Purchase opportunity for an old building from 1953, assistance with evaluation

My parents' house was built in 1954 after the previous building could no longer be renovated. No building permit was even applied for, and when someone from the authority came by, the bricklayer painted something during his lunch break after a few beers. The exact surveying took place partially decades later when a sidewalk was built or the neighboring plot was divided.

Yep. The theory that in the post-war chaos of the 1950s a building permit was always filed and the house was surveyed immediately afterwards... yes, that the house was even planned by a structural engineer or architect. That theory is quite far-fetched.

People had other worries back then; housing was needed. Especially in the GDR in the 1950s, many buildings were still in ruins.

As a layman, one might believe that the chasing work is enormously time-consuming. Because the layman approaches the slots just with an angle grinder, whereas the professional comes with at least a double angle grinder, but usually with a milling machine. My electrical rough-in installation was finished within 2 days, I couldn’t watch that fast. The slots are a matter of one day for an electrician. At an hourly rate of 60 EUR, you save about 600 EUR. The layman fumbles around for at least a weekend with three people in the house for that, or even longer. From that, the layman has to deduct the costs for the tools and the time. When it comes to laying the cables itself, it continues. Whoever doesn’t do this regularly only manages a two-way switch with a lot of thinking in such a way that it works. The electrician buys cables much cheaper than the layman at Obi. Etc.

On the last point, a clear veto. Sure, he buys cheaper, but that is also his gain. The price does not go further to the end customer. That the professional with the appropriate tools is faster may be true. But it also depends on the skill whether it really pays off earlier. One of our walls was gone within an hour because a friend has quite a lot of power in his arm. Carrying it out and then driving to the recycling center took the longest. Then another friend came and trimmed the edges with an insanely large saw (he borrowed it from work). Conclusion for us: without well-equipped friends and neighbors, we would often have been screwed here or wouldn’t have done a lot. Starting from a good miter saw, to a cable finder, to a long straightedge. I wouldn’t have thought that beforehand.

Huge living space, good property, not too expensive, on dad’s tab.. - freely after Bobby Habeck: what was the question?;)

Yes, isn’t it wonderful that it’s worth it when you bust your ass in life and then can financially support the people in your life you love the most, so they have it easier than you do. Although actually my grandmother, who left my father behind in her home country when he was two years old and he only came to Germany eight years later, made sure that my father could escape terrible poverty and build something for himself in Germany.

And the fact that we also have some equity, even though I took care of my children at home for five years, is only because we pay so little for our apartment, since my parents-in-law let us live here… which goes back to the grandfather who built the house after the war. Although actually the great-grandparents, because they financially supported the grandfather. But I don’t know how it went before that.

Yes, I am grateful that not everyone has to uproot themselves from any kind of support—whether material or mental—and bust their ass somehow just to survive. Because I think, otherwise, we as humanity wouldn’t have come this far…

Apart from the fact that I didn’t put the word “invest” in quotes without reason. But the arrangement we made with my father, I won’t elaborate on here. But it is of mutual interest.

Yep. The thesis that in the post-war chaos of the 1950s a building application was always submitted and the house was measured right after... yes, that the house was even planned by the structural engineer or architect. This thesis is quite far-fetched.

People had other worries back then; housing was needed. Especially in the GDR, many buildings were still in ruins in the 1950s.

It's worth a try at the office; what do you have to lose. Either something is there, or it isn't.

Calm down, brown, I just mean that I would have already bought the thing and not thought so much about it. Around here, the thing would have a price tag starting with a 5...

What has not been addressed at all so far is the fact that for such extensive renovations, an architect or planner is necessary. This adds to the costs on top.