A family home can destroy you physically and financially. Sometimes selling is better

Someone simply gets rid of the worries, sells the house and uses the money elsewhere. However, any other decision should begin with a responsible assessment of the state of the house. And then by carefully considering all other conditions and possibilities.

1.Sell

Did you inherit a house in the village where your grandmother came from, but you live in the city, you don't want to move back, and you don't have the desire or energy to spend your weekends at home? Then selling is the best option.

Dampness in the basement

Otherwise, you have to take care of another property, which costs not only time but also money for maintenance. The solution is to sell the house as it is with as few additional costs as possible.

These are simple tips, but the situation can be more complicated, as in the following practical example.

Example: The owner of a small, unmaintained house on a large plot of land is considering whether it is worthwhile for him to rebuild the house and sell the new one. In that case, I recommend selling the property as is. The new owner will demolish the old structure and build a new house according to his ideas.

2. Demolish and build a new one

In some cases, any other solution than demolishing the old house would be unreasonable. The main factors are:

• Disturbed statics of the house The house has significant cracks in the walls or sunken ceilings, repairs would mean demolishing almost the entire house. I recommend leaving the assessment to an expert, preferably an authorized structural engineer.

• High soil moistureThe house is damp up to the height of the floor or is on a slope from which it gets damp. Here, it is worth considering whether dehumidification and waterproofing are worth it, because you will spend hundreds of thousands of crowns extra.

• The house is too smallSuddenly you find that you are actually building a new house, on which you are trying to follow the original structures. Connecting and saving the remains of the walls is very laborious and therefore expensive. Then it will be better to tear down the house and build again.

The crack between the house and the extension

Example: Grandma's one-story house has two rooms. But for the family, the grandson needs to add a staircase, a bathroom and raise the house by one floor. This practically quadruples the building. Instead of painstakingly connecting structures, it is better to build the whole house again.

• The house has low roomsLiving rooms on the ground floor of a family house must be at least 2.5 meters high. We come across houses that have a room height of 2.2 meters, but that is not enough and an increase is usually impossible.

• The house has an impractical layout of roomsThey are mainly walk-through rooms, which will greatly worsen the use of space in the house, because some rooms then function as a corridor. During the reconstruction, you can demolish the walls, but I have also come across cases where almost nothing would be left of the house after the demolishing of the walls. Again, it will be better to build the whole house again.

3.Renovate

The spirit of the place and memories are the most common reasons why owners decide to renovate an inherited house. But you will also find more pragmatic reasons, for example permanent rental income.

Renovating a family home that you already own has a big advantage in that you don't pay for the purchase of the property itself. People who buy an older house often run out of money for renovations. So when to reconstruct?

• The house needs only a minimal investmentThis applies to buildings that are continuously maintained, for example the house left by parents. The costs of the reconstruction can vary between 500 thousand and one million crowns.

Example: A well-maintained house from the 1970s had a 10-year-old roof, recently installed internal wiring, and no internal layout needed to be changed. It was enough to replace the windows, floors, kitchen unit, insulate the house and it will serve well for decades to come.

• The house is not worth demolishingThe house stands on such a small lot that if you were to demolish it, it would be impossible to rebuild such a large house due to regulations. A family house can occupy a maximum of 30% of the plot area.

Example: The land has an area of ​​250 m² and a house with a built-up area of ​​100 m² stands on it. According to the regulations, the new building could only have an area of ​​75 m², so you will lose 25 m².

• The house is listed as a monument In such a situation, there is only a small chance that the preservationists will allow the house to be demolished, so reconstruction will be necessary. It depends on the level of protection, you can find it registered in the real estate cadastre.

• The house needs total reconstructionThis is the most common situation, the house has not been cared for for a long time, it has no serious structural defects, it is just big enough for one family. It needs a complete renovation, the cost is usually around 2 to 3 million.

Money or feelings?

Usually, reconstruction is about as expensive as new construction, but the increased labor can make it disproportionately expensive. That is why I recommend that you have the condition of the house assessed by an expert before the work begins and have an estimate of how much money you will need to be able to live comfortably in it. Even if it seems that there are more options, in the end the emotional connection to the house usually wins and demolition rarely happens.

Old houses in the cores of cities and villages are falling into disrepair as their owners move to new buildings outside the city to be closer to nature. Thus, the fields and meadows are stopped and the wishes of the residents of the new neighborhoods will not be fulfilled anyway, because nature will disappear from the immediate surroundings.

Therefore, if you own an older uninhabited house, first think about whether you would be able to use the place on which it stands and, if not, whether the house could be sold to serve someone else.