Woman Buys House, Years Later Finds 'Extra Room' Which Isn't on the Plans

Newsweek

28-04-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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A homeowner is reeling from the discovery of a hidden room found 13 years after they first purchased the property.
When Laura Kohler and her husband first moved into their home in Munich, Germany, she had no idea of the secret lurking within its foundations.
It was until some recent essential construction work that the truth was revealed.
"We had to redo our front stairs as they became a safety hazard as ants were eating away the mortar," Kohler told Newsweek. "When they were removing the stairs, the construction workers discovered that they were not a solid block as expected, but a floating piece of concrete. Under the stairs, and behind them under our front hallway, was an empty space."
The secret room uncovered in a Munich home.
The secret room uncovered in a Munich home.
Laura Kohler
Measuring around 5 feet by 13 feet, the discovery of the small space had everyone baffled.
"The architect we work with for renovations has no idea what it could've been for," Kohler said. "Nothing was in it aside from used planks. It's also not on the original house plans submitted to the city."
The man who built the house had passed away in 2012, most likely taking the reasons for building this secret room with him.
Kohler has her own ideas as to why it came into existence. "My theory is that it's there because he originally had plans for it but then discovered that there was no easy way to access it without putting in a new door and support beams from the basement," she said.
Whatever plans the previous owner had, Kohler and her husband already have an idea of how to make good use of the space, once it has been properly insulated. "We will be using it as a utility room, freeing up some space in the room we're planning to make into a third bathroom," she said.
The discovery of the extra room is definitely a cause for celebration with Kohler estimating it could add as much as €66,000 ($75,000 USD roughly) to the value of the house, given the demand for property in Munich. "The cost per square meter in our part of Munich is about €11,300 ($12,800 roughly)," she said.
Studies have shown that additions of this kind can increase the value of a property. According to real estate company OpenDoor, renovating a basement space can boost the value of a home by $22,000, while adding another bedroom can boost sale value by around $20,000.
What makes the uncovering of the secret room extra special for Kohler is that she had a premonition about it.
"I literally dreamt there was an extra room in our basement for several months before and told my husband about it, thankfully, so we were both pretty shocked when we actually found one," she said.
Laura Kohler's contractor has opened up the secret space from the outside.
Laura Kohler's contractor has opened up the secret space from the outside.
Laura Kohler
Kohler said in one of the dreams, their architect found "an extra room under our basement" while, even stranger still, in another, she dreamt "he found a room under the bird clock in the hallway," which is where the space ended up being found.
Not that the dreams themselves were all that pleasant. In fact, Kohler is taking no chances. "The dreams always had something sinister about them, though, so I will be cleansing the space with the help of a friend before we use it," Kohler said.