Renovation and expansion of the parents' house

Hello,

I plan to renovate and/or expand my childhood home together with my girlfriend.
We are not married and would first like to move into the shared apartment and then eventually get married before hopefully having children.
The house (including the yard, since it's a farm) will be transferred to my name in the land register before the renovation.
My parents will receive a right of residence and would occupy the ground floor, the first and second floors would be completely renovated and refurbished by us. That means the roof needs to come off (it would need to be renewed anyway), the knee wall raised, walls moved, insulation and new windows for the whole house. A complete package, basically. Afterwards, we would have an estimated 140-160 sqm for ourselves.

My question would be if someone could roughly estimate the costs, even though I know that is difficult. Also, what difficulties might arise. The house should be transferred only to me, but the financing would run in both our names.
I know what will probably come up, do you really want to live with your parents in one house, etc., the point is simply that if I build new, I would have two houses to maintain in the long term.
Alternatively, expansion at my in-laws’ place would also be possible, but theoretically, the same problems would arise.

There is also a land charge registered on the property from the 1970s, about €50,000.
Is it advisable to have the land charge deleted and then registered anew later?
Or does it make more sense, also for cost reasons, to keep the land charge and transfer and adjust it?

Thanks in advance

That sounds like a very expensive renovation since everything has to be done and the house itself will also be changed. You will definitely need a building permit for that. That means, first take a look at everything with an expert. So an architect, civil engineer, or something like that. And have the costs estimated.

To me, it sounds almost like it would be cheaper to completely tear down the shack and rebuild it.

What I wouldn’t agree to, though, is being listed on the loan contract but not in the land register. That means you have debts yourself but zero security or collateral. The relationship would have to be very strong for that. And during a renovation, the relationship is certainly put to the test. Is it planned to transfer the house once you are married? I would have the land charge canceled since it is tied to a bank. You don’t necessarily want to be with the bank, do you?

Definitely not an easy case. I would definitely not carry it out without an expert.

It is clear that a building permit is required. That was not even up for discussion to do it without one. Likewise, that an architect should be consulted. However, I want to have the cost estimate, inspection, etc. done only after it has actually been transferred.

Tearing down the house and rebuilding it might be theoretically possible, but practically not. On one hand, because the house was built by my father and he certainly would not agree to that. On the other hand, because renovations on the ground floor, i.e. the future apartment of my parents, would be completely ruined by it. The house was built in 1974, so work like roof renewal and windows are simply due, and in my opinion, thermal insulation should be done at the same time. But it is still too good to tear down. And if you’re already renovating anyway, it should be adapted the way we want it. The 1st and 2nd floors would then certainly be in a new-build condition. I don't feel like renovating again in 5 years.

If you are married, my wife can certainly be entered in the land register. Before that, I just consider it difficult because someone “foreign” would get a share of the house or the yard. Basically, we agree on that because she does not want to “take” anything from me. Since we both come from a rural area, this might certainly be hard for some to imagine.

Regarding the mortgage. As far as I know, an assignment to another bank is also possible. The mortgage would then of course have to be adjusted accordingly.

I also come from a village. The advantage of the transfer after the wedding is that you only have to pay notary fees and no taxes. Without a marriage certificate, it would simply be too expensive, as it would either have to be sold officially or gifted. In both cases, taxes are incurred for your girlfriend. When selling, depending on the federal state, 5 to 6 percent of the sale amount corresponding to the share in the land register is due. But be careful, if it is sold too low, the tax office could interpret the rest as a gift. And a gift is very expensive in terms of taxes if there is no kinship.

We also completely renovated our house. That is a lot of work. But it is usually worth it. We now have almost new-build standard. Only the foundation walls and the roof frame are still from 1962.

I would have the land charge deleted and then re-registered when taking out the loan.

If you also come from the village, you surely know how difficult it is to get everyone involved and to come to an agreement. No hard feelings

What confuses me now is that earlier you said it might be better to tear down the cabin. Now you wrote that you also completely renovated your house.

It's clear that a lot of work will be involved. On the other hand, demolition and new construction certainly aren't associated with less work either.

Regarding the costs, I would just estimate about €250,000 without having spoken to a professional... A new build is certainly not cheaper.

Regarding the land charge, I also think having it deleted and newly registered is the cleanest solution. Unless it makes a big financial difference, which I unfortunately haven't really been able to find out.

It sounded like a complete renovation in the first post, and you have to calculate what is economically more sensible. But as you say, sometimes other factors also play a role. But with such a budget, you should be able to do quite a lot. If the mortgage is from the 70s, you should actually already have proof of cancellation from the respective bank. And having it removed doesn't cost much. And the costs of registering the mortgage always depend on the amount of the sum.

PS: The notary fees can be calculated everywhere on the internet. The costs for the notary are legally regulated. You can basically calculate yourself how expensive it will be approximately.