Spinning mill or feasible? Buy and renovate an old farmhouse

Hello, I am new here and wanted to ask for your opinion or personal experiences. We currently live in a beautiful old apartment in a sadly dilapidated manor house in the middle of nowhere. Now the house is being sold and we will probably have to move out at the beginning to middle of 2020 (due to partial demolition and partial major renovation). Unfortunately, we don’t know the exact date yet. We only found out about it the day before yesterday and are now a bit up in the air. We have kept an eye on the real estate market from time to time, but never really felt the pressure to find something. I definitely don’t want to rent an apartment again and neither does my husband. He is a passionate gardener with an impressive plant collection and the move is already brutal. Ok, long story short, we now want to (unfortunately under time pressure) get something of our own. Worst timing, since houses and plots are hard to find in the area and partly really overpriced. I think building a house would not be feasible time-wise and probably financially either (due to a larger plot, the house with 110 m2 to 150 m2 would be plenty). Now there is an old farmhouse here, which we want to take a look at. The barns and garages are in good condition, but the house is in urgent need of renovation, bathrooms, walls and floors would need to be renovated and there is only a stove heating system. The building structure is apparently quite good. That means we would have to install a completely new heating system and then redo the walls and lay floors everywhere. I don’t know anything about the insulation yet. What do you think, what could you roughly estimate for that, at least for the heating, since you will probably have to tear up many walls and lay pipes/conduits. Neither of us are unskilled at manual work and we both pitch in, my husband also works as a landscaper and can do masonry and plastering and stuff like that. Are 50,000 - 60,000 euros realistic or am I a complete dreamer? Oh yes, a few key data: about 130 m2 living space and 2 bathrooms with hot water boiler (which also urgently need to be redone!). Thanks, you can be brutally honest.

If you do it yourself and have no labor costs, you can get very far with 50-60. But the problem is the factor time. There is everyday life with the job, which is a must. The money is supposed to be earned. Then there is leisure time, and if you don't know dozens of colleagues who increase efficiency, the projects drag on like chewing gum, and you have to live on a construction site for a very long time. Is that clear to you? If yes, then do it, there are those who make it, unfortunately, there are also many who fail. K.

Such a renovation is usually a labor of love. You can sink a fortune into bathrooms, kitchen, etc. To make it habitable and with a lot of your own work, your mentioned amount may be sufficient. We have just renovated an apartment (for rental). 123m2 new electricity, network, kitchen, walls replastered, painting... was >100k€ and nothing was done to the sanitary system. The question is also whether you have requirements regarding renewable energies, insulation, etc. for such a renovation. Then you might as well just tear it down and put up a standard prefab house. Probably faster than making a heavily dilapidated house habitable with your own work. I like old renovated buildings (even though we now build quite differently), but this will be a mammoth project for you. What is the whole thing supposed to cost? What can/want you spend?

I completely agree with Nordlys!

You can achieve an incredible amount if you have some craftsmanship skills. And your husband definitely does.

Time is the "problem," though.

On the other hand, if the price and location are great, then I would definitely prefer that over a new build. You don’t have to finish everything within 2 months.
Often it’s the passive pressure from everyone else (family, friends, neighbors, etc.) that drives you crazy and puts you under extreme pressure.

As for the heating, I would definitely (if gas is available) install the pipes on the surface. Especially in an old building. Less effort and therefore cheaper, while at the same time more effective in heating behavior. And it CAN look good. (Just Google "Konrad Fischer." He is hated like the plague here in the forum by most people and lobbyists. But not everything he says is wrong. He has many YouTube videos on the topic of renovating old buildings).
The heating system itself is relatively cheap. (3-4k).

Although, if you have to redo the floor anyway, you might as well install underfloor heating. It doesn’t really cost much more if the floor is already “open.”

Cables and walls are not a big problem now.
You just buy the right saw for the cable channels and lay them accordingly. (Very simple).
The electrical box must and should, of course, be done by a master electrician.

If the roof beams are still okay, you can re-roof this summer (if necessary).
A few new windows and doors and the biggest step is done.

Again… this will certainly not be a "Schöner Wohnen" or "amazing architecture" hut…
But it belongs to you and you don’t have to pay it off for 30 years.
If you do, then better leave it.

Such a project is indeed a labor of love. Only with your own effort will a lot of time pass until everything is finished; after all, you also have to work and raise money on the side, right? And: where do you want to live during the renovation phase?

Phew. For a project of similar size ([REH aus 1912], 110m2, complete renovation with modern heating and plumbing, conversion of the attic with a total of about 140m2), but without personal labor, I calculate around €200,000. This is based on the architect’s estimate plus a 15% contingency. And the house at least already has a new and insulated roof (2012).