Residential house from the 50s, good condition, renovate or sell?

*hihi* - it’s something in between...

“asking here yourself” is already out, since the “internet skills” are limited to starting the tablet for gaming, and for the rest she never had to do anything, it was the stereotypical division: woman does household, children, side job. Man does organization, insurance, main job, house, car, finances. It’s definitely a different generation than us.

Either we do it now, or she gets someone for everything. Sticking cables to the wall: 120 EUR. Changing the transformer on the halogen strip: the same. Not that we would have switched to LED right away...

And yes, quote: “in 20 years I won't be here anymore” - I left that uncommented... No, certainly not immediately, but you never know. I would at least ‘plan’ it, so to have a “plan” in the drawer in case “something” happens unexpectedly - so you don’t have to then act relatively plan- and mindlessly in panic. *I* would probably be more rational than the two kids, who understandably would be even more emotionally burdened.

The fact is, “we kids” (mostly the two of us ‘closer to it’) have to support, see “Project Driveway”. She wasn’t even surprised by the mentioned price, I found it (within limits) too much, I think something like 70 EUR/m2 for company execution all inclusive with old paving...

And yet, quote: "in 20 years I won’t be here anymore" – I left that uncommented... No, certainly not immediately, but you never really know. I would at least "anticipate" the whole thing, meaning having a "plan" in the drawer in case something surprising happens – so that you don’t have to panic and act recklessly and without a plan at that point.

With this attitude, unfortunately, you will be "right". In a construction forum, I don’t want to elaborate too much on the gerontopsychiatric perspective, but the (at least self-determined living) life expectancy of such women, who appear like "visitors from the Adenauer era," is indeed counted differently: not in years lived since birth, but in widowhood years. If the external world competence was a given fact, one can often expect a "turbo career" of dementia. I would try to make her more aware of this, as long as she still understands it. Maybe you can meet up with a friend of hers who already wore pants back in school and pick out a gift together at the women’s bookstore ;-) There is little to add regarding your drawer plan if you don’t want to illustrate the property with plans or similar. Then I have to assume how typical properties from this era (in which federal state is the property located?) "are": namely "quite nicely manageable with Polish DIY genes," but otherwise, viewed unemotionally, economically not worth gutting (conclusion accordingly: sell to hobbyists or rather demolition to OKKD than modernization). The realistic rejuvenation horizon is usually around KfW85; compared to a sensible used property, it will noticeably remain less modern. Even if we are talking about central heating with oil or gas (which was already modern at the time).

thank you for the response - yes, unfortunately apart from the "technology" it is also difficult in other areas, if not even more difficult...

She definitely has "external world competence," but on different levels than with insurance, technology, house, car... The almost 10-year-old is still taken for the annual service, but we were able to use the 89 EUR windshield wipers and do it ourselves for 20 EUR... All those little things that can also get really expensive...

I am currently creating floor plans (SweetHome 3D), would that help?

The state is Lower Saxony.

Apparently it was not fully conveyed that the ground floor has indeed been 'suitable' (from my layman's perspective) and renovated/refurbished in recent years, a lot has already been done there.

Basement technology and especially the upper floor/attic still have just as much potential.

Basically, I am reluctant to tear down something 'usable', especially since, as I said, a lot has been 'done'. On the other hand, it's like with an old refrigerator - it still works, but replacing it pays off through energy costs alone within a few years :)

The central heating (gas) was renewed about 4 years ago, there is even functioning solar thermal - the electric roller shutters also give a more modern impression.

A problem, in my opinion, would be a possible division between the two houses, since the back house is connected to the front house in terms of media technology, a complete separation is probably extremely expensive...

I am currently creating floor plans (SweetHome 3D), would that help?

Moderate. With this "telephone game" of traced plans, supposedly less relevant details (but of essential informational value to experts) are regularly lost, and that "by the dozen for cheap." The fifties were already after the war, so the building authority archives were no longer bombed out. So best get to the bottom of it, ... uh, the building file.

The building file is already available, all 179 pages - a lot of (in my opinion) 'useless' stuff inside, a lot of interesting things...

Another big question mark is the "extension as an independent residential unit," which is sometimes also referred to as a single-family house... built at the end of the 80s, asbestos question mark, no idea if/how it can be divided...

New would probably be easier after all - on the one hand, but that causes more problems elsewhere...

The construction file is already available, all 179 pages :) - a lot of (in my opinion) 'useless' stuff, a lot of interesting...

Well, then there is no need to redraw anything. Floor plans and sections would be a significant start.