Preliminary note: After quite a bit of browsing—also here in the forum—I know this topic has been touched on before, theoretically discussed, and eventually dismissed with the argument that building a house is never 100% predictable.
I want to try again—and then I guess I have to give up and accept that there are simply things you cannot get for money and good words.
What do I actually want???
I want to plan and have built a single-family house of about 180 square meters (1937 square feet) on an existing, fully serviced plot in Zarrentin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
I want to plan absolutely everything known, everything that can be asked and explored IN ADVANCE, and then have it all done: the house in detail, with floor coverings, painting, kitchen, bathroom, landscaping, and so on—literally everything (except furniture) that belongs to a house. I want to plan and discuss ALL of this, AND THEN, once every detail has really been finalized, hand EVERYTHING over to competent hands (a construction company? a private site manager?? ???) and set off on a world trip.
I want to come back in 6 to 12 months and find the house exactly as planned (not better, but not worse either), receive the keys, pay 100% of all costs at that point (this is not necessarily mandatory; some payments will probably have to be made beforehand or during the build), and then book the moving truck!
That can’t be so impossible!!! Basically, I just want to pay the construction company, a site manager, or someone else for handling what thousands of other homeowners have already “lived through/done” themselves.
Is there really no company offering this?
Any tips or help are very welcome!!!
Thanks & greetings (still) from Hamburg – Carsten
I want to try again—and then I guess I have to give up and accept that there are simply things you cannot get for money and good words.
What do I actually want???
I want to plan and have built a single-family house of about 180 square meters (1937 square feet) on an existing, fully serviced plot in Zarrentin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
I want to plan absolutely everything known, everything that can be asked and explored IN ADVANCE, and then have it all done: the house in detail, with floor coverings, painting, kitchen, bathroom, landscaping, and so on—literally everything (except furniture) that belongs to a house. I want to plan and discuss ALL of this, AND THEN, once every detail has really been finalized, hand EVERYTHING over to competent hands (a construction company? a private site manager?? ???) and set off on a world trip.
I want to come back in 6 to 12 months and find the house exactly as planned (not better, but not worse either), receive the keys, pay 100% of all costs at that point (this is not necessarily mandatory; some payments will probably have to be made beforehand or during the build), and then book the moving truck!
That can’t be so impossible!!! Basically, I just want to pay the construction company, a site manager, or someone else for handling what thousands of other homeowners have already “lived through/done” themselves.
Is there really no company offering this?
Any tips or help are very welcome!!!
Thanks & greetings (still) from Hamburg – Carsten
P
peilerwen3 Jun 2017 08:02Ok – first of all, THANK YOU for the initial responses!
The builder DOES NOT have to cover ALL costs upfront; they should advance all expenses related to the house construction (with 2% interest, this should hardly be a problem for a well-established company for 1-12 months). However, for soil surveys, permits, approvals, and so on, they should handle the work and INFORM me IN ADVANCE about the amount I need to pay: this is my preference (after preliminary discussions, planning, site visits, etc., IN ADVANCE).
- Dear future homeowner, all preliminary applications, surveys, permits, etc., which WE will gladly take care of, cost between €5000 and €7000 (approx. $5300 - $7500). Please transfer this amount by XXX – a fair, honest, and detailed invoice within this range will be provided on the final settlement date.
- The house construction, including everything that was thoroughly discussed and planned with us—such as painting, kitchen, flooring, bathroom fittings, and exterior work—is entirely OUR responsibility; you will pay these costs after the construction is complete, upon handover and acceptance of the keys. By then, there will be no debris left on the property or inside the house; it will be clean and ready for you to move in. Of course, there will also be a detailed and fair final invoice, which GUARANTEES NOT to exceed the previously agreed amount XXX.
- In the meantime, take a vacation, enjoy life – and look forward to the home waiting for you.
It can’t be that complicated – I could almost do this by now, and if this were my professional job with years of experience in the construction industry, it really should be doable….
The builder DOES NOT have to cover ALL costs upfront; they should advance all expenses related to the house construction (with 2% interest, this should hardly be a problem for a well-established company for 1-12 months). However, for soil surveys, permits, approvals, and so on, they should handle the work and INFORM me IN ADVANCE about the amount I need to pay: this is my preference (after preliminary discussions, planning, site visits, etc., IN ADVANCE).
- Dear future homeowner, all preliminary applications, surveys, permits, etc., which WE will gladly take care of, cost between €5000 and €7000 (approx. $5300 - $7500). Please transfer this amount by XXX – a fair, honest, and detailed invoice within this range will be provided on the final settlement date.
- The house construction, including everything that was thoroughly discussed and planned with us—such as painting, kitchen, flooring, bathroom fittings, and exterior work—is entirely OUR responsibility; you will pay these costs after the construction is complete, upon handover and acceptance of the keys. By then, there will be no debris left on the property or inside the house; it will be clean and ready for you to move in. Of course, there will also be a detailed and fair final invoice, which GUARANTEES NOT to exceed the previously agreed amount XXX.
- In the meantime, take a vacation, enjoy life – and look forward to the home waiting for you.
It can’t be that complicated – I could almost do this by now, and if this were my professional job with years of experience in the construction industry, it really should be doable….
S
Steffen803 Jun 2017 08:46If you do it this way, be sure to report back here on how it went.
We built with an architect and carefully planned everything in advance. However, I could still write a book about changes and adjustments made during the construction phase.
We built with an architect and carefully planned everything in advance. However, I could still write a book about changes and adjustments made during the construction phase.
H
HilfeHilfe3 Jun 2017 08:46I think with the complex topic of housebuilding, that’s more wishful thinking… You would probably have to buy a new house that you only need to approve. I must say, we didn’t have that much stress; it was more the stress of selecting finishes and some compromises rather than something not working out. But the developer coordinated everything.
Are you a teacher? No offense, I have some teachers in my family. They tend to be rather argumentative and very precise in their own way… that usually ends badly when tradespeople say, “We’ve always done it this way,” and teachers say, “I ordered it this way and it should be like that.”
Are you a teacher? No offense, I have some teachers in my family. They tend to be rather argumentative and very precise in their own way… that usually ends badly when tradespeople say, “We’ve always done it this way,” and teachers say, “I ordered it this way and it should be like that.”
Hi peilerwen, forget about your wish. We are in a similar situation to you; they simply don’t know how to do it in Germany. It’s even worse in eastern Germany. We really approached this with an almost unlimited budget, gave the construction company all sorts of power of attorney in advance, ordered the so-called worry-free package... but it doesn’t work. You still have to sign and send original (paper) documents, specify countless details exactly, and so on. There might be a theoretical option: Build me exactly this model house we are sitting in right now, precisely and down to the last detail without the smallest change on my plot! Good luck searching... Steffen80 is right.
A general contractor usually coordinates the work on your house but does not directly employ the tradespeople for each specialty. Instead, they hire individual craftsmen or subcontractors. These are the specialists you will communicate with and discuss the details with. There are many things to clarify on site (for example, the position and height of the washbasin and toilet, towel holders, toilet paper holder, the exact tile layout, electrical outlets, etc.). If you inform your house builder of all these details in advance, I wouldn’t rely on everything turning out exactly as you imagine later. Mistakes can happen that you’ll only notice if you regularly visit the construction site and check everything. In our case, for example, the wrong bricks were delivered to the site, which we noticed right before they were installed (no one else would have caught this since they had the same designation), and the bricks could be replaced the next day.
Regards
Sabine
Regards
Sabine
You can hire someone to handle the secondary tasks. Services like this are rare, as homeowners usually want to be involved.
Anyway, decisions will often still need to be made – so who will do that for you? Let’s go back to the first sentence – but it is quite rare to let others make decisions when circumstances suddenly change. In house construction, it is seldom possible to calculate everything exactly in advance because the process takes a long time, involves many trades, and there are numerous ways to implement something.
Best regards in brief
Anyway, decisions will often still need to be made – so who will do that for you? Let’s go back to the first sentence – but it is quite rare to let others make decisions when circumstances suddenly change. In house construction, it is seldom possible to calculate everything exactly in advance because the process takes a long time, involves many trades, and there are numerous ways to implement something.
Best regards in brief
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