Hello everyone,
My wife, my daughter, and I are looking to build our own home (single-family house). We might have a second child in the future. The house will be built in the postal code area 77XXX. Since I have a very time-consuming job and I’m not very skilled with DIY work, I want to have the whole project delivered as move-in ready as possible, without too much coordination effort. What is the best way to achieve this?
Our requirements:
- 5 rooms with two bathrooms that have showers (children’s bathroom)
- This summer showed me that I don’t want to build a house without cooling. I’m open regarding the cooling concept, but I have heard good things about heat pumps including a cooling function plus a photovoltaic system. What are sensible options? Underfloor heating / wall heating / ceiling cooling?
- A complicated/individual ground floor layout because I want to integrate a home cinema (my hobby) into the living room. Cooperation with the home cinema installer will also be necessary. If anyone has experience with how to manage this, I would appreciate any advice.
- Lighting and roller shutters should be smart. Here the question arises whether to go for retrofit solutions (Philips Hue) or a bus system like KNX combined with home automation such as RTI or Control4?
- No specific requirements regarding the exterior design. I would also consider a mono-pitched roof to install a full photovoltaic system facing south and keep the rest of the building simple, square, and practical.
- Avoid sloped ceilings upstairs, which also speaks in favor of a mono-pitched or hipped roof (urban villa style).
How should all this be financed?
He: net income 5,500 € (tendency rising)
She: net income 800 € (we don’t count on this, since a second child might be coming)
Equity: 30,000 € saved within one year. Within the next few years, there might also be an inheritance of 250,000 €. I would consider buying a suitable plot now even without much equity and use the remaining money/inheritance for additional loan repayments. What do you think about that?
Best regards!
My wife, my daughter, and I are looking to build our own home (single-family house). We might have a second child in the future. The house will be built in the postal code area 77XXX. Since I have a very time-consuming job and I’m not very skilled with DIY work, I want to have the whole project delivered as move-in ready as possible, without too much coordination effort. What is the best way to achieve this?
Our requirements:
- 5 rooms with two bathrooms that have showers (children’s bathroom)
- This summer showed me that I don’t want to build a house without cooling. I’m open regarding the cooling concept, but I have heard good things about heat pumps including a cooling function plus a photovoltaic system. What are sensible options? Underfloor heating / wall heating / ceiling cooling?
- A complicated/individual ground floor layout because I want to integrate a home cinema (my hobby) into the living room. Cooperation with the home cinema installer will also be necessary. If anyone has experience with how to manage this, I would appreciate any advice.
- Lighting and roller shutters should be smart. Here the question arises whether to go for retrofit solutions (Philips Hue) or a bus system like KNX combined with home automation such as RTI or Control4?
- No specific requirements regarding the exterior design. I would also consider a mono-pitched roof to install a full photovoltaic system facing south and keep the rest of the building simple, square, and practical.
- Avoid sloped ceilings upstairs, which also speaks in favor of a mono-pitched or hipped roof (urban villa style).
How should all this be financed?
He: net income 5,500 € (tendency rising)
She: net income 800 € (we don’t count on this, since a second child might be coming)
Equity: 30,000 € saved within one year. Within the next few years, there might also be an inheritance of 250,000 €. I would consider buying a suitable plot now even without much equity and use the remaining money/inheritance for additional loan repayments. What do you think about that?
Best regards!
So, here is the current status:
- A meeting with the landlords showed that they want to build themselves, but the plot of land is not 100% secured yet. If we or the landlords are already involved in a construction project in August 2019 and still need time until the end of 2019, the landlords will move into a holiday apartment.
So, we are continuing full speed ahead:
We have currently kept all options open:
Buying: There are possibilities, but none of them really match what we want. We have looked at several options, and so far, it’s not really an option and just as expensive as building.
Renting: So far, we haven’t found anything. Just paying for moving into a rental apartment alone feels like burning money. We really want to avoid that.
Building: We have gone through the usual suspected prefab house providers. Their delivery times are currently pretty good; it mostly depends on the authorities regarding building permits/planning permission, etc. Some of them had available plots of land. These plots all have significant disadvantages (slope, main road, north-facing orientation, etc.) and are also very expensive. So prefab builders are pretty much out—unless they bring a suitable plot.
Now there is a developer who has a plot that might suit us. It also has disadvantages, but these would be acceptable for us.
Plot advantages:
- Flat 500m² (5400 sq ft) next to a stream at the forest edge (nature reserve, with a single-family house next door on the other side)
- South-facing orientation
- Small town center within walking distance
- Primary school within walking distance
- Close to the workplace
Plot disadvantages:
- I have to build a solid (masonry) house with the developer
- The plot is rock underneath the topsoil; for a basement, blasting would be required
- The stream is very small and has no history of flooding, but you never know
- Sunlight is limited at low sun positions in spring/autumn because the slope rises to the south
- No significant view
So, the basement would be excluded, but instead, there could be a slightly larger house or storage space in an extra-long garage. The developer’s price including plot, turnkey house, terrace, and landscaping is about €500,000 (approx. $550,000). Additional costs for purchasing the plot, etc., are estimated at €50,000 (approx. $55,000). Compared to a prefab house for the same price, the house would be rather less well equipped. We submitted a list of special requests to get an idea of price/performance. Next week there will be an appointment to make a rough plan and then hopefully receive an offer based on that plan and the special requests. Financing at least €600,000 (approx. $660,000) is possible with a bank. I will work out the details with a concrete offer later.
So these are our current plans that most here tend to criticize. I calculate diligently back and forth and still don’t see where I could make such a huge mistake. A reasonably solid house should at least retain its value. That puts me in a better position than renting. Plus, I have the benefits of home ownership and can calmly see if a better plot opportunity comes up. It’s clear to me that I won’t be very bored in 2019, but I’m resilient.
To everyone who says I’m making a huge mistake: Please explain specifically what could happen to me. At the moment, I just don’t see such a big risk if I carefully examine the developer and the plot beforehand.
Best regards!
- A meeting with the landlords showed that they want to build themselves, but the plot of land is not 100% secured yet. If we or the landlords are already involved in a construction project in August 2019 and still need time until the end of 2019, the landlords will move into a holiday apartment.
So, we are continuing full speed ahead:
We have currently kept all options open:
Buying: There are possibilities, but none of them really match what we want. We have looked at several options, and so far, it’s not really an option and just as expensive as building.
Renting: So far, we haven’t found anything. Just paying for moving into a rental apartment alone feels like burning money. We really want to avoid that.
Building: We have gone through the usual suspected prefab house providers. Their delivery times are currently pretty good; it mostly depends on the authorities regarding building permits/planning permission, etc. Some of them had available plots of land. These plots all have significant disadvantages (slope, main road, north-facing orientation, etc.) and are also very expensive. So prefab builders are pretty much out—unless they bring a suitable plot.
Now there is a developer who has a plot that might suit us. It also has disadvantages, but these would be acceptable for us.
Plot advantages:
- Flat 500m² (5400 sq ft) next to a stream at the forest edge (nature reserve, with a single-family house next door on the other side)
- South-facing orientation
- Small town center within walking distance
- Primary school within walking distance
- Close to the workplace
Plot disadvantages:
- I have to build a solid (masonry) house with the developer
- The plot is rock underneath the topsoil; for a basement, blasting would be required
- The stream is very small and has no history of flooding, but you never know
- Sunlight is limited at low sun positions in spring/autumn because the slope rises to the south
- No significant view
So, the basement would be excluded, but instead, there could be a slightly larger house or storage space in an extra-long garage. The developer’s price including plot, turnkey house, terrace, and landscaping is about €500,000 (approx. $550,000). Additional costs for purchasing the plot, etc., are estimated at €50,000 (approx. $55,000). Compared to a prefab house for the same price, the house would be rather less well equipped. We submitted a list of special requests to get an idea of price/performance. Next week there will be an appointment to make a rough plan and then hopefully receive an offer based on that plan and the special requests. Financing at least €600,000 (approx. $660,000) is possible with a bank. I will work out the details with a concrete offer later.
So these are our current plans that most here tend to criticize. I calculate diligently back and forth and still don’t see where I could make such a huge mistake. A reasonably solid house should at least retain its value. That puts me in a better position than renting. Plus, I have the benefits of home ownership and can calmly see if a better plot opportunity comes up. It’s clear to me that I won’t be very bored in 2019, but I’m resilient.
To everyone who says I’m making a huge mistake: Please explain specifically what could happen to me. At the moment, I just don’t see such a big risk if I carefully examine the developer and the plot beforehand.
Best regards!
tomtom79 schrieb:
Are the delivery times good? Currently, I know three providers—Weberhaus, Schwörerhaus, Schwabenhaus—that cannot deliver in less than 16 to 20 months if the contract is signed now. Well. The sales rep can say a lot. The main thing is getting the signature. But you’ll learn that soon enough, dear original poster.
It’s obvious that the basement is basically useless with that ground condition. But you don’t realize that your foundation could end up costing you as much as my entire basement did. When dealing with rock, disposing of each cubic meter of excavation material costs €80 and up. I don’t even want to talk about the mechanical excavation costs. Plus, it’s a nature protection area.
Seriously, better drop that nonsense.
haydee schrieb:
5 euros per cubic meter in our area.
The fee varies a lot.
The foundation work can be costly. I would get quotes in advance. 5 euros for rock? Or zone 0?
For clarification: the nature reserve starts right next to the property.
Regarding the foundation work, this is offered by the builder and included in the price. So any additional costs would be at their risk. Since they already have a soil report, they shouldn’t have a significant miscalculation in this regard.
Best regards
Regarding the foundation work, this is offered by the builder and included in the price. So any additional costs would be at their risk. Since they already have a soil report, they shouldn’t have a significant miscalculation in this regard.
Best regards
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