Everything you need to know about renovations and conversions

The most important points

• There are plenty of reasons to carry out renovation and remodeling work
• Successfully planning renovations and conversions
• Securing financing for renovation and restoration work
• Completing restoration or renovation work to increase energy efficiency
• Reducing ancillary costs – by remodeling and renovating
• Adapting your home to your current needs
• Remodeling work maintains and increases value

There are plenty of reasons to carry out renovation and remodeling work

As buildings age, restoration work becomes necessary. If older properties are not maintained and restored, they lose value or suffer damage. Renovations and remodeling work are also necessary, though, because they are required by law in the event of a change of ownership for instance.

Modernizing a family home can also create a cozier feel, increase energy efficiency, and even reduce regular costs. Work might include, for example, retiling the bathroom or even fitting a completely new kitchen. Another reason for conversions and extensions is that families grow, or needs change. Attic conversions or ground-level extensions, for instance, can create additional living space.

Read this article to find out about options for increasing your living space with an extension.

Successfully planning renovations and conversions

Good planning is central to any work on a property and helps to prevent unnecessary costs. An important first step is establishing what you want to remodel or renovate, and how to do that properly. This will involve exploring what kind of specialists you might need and whether building permits will be required for the project. Once the initial plan is in place, you should then fine-tune the details like the visual style and the materials.

Whether you're at the initial planning stage or have moved on to fine-tuning the details, read the article to find out about effective renovation planning.

Care is needed when working on old buildings. There are often strict requirements in place, and you will need to be familiar with them. Further information can be found here.

Securing financing for renovation and restoration work

So now the time has finally come to tackle financing the project. Depending on the property value, existing mortgage, and available equity capital, a cost ceiling is determined for the planned renovation or restoration. Financing options include increasing the mortgage or taking out a second mortgage. Another option is to withdraw capital from your tied pension provision (Pillar 3a). Lastly, it is important to ensure the pleasure you take in your new kitchen or the solar panel system on your roof is not clouded by financial difficulties. To ensure that there is no chance of this happening, read our tips on financing renovation work.

You can also find out about other ways to finance your home. 

Did you know that you can also use pension capital to finance renovations? Find out what options are available to you.

Completing restoration or renovation work to increase energy efficiency

One reason to restore or renovate your home is to increase the comfort of your surroundings. However, this kind of work is also the perfect opportunity to make energy efficiency improvements and do something good for the environment. There are various things you can do, such as replacing an old fossil-fuel heating system with a modern heating system that runs on renewable resources. You could also use solar panels to generate hot water, for instance. New or upgraded thermal insulation will also help alongside these changes. In addition, switching to non-fossil heating systems is increasingly being prescribed by law: Gas and oil heating systems are likely to become increasingly obsolete.

You can find out what type of heating system is suitable for your needs in the article about upgrading your heating system.

Whatever the scenario, you should always undertake a thorough analysis of the property's energy efficiency status before any construction work begins. This could help you to identify thermal bridges and make targeted repairs.

Reducing ancillary costs – by remodeling and renovating

With older houses in particular, renovating energy systems can really pay off. Not just for the sake of the environment, but also from a financial point of view. A modern heating system not only heats more efficiently but is also more cost-effective. If you look at the savings made over the years, investing in greater energy efficiency really pays off, even though the high cost of investment at the start can be off-putting.

It's not just technology that needs to be updated, however. Renovating cold bridges can help to prevent mold and save you unexpected costs.

Adapting your home to your current needs

In addition to bringing financial and energy efficiency benefits, renovations or remodeling work can also help you to adapt your home to meet your personal needs. If you spend a lot of time working from home, for instance, you could extend your living room by adding a conservatory so that you can enjoy more sunlight on winter days. Renovations aimed at improving accessibility to take account of residents' ages and physical health are also a possibility.

You can find out more here.

Remodeling work maintains and increases value

One of the main reasons for renovating your home is to maintain its value. This might take the form of a better-insulated facade, replacing the heating system, or laying a new parquet floor. Individual components of a house must also be replaced regularly. Wooden window frames, for example, last on average 25 to 35 years. A pitched tiled roof can last up to 50 years. Although these measures cost money, they help preserve the value of your property.

Sometimes renovation work even adds value. This is particularly important if you plan to sell the property.