Flat roof, floor-to-ceiling windows, clean design, wood or concrete and preferably in bungalow form and definitely not multi-storey. To name just a few of the criteria that would have been important to us for our own house, had we actually found a suitable plot of land. Clearly team new building and not team old building. Well, everything turned out differently. As Felix put it so beautifully in his last post ( here ): In the end, maybe we hadn't found what we were looking for, but maybe what we really wanted?
And then everything changed
Because here we are now. In our townhouse in Lüneburg. With a gable roof, plastic windows, a red brick facade, multi-storey and anything but clean design. But that's exactly what feels right to us. Head off, gut feeling on! How lapidary I like to throw around the saying "the journey is the destination", as it has often been true for me in the past. Let's be honest: you can plan things as much as you like, but usually things turn out differently anyway. And what's the point if your gut feeling doesn't feel right about certain plans, such as a new build? Our gut feeling at our first viewing of our future house was 100% right, we just needed to convince our head. And that made me wonder: are we perhaps more of the old building team than the new building team as we originally thought?
Just look
I remember the viewing appointment all too clearly. It was a warm summer's day when we set off for Lüneburg to look at a property that we actually had no interest in. At the time, we still thought that we were definitely part of the new build team if we were going to spend the money. Felix had only made the appointment so that we could get a general feel for such estate agent appointments. After all, we didn't know whether viewing appointments for apartments and houses were the same. And a little bit of feeling out for further appointments could have been an advantage.
Phew, when I think back to the advert on ImmoScout, I still shudder. It wasn't beautiful. Only the staircase exuded a certain magic in the pictures. Accordingly, we didn't have great hopes that the house would be something for us. But nonetheless, we sat in the car on the day in question with mixed feelings.
This butterflies in your stomach
I can't say exactly where the feeling came from, but it had already crept in before we got to the house. This feeling that the charm of a townhouse could quickly captivate me. Maybe you know the scene from Sex and the City where Miranda and her family move into a house in Brooklyn. For some reason, our house immediately reminded me of the exact house from the film.
But Team Altbau?
As soon as we parked in front of the door (luxury!), I knew I had to delete the advert from my mind, as the house in real life had nothing to do with it. The beautiful old staircase, high ceilings and bright rooms radiated a warmth from the start that I hadn't expected. By the time I got to the top floor, I was completely hooked and knew: This is it! That might sound a bit cheesy to you, but I just saw us there. Momo racing through the house, us celebrating Christmas there together, kids running around the house at some point, and so on. I immediately had a clear picture in my mind and could say for myself how I would redesign the house. That's an important factor for me: If I can't immediately imagine what the apartment/house should look like, I know it's not the right one.
What does Felix think?
It's all well and good that this house won my heart so quickly, but what was Felix thinking? During the viewing he didn't bat an eyelid and just listed everything that needed to be done. Enthusiasm looked different. So I tried not to freak out with joy and put on my poker face. Easier said than done. Because when I really like something, I can hardly contain my enthusiasm. But Felix refused to listen to any feedback while the estate agent was standing nearby. And so his last sentence before we set off back was: "It's nice, but a lot still needs to be put into it. We'll get in touch!" Wow! Pure enthusiasm sounds different.
Catch it?
We didn't say anything for the first minute in the car. It felt like everyone had to let it sink in that the appointment had gone completely differently than they had originally expected. In addition to the euphoria I felt during the viewing, there were of course a few things that I would have liked to have done differently and that went through my head. How bad do I think it is that the garden faces east? Does it bother me that it's a semi-detached house? Things that I can only smile about now. But of course, if you're going to spend money, you should consider all aspects and see how many and what compromises you're willing to make. So was it perhaps just the magic that can happen when you view an apartment or was it serious interest?
Relief!
And then Felix burst out. The same things that immediately grabbed my attention also excited him. Phew! He recognized the potential in this old beauty just as quickly as I did. But apart from the fact that we were both captivated by the magic of an old house, we also looked intensively at the negative aspects of the house. Because, as already described at the beginning, we actually had a completely different picture in our heads. So we asked ourselves the question: would it be possible to give such an old house a clean look? This question swirled around in our heads for a long time and we thought back and forth about how we would change something if it were our house. One thing was immediately clear: if we actually decided on this house, we would want to do a few things differently. Among other things, change the floor plan by removing walls and installing steel beams to create a more open look. Install new wooden windows, work on the heating issue and so on. You can see that we looked very intensively at the house very quickly.
A second opinion was needed
As much as our gut feeling had already led us in one direction, we naturally wanted to get another opinion. When it comes to renovations, you can often experience some pretty nasty surprises. We were all the more pleased that Felix's parents, who are both architects, made their way to Lüneburg to take a closer look at the old lady. When we visited again, I quickly realized where Felix got his poker face from: neither of them batted an eyelid during the viewing appointment and, just like Felix, listed the points that needed to be improved. And I'll tell you one thing: the list was long! But what can I say: it was pure tactics that absolutely paid off. As soon as we left the house, they said that it was a gem, but that it still needed a lot of love to restore it to its former glory. But by then it had already captured our hearts and we were certain that it would get all the love it needed.
Go crazy once, please!
That was exactly when the time began that felt like it was driving me crazy. We made an offer and had to wait for the answer. Waiting. Something I'm only partially good at. You can certainly still remember when you viewed your apartment, really wanted it and were waiting for information about whether you'd been accepted or not. I would compare the feeling to heartbreak. You're constantly staring at your cell phone and checking whether you really have the volume on loud and you're not going to miss a call. Your imagination runs wild and you always think back to the viewing. And then the punch in the stomach: the offer was rejected. I suffered. Now you have to realize that we were already gambling with our first offer. Another thing I'm only partially good at. What would be the last price we would pay? Felix and I discussed this question back and forth for a long time. So we made another offer, which was rejected again after a few days of waiting. Yes, heartbreak hurt. How much was this gem worth to us and what can we really afford with the renovation costs that come on top? With a final offer in hand, it was time to wait again. This time the wait for a response dragged on much longer than the two times before. Was that a good or a bad sign? I was constantly on edge and asked Felix what felt like 30 times a day whether the estate agent had contacted me yet.
Is this really happening?
And then the day came. We were sitting at the breakfast table and the estate agent called. The conversation lasted a minute. I had no appetite left. Felix looked at me and said: They accepted the offer. Tears in his eyes, absolutely freaking out, screaming, jumping around, kissing. Then Felix put on his poker face, called the estate agent back and said in a deadpan tone: We'll take it!
Old lady, you will shine in new splendor!
