ᐅ Project "Home Construction" – Request for Assistance in the Planning Phase
Created on: 12 Jul 2011 11:59
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dismantledD
dismantled12 Jul 2011 11:59Hello dear forum,
I have been reading along here for a while and believe I have already learned quite a bit, which could be very helpful for my family and me with our house building project.
A short introduction: My wife and I are in our mid-30s. We have two children (3 and 5 years old). A third child might still be possible. We live in southern Lower Saxony and want to build within the town if possible.
I would like to get your opinion on our plans. We have already had a few discussions (with an architect, financial advisor) and gathered some information.
Our preference is a solid detached house with a cross gable, no basement, approximately 140–150 sqm (1500–1600 sq ft) of living space. For storage and as a substitute for a basement, a large garage (about 4 m x 9 m (13 ft x 30 ft) – single garage plus storage room) should be directly attached to the house. Several floor-to-ceiling windows, underfloor heating would be nice, and a chimney should also be included. We do not want anything extravagant in terms of equipment. It should be a KfW70 house to qualify for the roughly €50,000 (~$55,000) subsidy.
Room layout:
Ground floor: living room and kitchen, utility room, bathroom with shower, guest room (which could later be used as a master bedroom)
Upper floor: 4 rooms, bathroom
Plot:
We have a plot in mind, but the price expectations are still quite far apart. Alternatively, there should hopefully be a new development area in town soon, where we would likely have a good chance at a plot thanks to a residency and children bonus.
The currently available plot has about a 10% slope away from the street. All utility lines are at the street. Special requirement for the plot: two-story construction is mandatory, so an increased knee wall is needed. According to the local utility company, the connection costs for gas and water would be about €5500 (~$6000). Electricity and telecom will be additional.
A construction expert previously estimated house connection costs at €30,000 (~$33,000) in his posts. What exactly is included in that?
Financial situation:
We have €40,000 (~$44,000) in own funds (plus a reserve of €10,000 (~$11,000) that should really remain for the car, washing machine, and other possible breakdowns). The own funds consist of €25,000 (~$27,000) in cash and €15,000 (~$16,500) in building savings contracts.
We calculated that we can and want to pay a maximum of €900 (~$990) per month. Options for additional payments should of course be agreed upon. The €900 (~$990) is manageable with one income. The second (part-time) income is intended to be used at least partially for extra payments.
Our current calculation looks like this:
Plot including acquisition costs: €65,000 (~$71,000)
House including garage ("turnkey"): €170,000 (~$185,000)
New kitchen: €10,000 (~$11,000)
Garden and related: €5,000 (~$5,500)
Miscellaneous: €5,000 (~$5,500)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total: €255,000 (~$277,000)
- Own funds: €40,000 (~$44,000)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Financing requirement: €215,000 (~$234,000)
The financing requirement currently matches (but only with a maximum 10-year fixed interest period) the €900 (~$990) monthly repayment.
The term "turnkey" means the house should be fully finished, including utility connection costs, flooring, and wallpaper. We can handle the interior partition walls upstairs with lightweight construction ourselves.
We would do flooring and wallpapering work ourselves with the help of various family members, as well as the bathroom finishing (tiling, installing sinks and toilet, shower installation). Garden and paving work will also be done by us; not everything has to be finished by move-in date.
The electrical installation would be done together with a friend who is an electrician, so payment for labor as well as material costs need to be taken into account.
We are aware that the budget is quite tight. But it must also be affordable in the long run – after all, we will be paying it off over the next 40 years.
A friend who is an architect called the €170,000 (~$185,000) for the house "very ambitious." However, he specializes more in high-quality ecological construction.
According to catalog specifications from several solid house manufacturers, it should not be entirely impossible to build for this price.
In principle, I would prefer to build with an architect and structural engineer rather than with a solid house manufacturer – mainly because of construction supervision. But we are not fixed on this.
What do you think? Is it within the realm of possibility or is it completely unrealistic to get our house for this price?
And one more question about financing: The initial assessment of a financial advisor was that it might make more sense to dissolve the building savings contracts and use the funds directly as equity. Originally, we planned to continue saving in the contracts and use them upon maturity (around 2016) for repayment in order to possibly reduce the monthly repayment after around 10 years. What is your assessment? For us, it doesn’t matter about €1,000 (~$1,100) more or less over the entire term – we would rather tighten the belt a bit for a limited time to have more breathing room later. Also, the house should be paid off during our working life – not in 40, but at the latest in 30 years.
How else could the decreasing monthly burden be managed?
I look forward to your answers,
Jens
I have been reading along here for a while and believe I have already learned quite a bit, which could be very helpful for my family and me with our house building project.
A short introduction: My wife and I are in our mid-30s. We have two children (3 and 5 years old). A third child might still be possible. We live in southern Lower Saxony and want to build within the town if possible.
I would like to get your opinion on our plans. We have already had a few discussions (with an architect, financial advisor) and gathered some information.
Our preference is a solid detached house with a cross gable, no basement, approximately 140–150 sqm (1500–1600 sq ft) of living space. For storage and as a substitute for a basement, a large garage (about 4 m x 9 m (13 ft x 30 ft) – single garage plus storage room) should be directly attached to the house. Several floor-to-ceiling windows, underfloor heating would be nice, and a chimney should also be included. We do not want anything extravagant in terms of equipment. It should be a KfW70 house to qualify for the roughly €50,000 (~$55,000) subsidy.
Room layout:
Ground floor: living room and kitchen, utility room, bathroom with shower, guest room (which could later be used as a master bedroom)
Upper floor: 4 rooms, bathroom
Plot:
We have a plot in mind, but the price expectations are still quite far apart. Alternatively, there should hopefully be a new development area in town soon, where we would likely have a good chance at a plot thanks to a residency and children bonus.
The currently available plot has about a 10% slope away from the street. All utility lines are at the street. Special requirement for the plot: two-story construction is mandatory, so an increased knee wall is needed. According to the local utility company, the connection costs for gas and water would be about €5500 (~$6000). Electricity and telecom will be additional.
A construction expert previously estimated house connection costs at €30,000 (~$33,000) in his posts. What exactly is included in that?
Financial situation:
We have €40,000 (~$44,000) in own funds (plus a reserve of €10,000 (~$11,000) that should really remain for the car, washing machine, and other possible breakdowns). The own funds consist of €25,000 (~$27,000) in cash and €15,000 (~$16,500) in building savings contracts.
We calculated that we can and want to pay a maximum of €900 (~$990) per month. Options for additional payments should of course be agreed upon. The €900 (~$990) is manageable with one income. The second (part-time) income is intended to be used at least partially for extra payments.
Our current calculation looks like this:
Plot including acquisition costs: €65,000 (~$71,000)
House including garage ("turnkey"): €170,000 (~$185,000)
New kitchen: €10,000 (~$11,000)
Garden and related: €5,000 (~$5,500)
Miscellaneous: €5,000 (~$5,500)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total: €255,000 (~$277,000)
- Own funds: €40,000 (~$44,000)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Financing requirement: €215,000 (~$234,000)
The financing requirement currently matches (but only with a maximum 10-year fixed interest period) the €900 (~$990) monthly repayment.
The term "turnkey" means the house should be fully finished, including utility connection costs, flooring, and wallpaper. We can handle the interior partition walls upstairs with lightweight construction ourselves.
We would do flooring and wallpapering work ourselves with the help of various family members, as well as the bathroom finishing (tiling, installing sinks and toilet, shower installation). Garden and paving work will also be done by us; not everything has to be finished by move-in date.
The electrical installation would be done together with a friend who is an electrician, so payment for labor as well as material costs need to be taken into account.
We are aware that the budget is quite tight. But it must also be affordable in the long run – after all, we will be paying it off over the next 40 years.
A friend who is an architect called the €170,000 (~$185,000) for the house "very ambitious." However, he specializes more in high-quality ecological construction.
According to catalog specifications from several solid house manufacturers, it should not be entirely impossible to build for this price.
In principle, I would prefer to build with an architect and structural engineer rather than with a solid house manufacturer – mainly because of construction supervision. But we are not fixed on this.
What do you think? Is it within the realm of possibility or is it completely unrealistic to get our house for this price?
And one more question about financing: The initial assessment of a financial advisor was that it might make more sense to dissolve the building savings contracts and use the funds directly as equity. Originally, we planned to continue saving in the contracts and use them upon maturity (around 2016) for repayment in order to possibly reduce the monthly repayment after around 10 years. What is your assessment? For us, it doesn’t matter about €1,000 (~$1,100) more or less over the entire term – we would rather tighten the belt a bit for a limited time to have more breathing room later. Also, the house should be paid off during our working life – not in 40, but at the latest in 30 years.
How else could the decreasing monthly burden be managed?
I look forward to your answers,
Jens
A
Alfredlima12 Jul 2011 12:20You have put together a very interesting list. Here’s a small tip from a former homeowner! About 20% of the planned budget should be added as a safety margin. You always end up needing more money than you initially planned. Maybe you want different tiles or 5 extra electrical outlets, etc. Unfortunately, all of that costs money and almost caused us to...
D
dismantled15 Jul 2011 11:49Thank you for the response. However, we will have to strictly adhere to our specifications to avoid exceeding our budget. We definitely do not want to factor in an additional 30,000 euros. For emergencies, we have 10,000 euros of free capital in the savings account. Ideally, we would stay below the budget during planning and still have some room left for special requests and unforeseen issues. However, there likely won't be much flexibility.
I will take a very close look at the electrical work beforehand and carefully estimate the costs. I know how expensive sockets and network outlets can be...
@Bauexperte: Could you provide some information about the utility connection costs? How does that add up to 30,000 euros? Could that possibly include site development?
I will take a very close look at the electrical work beforehand and carefully estimate the costs. I know how expensive sockets and network outlets can be...
@Bauexperte: Could you provide some information about the utility connection costs? How does that add up to 30,000 euros? Could that possibly include site development?
B
Bauexperte15 Jul 2011 20:34Hello Jens,
Then you can forget about 170,000 euros; a single-story house is around 185,000 euros, a two-story accordingly more.
It is advisable to stick to the standard modular sizes of prefab garage manufacturers. Changes in the garage depth up to a maximum of 10.0 m (33 ft) are not a big problem – of course, it costs more, but anything over 3.00 m (10 ft) in width requires permits, night transports, etc. – so it gets expensive. A prefab garage of 3 x 9 m (10 ft x 30 ft) including a tool room and door to the garden costs about €7,200, while a 4 x 9 m (13 ft x 30 ft) prefab garage costs around 80% more – at that price, it makes more sense to build a masonry garage.
That adds another 5,000–13,000 euros depending on the heat pump you prefer – assuming KfW 70 masonry construction.
I fully agree with the architect – given what you have in mind, the budget is too tight. Even if you want to do a lot of the work yourself, the materials still have to be paid for. Also, it is usually not realistic to plan too much time for self-performance, not to mention the necessary knowledge required.
I know there are many providers who will tell you your budget is enough. Do yourself a favor – if you don’t want to believe me, believe your architect friend: your budget is not sufficient for a building project of this type. If your plot is on a slope, additional costs for earthworks will apply, which are not yet included in the 30,000–35,000 euros secondary costs.
Best regards
dismantled schrieb:
Our desired house is a solid detached single-family home with a cross gable, no basement, and about 140/150 sqm (1500/1600 sq ft) of living space.
Then you can forget about 170,000 euros; a single-story house is around 185,000 euros, a two-story accordingly more.
dismantled schrieb:
For storage and as a basement replacement, a large garage (approx. 4 m x 9 m (13 ft x 30 ft) – single garage plus storage room) should be directly attached to the house.
It is advisable to stick to the standard modular sizes of prefab garage manufacturers. Changes in the garage depth up to a maximum of 10.0 m (33 ft) are not a big problem – of course, it costs more, but anything over 3.00 m (10 ft) in width requires permits, night transports, etc. – so it gets expensive. A prefab garage of 3 x 9 m (10 ft x 30 ft) including a tool room and door to the garden costs about €7,200, while a 4 x 9 m (13 ft x 30 ft) prefab garage costs around 80% more – at that price, it makes more sense to build a masonry garage.
dismantled schrieb:
It should be a KfW70 house to be eligible for around €50,000 in subsidies.
That adds another 5,000–13,000 euros depending on the heat pump you prefer – assuming KfW 70 masonry construction.
dismantled schrieb:
A friend who is an architect called the 170,000 euros for the house "very optimistic." However, he specializes more in high-end ecological construction. According to catalog information from some solid house providers, it shouldn’t be entirely impossible to build at that price.
I fully agree with the architect – given what you have in mind, the budget is too tight. Even if you want to do a lot of the work yourself, the materials still have to be paid for. Also, it is usually not realistic to plan too much time for self-performance, not to mention the necessary knowledge required.
I know there are many providers who will tell you your budget is enough. Do yourself a favor – if you don’t want to believe me, believe your architect friend: your budget is not sufficient for a building project of this type. If your plot is on a slope, additional costs for earthworks will apply, which are not yet included in the 30,000–35,000 euros secondary costs.
Best regards
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