Real estate financing - the jungle of offers ...

The suggestion, now for example just to say, ok, I'll save money now and wait until the illness catches me, then burn through my cash and move into a one-room apartment, sell all my junk beforehand, give up my pets and yes... just bake small rolls then... That is unthinkable for me. And a perspective that is no perspective. I do not want to, wish to, or can live like that.

Having goals and implementing them, fulfilling a lifelong dream for myself - all that positively affects my illness, which is not a mental one, but like many other diseases can be highly influenced by it.

I can understand that and your arguments in #9 – sometimes regarding finances you also have a gut feeling that can’t be squeezed into a table, where a green number appears at the bottom right. And you have goals – here and now – which means breaking out of the naturally expected behavior.

But I ask you whether you want to acquire an old property, i.e. an eternal problem? We just had a 30-year-old house... at some point the backlog of repairs came, where everything would have had to be redone, of course bit by bit... I wasn’t in the mood for that.

New build, possibly a semi-detached house with the parents is out?

1. I find the estimated renovation costs very ambitious. You should have a buffer of 30-40k. Especially with such old houses, there are always surprises. 2. The description of the financing aspects is just nonsense. Many relevant things are missing. What kind of assessment are you expecting there? 3. Regarding the mortgage on the parents' second apartment; you should really get advice on that. Especially the pros and cons regarding possible enforcement in case of nursing care, etc. 4. Your personal situation is of course not nice; but sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees

Regarding the points: 1. The assessment came from a friend of mine, the aforementioned architect, after a rough inspection of the exposé, the photos, and the house. He is twenty years older than me, meaning: almost 30 years in the profession, owns several old buildings himself, which he has renovated himself. As already mentioned – before signing, more people will go through the house. 2. What things are missing? I already wrote – I have no idea, which is why I showed up here. 3. We are doing that, and have already partially done so. Not to mention that, in case one or both of my parents should become in need of care, I also have various options to deal with it or arrange it afterwards. There are already considerations and concepts that are feasible and do not involve having to liquidate all assets. 4. What do you mean by that? Your last tip was, as I understood it, to save money in case I can no longer work. You are probably around the same age as I am – please read my penultimate post, where I wrote a few things about that.

I can understand that and your arguments in #9 – sometimes you also have a gut feeling about finances that you can’t squeeze into a spreadsheet where a green amount appears in the bottom right. And you have goals – here and now – which means breaking out of the naturally expected behavior.

But I ask you if you want to get an old property, that is, an eternal problem? We only had a 30-year-old house… at some point came the backlog of repairs where everything would have had to be redone, of course little by little… I wasn’t in the mood for that.

New build, possibly a semi-detached house with the parents, is out?

Oh, my parents aren’t moving anymore :D It was briefly discussed, but was immediately rejected unanimously ;)

Regarding this exact property – I just don’t believe it’s completely comparable to a real old building, since everything has already been done in the last few years and the things that still need to be done are openly on the table. Sure, the energy efficiency isn’t that of a new building. But facade, pipes, electricity, windows, insulation, sanitary facilities, everything is/will be new. Very good building fabric, roof not particularly old and intact. All according to the broker’s information and the assessment of my architect friend. Of course – I would have it verified before signing, by experts. IF that is the case, then the risk seems very manageable to me – or am I seeing this incorrectly?

Everything according to the information provided by the broker and the assessment of my architect friend. Of course - I would have it verified before signing, and by experts.

What do you mean by that? When you buy used, it's "bought as seen."

What do you mean by that? You buy used "as is".

Well, as I said, "virgin" :) The contract is concluded with the signature. If the house fits, I would give the agent a commitment – on the condition that I would like to go inside a few guys beforehand. As far as I'm concerned, it could also be reserved with payment. In any case, I won't sign anything before I have shown the place to someone who knows about this, who can tell me, for example, whether the unfinished roof is in good condition, whether the beams are okay, whether the previous renovation work is botched or fine, etc. Obviously, I can't do that. Of course, I recently looked at two houses, one of which obviously had woodworm in the framework, which, as it appeared to me, is active or could be. That one was immediately out. The other was "creatively" renovated, among other things with inserted "walls" made of wallpapered Styrodur as well as a nice spot in the roof where two tiles were simply removed for an antenna. So that really wasn’t an option either ;)

You mean an expert who advises you regarding defects. That is what Caspar meant with his question about the [Sachverständigen] too.