Vacancy after buying a house - What should be considered?

Hello everyone,

some time ago we discovered a plot of land in our town with a house that has been vacant for several years, which we really liked. Without much hope of success, we sent a letter at that time. Initially, the current owners were still reluctant to sell. We had agreed to stay loosely in touch back then. Now, after a bit of a pause, it looks like we will buy the property in the next few weeks/months. The plot is currently built on with a larger bungalow (with a basement). It is heated with gas.

I have agreed with my wife that we will seize the opportunity, but want to build on the plot only in 1-2 years. Next year we simply have no capacity for it. In this context, we are wondering how we can keep the "operating costs" as low as possible. It is already clear: the house will be demolished with 99.99% certainty. We can basically take care of the winter service and garden ourselves, as we don’t live too far away. Apart from that, does anyone have experience or suggestions on what makes sense in this context? The internet was rather sparse on results, maybe also because I didn’t search very well. My ideas would be:

[*]Deregister garbage containers (except for a small residual waste bin)
[*]Turn off heating
[*]Shut off water connection
[*]Drain water pipes over the winter months
[*]Deregister gas house connection / meter

I am also wondering whether one should somehow create the impression that the property is occupied. With inexpensive SmartHome solutions / timers, at least some lighting can be simulated. But is that necessary?

I would appreciate your input – maybe there will be a project thread in the foreseeable future! :D

PS: I couldn’t find a subforum where I really felt at home with my topic. So for now, I posted in the construction planning forum. To me, this somehow belongs to the planning.

Congratulations on the plan, and good luck. I would use the house as a weekend and holiday home. Getting to know the neighbors, observing the path of the sun, shading, quiet zones, saving plants in a corner, etc. these would be my topics. Planning the new house in parallel, dealing with the development plan and requirements.

and perhaps already try to sell the house "in parts" on the usual classified ad portals?

If it is still habitable, then you could also rent it to the community for a limited period

Offer to the city or municipality as temporary accommodation. Are desperately needed!

Hello everyone,

first of all, thank you very much for your feedback – even if the answers somehow felt a bit off from my question.

Congratulations on the plan, and good success. I would use the house as a weekend and holiday home. Getting to know the neighbors, observing the sun’s path, shading, quiet zones, saving plants in a corner, etc. those would be my topics. Planning the new house in parallel, dealing with the development plan and requirements

Thank you! The tips are good! We already know the neighbors for the most part. We live a few streets away and have had contact several times. We actually already know the development plan inside and out – the parents built in the same planning area a few years ago. In fact, it is not too restrictive so that we would have to break our heads somewhere about how to reconcile the requirements of the development plan with our ideas.

and maybe already try to sell the house "in parts" on the usual classifieds portals?

There is nothing left in the house that would still be worth selling.

If it is still habitable, you could also rent it to the municipality for a limited time

Offer it to the city or municipality as temporary accommodation. They are desperately looking for some!

You would probably have to spend quite a bit of money to bring it into a rentable condition. We do not want to do that given the demolition. We can offer it. In fact, the municipality is not badly positioned at all when it comes to accommodations.