat pump, but quickly couldn’t find anyone to install it. So we first had a condensing boiler installed by the plumber. The heat pump will come in the next few years.
- Sanitary 15,000 EUR: All pipes renewed, guest WC and small bathroom, no luxury.
- Windows 25,000 EUR: The old windows had to be removed and we also installed a floor-to-ceiling window.
- Electrical 12,000 EUR: No KNX or fancy stuff. Just new and more sockets.
- Breakthroughs, cutting windows about 6,000 EUR

Here is what we did ourselves:
- Removed floor, wallpaper, etc.
- Closed shafts again and plastered
- Ground concrete slab

Here is what we did not do:
- Roof: It is still from the year of construction, but it is still on many roofs of the neighbors and is said to be good.
- Plaster: The interior plaster has mostly remained. In my opinion, it is lime plaster, definitely not gypsum plaster. We ourselves have closed the usual shafts again.
- Exterior insulation: Not really worth it financially. We will move in first and see how comfortable it is.

In total, including laying tiles, filling walls, wallpapering, etc. about 100,000 EUR. We would get about 13,000 EUR back from BAFA. So it does not always have to be the full program. Everyone has to decide for themselves what they feel comfortable with.

Maybe one more note... due to the flood disaster it is currently difficult to find craftsmen in the Cologne area. We secured the biggest jobs shortly before, otherwise some probably wouldn’t have had time until Q2 2022...

Hello ,
such reports from real completed projects are always very valuable! Thanks for this contribution.
Are these actually all real paid final prices including VAT?

The price you got is of course very good, we paid the land value + 80,000 EUR for our heavily in-need-of-renovation house.

I still consider that very good. Where did you find the offer?

- Screed with underfloor heating 10,000 EUR: Old screed completely removed and new with underfloor heating installed.

Online you can find benchmark prices of 80 €/m² for screed + underfloor heating (without prior removal of the old floor). Normally such benchmark prices are calculated tightly – but nice to see it can also work out.

Heating 10,000 EUR: We initially wanted just a heat pump, but couldn’t quickly find anyone who could install it. So we first had a gas condensing boiler installed by the plumber. The heat pump will come in the next few years.

What – gas condensing boiler first and then additionally a heat pump? OK, I assume you want to use the gas boiler later to cover peaks during very cold weather, but then it would be somewhat oversized. So in the end that will probably be more expensive overall. I understand that this was born out of necessity because you couldn’t find an installer – but then this is not a solid basis for calculation for the questioner. They should calculate directly with the heat pump.

- Sanitary 15,000 EUR: Replace all pipes, guest WC and small bathroom, no luxury.

I would have estimated new lines at 5k EUR. But guest WC + bathroom for 10k EUR? I would have thought that unthinkable in today’s times.

- Windows 25,000 EUR: The old windows had to be removed and we also had a floor-to-ceiling window installed.
- Electrical 12,000 EUR: No KNX or fancy stuff. Just new and more sockets.

Roughly corresponds to my research as well. I got offers for electrical work for a 120 m² single-family house for 16,000 EUR without plastering.

We did the following ourselves:
- Removed floor, wallpaper, etc.
- Closed and plastered shafts again
- Ground concrete slab

Still missing are finishing walls and laying floor.

Here I would see material costs alone of about 10,000 EUR if you do everything yourself.

We did not do the following:
- Roof: Still from the year of construction, but many neighbors still have it and it is supposedly good.

I don’t understand that. There is the renovation obligation on change of ownership according to §47 Building Energy Act. The roof from the year of construction surely does not meet the requirements. How did you bypass this obligation? And if you tackle that once, you do it properly – i.e. with proper rafter insulation and then I would also offer to renew the almost 70-year-old roof covering.
That quickly costs 50,000 EUR.

- External insulation: Not really worth it monetarily. We will move in first and see how comfortable it is.

New windows (probably triple-glazed) but no external insulation? High risk of mold. And at the latest when the heat pump comes, you have to tackle the external insulation. Again: I understand that you didn’t do it *right away* (also considering your emergency gas heating), but that is not recommended for the questioner.

In total, including tile laying, plastering walls, wallpapering, etc., about 100,000 EUR. From that, we will get about 13,000 EUR back from BAFA.

From which program are the 13,000 EUR?

In my opinion, the following works are still missing from your list, which the questioner must consider for their calculation:
- As mentioned above: roof, roof insulation, facade insulation.
- Dormers (common request for this building type)
- Second bathroom new, if applicable
- Kitchen
- Shutters
- Front door + interior doors
- Stairs (refurbish or new)
- Floor plan changes
- If intervention in the statics or external appearance: building permit, architect, structural engineer
- Scaffolding
- Interior or even exterior waterproofing of the basement (basements are often damp with this year of construction. But of course depends on condition and desired use.)

And so you quickly reach 250,000 to 300,000 EUR.

I absolutely agree with you (and the others) that you should think carefully about what you really need. But you have to keep in mind that some things cannot (or hardly) be done while living in the house. Other things make sense if you’re already working on it (e.g. new interior plaster if electrical work is new). And if you do it once, do it properly (keyword rafter insulation, heat pump, etc.) for the intended 40 to 50 years until the next change of ownership.