Renovation costs mid-terrace house built in 1995 - and consultation

Hello Hutchinson,
we are buying in Barmstedt in the district of Pinneberg. Best regards!

Then it must have worked now!
Congratulations :)

Elmshorn is my girlfriend's hometown.

We bought in Bargteheide (Stormarn).

Hello Hutchinson, yes, we went to the notary and are totally happy! Bargteheide is a super beautiful spot on earth! Especially the whole district of Stormarn! Unfortunately, it would be way too far for my husband to commute to work from there. I only moved from Hamburg to Pinneberg a few years ago and never liked it here, not only, but also because of the horrible "architecture"... tenement blocks, brutalism, prefabricated tower blocks! And especially in the "better" residential areas with the detached houses, a dubious clientele that disproportionately often comes from the [Kiez] and combines money laundering with starting a family in a turnkey home. Therefore, I am very glad, surprisingly for me, to have found a small town in the district of Pinneberg that I find pretty. Prices in Elmshorn are also not crazy yet, but I believe they are in Bargteheide. But it is definitely worth it, as picturesque as it is there! How is your renovation coming along? Best regards!

Hello Kensington,

that’s great!
Barmstedt is really quite cozy.
It seems like the world is still in order there :)
I haven't heard much good about Pinneberg so far...

Bargteheide is really nice and also suits my girlfriend very well because of the commute to work. I grew up in Stormarn and always wanted to stay here. She has come to love and appreciate Stormarn as her new home.
And yes, unfortunately the prices here are crazy, so we’re glad that even as “normal” employees without any inheritance or the like, we can still participate here.
In fact, we could have had several houses.

The renovation is progressing, but everything takes its time.
Upstairs, we have wallpapered and painted the first room. Today we continue with laying the floor. I guess we will still have one or two small construction sites until the move at the end of November.

Wishing you lots of joy in your new home :)

@TE: Sorry for hijacking the thread

@TE: Sorry for hijacking the thread

...I've done that quite often too :D—besides, it's good if we have common topics here.

By the way, I've now (almost) been able to negotiate my desired price. I'm 10,000 above what the appraiser recommended to me as a limit, but considering the market situation, I think that's still OK. After all, that way I would effectively cover the renovation costs. So far, I only have the exposé and the energy certificate. Which documents should I check before the purchase? Soil report? Land register excerpt? The realtor would like to schedule the notary appointment quickly... shouldn't we wait until the financing approval from the bank is in place first?

Then, very last minute, another house has come up that I will look at tomorrow. Normally, I wouldn't have done that, but the price and especially the location as well as a few other things are very attractive. The realtor from the above property will be furious if I back out, since he has already negotiated so much with the owners, but I don't think the other property will realistically work out anyway, as there will be several interested parties there. However, the price is set significantly lower again, so if you had to bid, there would probably still be good room for negotiation. Since I have to let the other property know by Monday/Tuesday so they can schedule the notary appointment, I have to see if that still works out. I wouldn't give up on the other one, even if I like the new one tomorrow, if I couldn't get it for sure.

Just one more question: this property itself looks good. The house is already older (1969), the heating is only 10 years old with photothermal system. Everything is parquet and I think only one bathroom would need to be renovated (not completely) and painting (at least based on the photos). Is there anything specific to consider with this construction year? The windows are from the mid-80s and 90s (wood and aluminum), double glazed.

Just one more question: this property looks good overall. The house is quite old (1969), the heating system is only 10 years old with photothermal technology. Everything is parquet, and I think only one bathroom needs to be done (not completely) and painting (at least based on the photos). Is there anything specific to watch out for with this construction year? The windows are from the mid-80s and 90s (wood and aluminum), double-glazed.

That’s fine. Those are all minor things. When I bought, I only focused on the macro location, micro location, and the plot—and that there was a house on it.

You can change everything else easily, but I believe understanding only really sets in once you’ve done the whole thing.

Best regards

You can change everything else that easily, but I think understanding only sets in once you have actually done the whole thing.

What do you mean by understanding... in relation to location? It's true that you can change everything, but if the property is already in an area where the financial scope no longer allows for a comprehensive renovation, then it's not that simple. In this case it works, but I have already seen enough properties that were good in terms of location and also the plot, but where a completely to-be-renovated house or in other words a demolition-worthy wreck was standing on it.