Renovation costs

We are indeed trying not to approach this too naively. Ultimately, I think for the moment we first need to see what can be done with the house at all. Then we will worry about the financing... ;-)

Fortunately, we have no tax problems. We are buying in a direct line of inheritance, so no acquisition taxes apply. (Father is a tax advisor, which is quite helpful...)

The financial advisor is independent, don’t worry. I would never go to a bank for "one-sided" advice.

And please don’t misunderstand: I take the concerns very seriously and am grateful for every helpful tip. Sometimes, unfortunately, I tend to have to run into walls myself first... ;-)

So, update number one. :-)

After an inspection with an experienced craftsman and a construction planner, the project is slowly taking shape. The roof truss can probably stay, but energetically a lot of work obviously needs to be done. The total costs were roughly estimated by the planner at first at 200k + own labor, with 20k in subsidies being realistic and set aside as a buffer for surprises. In addition, we (I believe) can still save significantly on costs in many areas through material choices and sensible comparison of offers (I estimate it could also be feasible with 185k), so there would be considerably more buffer available.

The first rough estimate plans 20k for triple-glazed windows/doors, including an approximately 3.5m wide sliding element. The roof windows are partially included in this, partially in the roof-related work, which was estimated at about 35-40k (insulation, new roofing, new roof windows). Overall, it all sounded quite realistic – the building fabric looks good and relatively low risk. The basement is dry (from the horizontal seal above the floor slab), only the groundwater level will be interesting – apparently there is a backflow stop valve or something similar in the basement floor.

Until now, the water in the house apparently always had to be boiled beforehand – does anyone have experience with something like this? What would need to be done in the sanitary area to fix this? Does the risk have to be assessed before purchase or can it be solved within the house through new pipes or something similar?

The water in the house apparently always had to be boiled beforehand until now - does anyone have experience with something like this? What would need to be done in the sanitary area to fix this? Does the risk have to be estimated before purchase or can it be solved inside the house with new pipes or something similar?

In such an old house, I wouldn't hesitate long but would replace all the piping completely.

Why did the water have to be boiled? It can't be lead. Legionella in cold water isn't possible either, right? Is the house connected to the public water supply? Or does the water possibly come from a well?

I strongly assume that it is the "normal" public water supply. A river flows quite close by (behind a high dike...) and probably raises the groundwater level significantly. Maybe it has something to do with that? Definitely not a well.

We would definitely want to replace all the pipes in the house as well, however, the hope is that we do not have to replace the pipes leading to the street...

I will definitely inquire about the land again in the near future.