Leaving Germany? How One Family Renovated Their House Before Moving Abroad

The flights to Lisbon were booked for June 1st. The shipping container was reserved. The kids had already picked the beach they wanted to see first. And then the roofer climbed down from the attic with bad news.

For Katrin and Jonas Becker, the plan had been simple: sell the family home outside Hanover, move to Portugal’s Silver Coast with their two children, and start the slower life they had talked about for years. What they had not planned for was the house itself. Twenty-two years of German weather, a bathroom last updated in the 1990s, and hallway walls the kids had treated as a sketchbook all needed attention before any buyer would take the place seriously.

If you are planning to leave Germany, or any country where you own a home, their story is a useful reality check. Here is how the Beckers pulled off a full pre-departure renovation in under a year, what they would do differently, and a timeline you can borrow for your own move.

Why You Can’t Just Lock the Door and Leave

A lot of people moving abroad assume the house can wait. It usually can’t. Whether you sell or rent it out, the condition of the property decides how fast it moves and at what price.

German buyers are famously thorough. A damp ceiling, an aging heating system, or a tired roof will show up in every viewing and every survey, and each one becomes a bargaining chip. Renting out a house that needs work is not much easier. Once you are living abroad, every repair has to be organized remotely, often in a hurry and at a premium.

There is also paperwork. When you sell or rent out a home in Germany, you have to show prospective buyers or tenants an energy performance certificate, known as the Energieausweis. A poor rating does not stop a sale, but it tells buyers exactly how expensive the house will be to heat, and they will price that in.

The Beckers learned all of this in one afternoon.

The Wake-Up Call: A Roof That Couldn’t Wait

It started with a brownish stain on the ceiling of their son’s bedroom. Jonas assumed a few cracked tiles and booked someone to take a look. The verdict was much worse: the underlayment had turned brittle, several roof battens were rotting, and the flashing around the chimney had failed. Patching it would buy a year or two. Buyers, their real estate agent warned, would not be fooled.

“She told us every buyer would send a surveyor up there, and every surveyor would find it,” Katrin remembers. “The discount they’d ask for would be bigger than the cost of just fixing it.”

So the decision was made: a full roof renewal, eight months before departure. The harder part was finding someone to do it. Roofers in Germany are often booked months ahead, especially from spring through fall, and the first two companies Katrin called never phoned back.

In the end she used Next-Fix, a German platform that matches homeowners with vetted local tradespeople, to compare quotes from roofers in the Hanover area. Within a few days she had several offers side by side, picked a mid-priced company with strong references, and locked in a start date for early spring.

Tip: If your roof needs work, book it first. It is weather-dependent, it takes the longest to schedule, and scaffolding has to come down before painters and photographers can do their jobs.

Energy Efficiency: The Rating That Shapes Your Price

With the roof sorted, the Beckers tackled the next thing buyers would scrutinize: energy performance. Their house was built in the late 1990s, and its heating bills showed it.

Instead of guessing which upgrades were worth it, they brought in an independent energy consultant. The consultant issued the required certificate and, more importantly, walked them through which improvements would actually move the needle within their timeline and budget.

A full heating replacement was out of the question with only months to go. But insulating the top-floor ceiling was quick, affordable, and made a visible difference on paper. Combined with the new roof, it gave buyers a far more convincing story than “we planned to get around to it.”

Tip: Ask your consultant to separate “must do before listing” from “nice to have.” When you are leaving the country, only the first list matters.

Fresh Paint and Small Fixes, Big Payoff

Once the scaffolding came down, the cosmetic work began. The Beckers resisted the urge to do a full bathroom remodel. Instead, they re-grouted the tiles, replaced the fixtures and the old mirror cabinet, and added brighter lighting. The room went from “needs renovation” to “clean and dated,” which is a very different conversation with a buyer.

Every room got a fresh coat of neutral white paint, including the famous hallway gallery of crayon drawings (which Katrin photographed first, for the family album). Squeaky doors were adjusted, a cracked window pane was replaced, and the garden got a serious cleanup.

None of it was glamorous. All of it showed up in the listing photos.

Clearing Out 22 Years of Family Life

International moves are priced by volume, and a shipping container fills up faster than you think. The Beckers set a strict rule: if they had not used something in a year, and it had no sentimental value, it stayed in Germany.

They sold furniture online, donated clothes and toys, and gave the kids a “one box of treasures each” allowance. But after weeks of weekend sorting, the basement and garage were still full. With six weeks to go, they hired a professional clear-out service to empty what was left in a single day.

“That was the best money we spent all year,” Jonas says. “We got our weekends back, and we could finally see the house the way a buyer would.”

Your 12-Month Renovation Timeline Before Moving Abroad

Based on the Beckers’ experience, here is a realistic countdown if you own a home you plan to sell or rent out before emigrating.

12 months out: Decide whether you will sell or rent. Get a professional inspection and an agent’s honest opinion on what buyers or tenants will object to.

9 to 10 months out: Book the big jobs first: roof, heating, windows, anything structural or weather-dependent. Get multiple quotes, since availability varies wildly between companies.

6 to 8 months out: Bring in an energy consultant, get your energy certificate, and handle the quick efficiency wins.

3 to 5 months out: Cosmetic work: painting, bathroom and kitchen refreshes, small repairs, garden cleanup.

1 to 2 months out: Declutter, sell, donate, and book a clear-out service for the rest. Schedule professional listing photos once the house is empty and clean.

Final weeks: Deep clean, hand over keys to your agent or property manager, and collect every invoice and warranty in one folder.

What the Beckers Would Do Differently

Looking back from their new home in Portugal, the Beckers have three pieces of advice.

Start earlier than you think. Twelve months felt generous at first. With tradespeople booked out and weather delays, it was barely enough.

Keep a buffer. Their final renovation bill came in noticeably over their original estimate, mostly because of the roof surprises. Plan for extra room in your budget.

Have someone local. A trusted neighbor or property manager who can let tradespeople in, check on the house, and sign for deliveries is priceless once you are gone.

Now for the Part You’ve Been Waiting For

The Beckers’ house sold two months after they left, close to their asking price. The roof, the energy upgrades, and the empty, freshly painted rooms all came up in the buyer’s feedback.

As for the family, they spent their first two weeks in Portugal in a hotel near the coast while they waited for their container and the keys to their rental. The kids got their beach on day one.

If you are counting down to your own move, find a comfortable base for your first weeks abroad so you can land, breathe, and start the adventure you worked so hard for.