Hello dear forum community,
I am new here and wanted to ask (or read about) your experiences with building a prefabricated house.
I am currently starting to get frustrated. I am building a 143 sqm (1539 sq ft) house with Bien-Zenker (actually the somewhat cheaper option through their subsidiary Living Haus).
My planning is already quite advanced, but the prices they charge for features (which aren’t really features) are astronomical.
Here is a small example to give you an idea whether this is just rip-off or if it’s realistic.
I plan to have about 12 windows in my house (triple-glazed, energy standard KfW 55). Since I would like anthracite-colored windows, the builder wants to charge a surcharge of €3,500 (about $3,700) for that, which is around €300 ($320) per window. From my research and discussions with window suppliers, they usually ask for about €50–100 ($55–110) extra for this. Also, I would like to have reed switches (for smart home integration) installed in the windows. These are not really expensive, so I would accept a surcharge of around €50 ($55) per window sash. However, apparently none of the builder’s suppliers (I believe they have 4-5 listed) offer reed switches, so the builder himself would install the reed switch but wants a whopping €150 ($160) per window sash for it. Isn’t that just price gouging? Adding both these "extras" results in an additional cost of about €450 ($480) per window.
Have you had similar experiences?
What would you advise me?
Thank you very much for any tips.
Best regards
I am new here and wanted to ask (or read about) your experiences with building a prefabricated house.
I am currently starting to get frustrated. I am building a 143 sqm (1539 sq ft) house with Bien-Zenker (actually the somewhat cheaper option through their subsidiary Living Haus).
My planning is already quite advanced, but the prices they charge for features (which aren’t really features) are astronomical.
Here is a small example to give you an idea whether this is just rip-off or if it’s realistic.
I plan to have about 12 windows in my house (triple-glazed, energy standard KfW 55). Since I would like anthracite-colored windows, the builder wants to charge a surcharge of €3,500 (about $3,700) for that, which is around €300 ($320) per window. From my research and discussions with window suppliers, they usually ask for about €50–100 ($55–110) extra for this. Also, I would like to have reed switches (for smart home integration) installed in the windows. These are not really expensive, so I would accept a surcharge of around €50 ($55) per window sash. However, apparently none of the builder’s suppliers (I believe they have 4-5 listed) offer reed switches, so the builder himself would install the reed switch but wants a whopping €150 ($160) per window sash for it. Isn’t that just price gouging? Adding both these "extras" results in an additional cost of about €450 ($480) per window.
Have you had similar experiences?
What would you advise me?
Thank you very much for any tips.
Best regards
S
smartbuilder8 May 2017 10:19Hello Nordlys,
I will have to do that, as retrofitting windows just for the color is unfortunately not very practical. For all other features like reed switches, I already have a good alternative that will cost me about 50 € per window.
Furthermore, I will try to paint the front door myself and have it installed by my supplier at the same time as the house is being built. I’m curious to see if the builder will agree to that.
I will have to do that, as retrofitting windows just for the color is unfortunately not very practical. For all other features like reed switches, I already have a good alternative that will cost me about 50 € per window.
Furthermore, I will try to paint the front door myself and have it installed by my supplier at the same time as the house is being built. I’m curious to see if the builder will agree to that.
S
Steffen808 May 2017 10:27Sounds quite "normal" to me. When we were talking to different companies back then, we also got such "extra charge" prices. For example, they wanted 8,000 EUR (just for the chimney!!!) for a second chimney.
Fortunately, we found a good architect quite quickly. We are building at a high cost, but we also receive the corresponding quality for it. And that is exactly the difference.
Fortunately, we found a good architect quite quickly. We are building at a high cost, but we also receive the corresponding quality for it. And that is exactly the difference.
C
Caspar20208 May 2017 10:40smartbuilder schrieb:
Since supposedly not a single supplier from the developer (I believe they have 4-5 listed) offers a reed switch, the developer himself would install a reed switch but wants a whopping €150 (about $160) per window sash for it. Isn’t that extortionate?Well, every provider has their own strategy for their price segment. In particular, suppliers offering a cheaper base price are known to increase their margin later on. In other words, the more you add from the extras list, the higher the provider’s profit margin on the house.
And yes, the provider also tries to keep the number of suppliers in the range as low as possible. The more they sell of the same model, the greater the discounts.
It also simplifies handling in the factory hall as well as logistics.
smartbuilder schrieb:
I’ll have to do that; retrofitting windows isn’t really practical if it’s only about the colorIt’s just a foil finish anyway, right?
S
smartbuilder8 May 2017 10:55@Steffen80
We probably approached this a bit too naively. As non-experts, we don’t think about every little detail. Today, I would handle it very differently.
@Caspar2020
That’s true, I didn’t question it, but I strongly assume it’s laminated. Therefore, I could have it laminated in the future. I wonder how much something like that would cost?
We probably approached this a bit too naively. As non-experts, we don’t think about every little detail. Today, I would handle it very differently.
@Caspar2020
That’s true, I didn’t question it, but I strongly assume it’s laminated. Therefore, I could have it laminated in the future. I wonder how much something like that would cost?
There are reasons why people choose to build directly with the smaller sister company or with Bien-Zenker. The price is shown at the bottom right!
If you want this and that on top of that – why not go straight to Bien-Zenker? They probably include multiple color options.
Exactly!
If you want this and that on top of that – why not go straight to Bien-Zenker? They probably include multiple color options.
77.willo schrieb:
I wouldn’t get upset about it but just accept it. And 3,500k in relation to the house price doesn’t really matter in the end, right?
Exactly!
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