Hello everyone,
hoping for interesting tips, advice, and experiences, we have joined this forum.
We are a young family of four and have recently secured a small plot of land near Frankfurt in a new development area through our local municipality for a detached single-family home. This should be ready for construction starting around mid-2020.
Initially, we are looking for recommended providers within a suitable price range, which, to be honest, we see rather on the lower end.
Budget:
We have capped our financing and currently come to approximately the following:
- Turnkey house including all additional construction costs around €300,000 (about $330,000)
- House construction therefore about €250,000–270,000 (about $275,000–295,000) excluding approximately €30,000 (about $33,000) in additional construction costs
General requirements/ideas:
- Basement: No
- Solid construction: initially no due to budget, but I’m open to being convinced otherwise
- Living area: around 150m² (1,615 sq ft)
- Number of floors: ground floor and upper floor
- Must at least meet KFW 55 energy efficiency standard
- Heating: heat pump with underfloor heating
Possible DIY work:
- Flooring installation
- Interior painting
- Plastering
Preferences:
- We like Scandinavian, country house, and Nordic architectural styles; however, I see the execution of these as difficult and perhaps not sensible regarding our budget. Still, I am confident that we can incorporate corresponding accents with any provider.
Providers:
We have initially researched two providers through acquaintances’ experiences (Massahaus and Danhaus) and had first discussions and price inquiries.
We felt quite comfortable with the consultation at Massahaus; notably, the cost estimate was clearly conservative. The advisor did a good job—or maybe just succeeded in “sweet-talking” us well.
Danhaus seems to be outside our budget range after the recent price increases, even though their style fits our preferences well and qualitative differences are noticeable.
What we like about Massahaus, on the other hand, is the cost-effective and clearly raised knee wall.
Construction supervision & contract review:
- This is also an interesting topic—there are various providers (associations, TÜV SÜD, consumer protection organizations). Do you have any recommendations, for example, for construction supervision services?
We would appreciate any experiences and recommendations regarding the preliminary planning stage.
Best regards,
CoolCat
hoping for interesting tips, advice, and experiences, we have joined this forum.
We are a young family of four and have recently secured a small plot of land near Frankfurt in a new development area through our local municipality for a detached single-family home. This should be ready for construction starting around mid-2020.
Initially, we are looking for recommended providers within a suitable price range, which, to be honest, we see rather on the lower end.
Budget:
We have capped our financing and currently come to approximately the following:
- Turnkey house including all additional construction costs around €300,000 (about $330,000)
- House construction therefore about €250,000–270,000 (about $275,000–295,000) excluding approximately €30,000 (about $33,000) in additional construction costs
General requirements/ideas:
- Basement: No
- Solid construction: initially no due to budget, but I’m open to being convinced otherwise
- Living area: around 150m² (1,615 sq ft)
- Number of floors: ground floor and upper floor
- Must at least meet KFW 55 energy efficiency standard
- Heating: heat pump with underfloor heating
Possible DIY work:
- Flooring installation
- Interior painting
- Plastering
Preferences:
- We like Scandinavian, country house, and Nordic architectural styles; however, I see the execution of these as difficult and perhaps not sensible regarding our budget. Still, I am confident that we can incorporate corresponding accents with any provider.
Providers:
We have initially researched two providers through acquaintances’ experiences (Massahaus and Danhaus) and had first discussions and price inquiries.
We felt quite comfortable with the consultation at Massahaus; notably, the cost estimate was clearly conservative. The advisor did a good job—or maybe just succeeded in “sweet-talking” us well.
Danhaus seems to be outside our budget range after the recent price increases, even though their style fits our preferences well and qualitative differences are noticeable.
What we like about Massahaus, on the other hand, is the cost-effective and clearly raised knee wall.
Construction supervision & contract review:
- This is also an interesting topic—there are various providers (associations, TÜV SÜD, consumer protection organizations). Do you have any recommendations, for example, for construction supervision services?
We would appreciate any experiences and recommendations regarding the preliminary planning stage.
Best regards,
CoolCat
Then I guess I’m the first to play the spoiler.
300k all in with construction starting in 2020, at least KfW 55 standard, 150 sqm (1600 sq ft) is ambitious (I would even say impossible).
Additional construction costs 30k
Landscaping 15k
Carport 10k
Kitchen/furnishing 15k
Remaining budget: 230k
Here in the forum (our architect assumed the same value), the estimate is 2000 EUR per sqm (approximately $220 per sq ft) for mid-level finishes.
That means for you about 115 sqm (1240 sq ft).
With a lot of personal labor, you might get down to 1800 EUR per sqm (about $200 per sq ft), which results in roughly 130 sqm (1400 sq ft).
Your brief breakdown completely leaves out landscaping, carport, and kitchen/furnishing. I also hope the plot is perfectly flat, otherwise your additional construction costs won’t be sufficient.
So either you have an extra budget for landscaping, carport, kitchen, or you’re a skilled do-it-yourselfer.
Keep in mind that with most low-cost providers, there are additional customization costs on top of the original offer. Or, you are extremely frugal and disciplined and settle for standard options in every aspect.
300k all in with construction starting in 2020, at least KfW 55 standard, 150 sqm (1600 sq ft) is ambitious (I would even say impossible).
Additional construction costs 30k
Landscaping 15k
Carport 10k
Kitchen/furnishing 15k
Remaining budget: 230k
Here in the forum (our architect assumed the same value), the estimate is 2000 EUR per sqm (approximately $220 per sq ft) for mid-level finishes.
That means for you about 115 sqm (1240 sq ft).
With a lot of personal labor, you might get down to 1800 EUR per sqm (about $200 per sq ft), which results in roughly 130 sqm (1400 sq ft).
Your brief breakdown completely leaves out landscaping, carport, and kitchen/furnishing. I also hope the plot is perfectly flat, otherwise your additional construction costs won’t be sufficient.
So either you have an extra budget for landscaping, carport, kitchen, or you’re a skilled do-it-yourselfer.
Keep in mind that with most low-cost providers, there are additional customization costs on top of the original offer. Or, you are extremely frugal and disciplined and settle for standard options in every aspect.
Prefabricated houses are not cheaper than solidly built houses (they are often slightly more expensive), and the home construction companies do not give anything away for free. This means that while the price for a house may initially seem lower from one provider, it likely includes fewer features or uses cheaper building materials. For example, with us, the groundwork, including removal of soil and related tasks, was already included in the house price, whereas with many other providers this is an additional cost. So, it is important to compare carefully.
Best regards
Sabine
Best regards
Sabine
Good evening everyone,
thank you for your feedback and a brief response.
@Crossy
First of all, no one here wants to spoil the fun; we approach the project with healthy skepticism ourselves. A single tip might seem too much, but it’s better to have an additional point to consider.
The carport is definitely something to include, even though to me it feels like a bit of petty conventionality and blocks light, we will still take it into account.
We will clarify the kitchen layout in more detail; fortunately, we have knowledgeable advisors in the family.
Regarding the selections, we have already budgeted for various costs and additional expenses, and we have also added a 10,000€ (about 11,000 USD) buffer to the estimate.
@Curly
Yes, I have read that statement, and the issue of risk and construction time does not necessarily have to be a disadvantage.
In the end, it is especially important to find a good local supplier with experience. I am still undecided and in the process of researching this.
@Nordlys
I have already looked at suppliers like Danwood or Scanhaus Marlow beforehand. The reviews are not bad, but seem a bit less positive than for Massahaus, which I already consider quite affordable overall. I will need to check if I can get local references and plan to do so.
@DIY
As I mentioned earlier, we can certainly imagine doing part of the work ourselves. However, we are realistic—the loss of income and the double housing costs are disadvantages and often look good only at first glance, leaving aside the additional excitement.
In the end, I see it more as a bonus...
Best regards,
CoolCat
thank you for your feedback and a brief response.
@Crossy
First of all, no one here wants to spoil the fun; we approach the project with healthy skepticism ourselves. A single tip might seem too much, but it’s better to have an additional point to consider.
The carport is definitely something to include, even though to me it feels like a bit of petty conventionality and blocks light, we will still take it into account.
We will clarify the kitchen layout in more detail; fortunately, we have knowledgeable advisors in the family.
Regarding the selections, we have already budgeted for various costs and additional expenses, and we have also added a 10,000€ (about 11,000 USD) buffer to the estimate.
@Curly
Yes, I have read that statement, and the issue of risk and construction time does not necessarily have to be a disadvantage.
In the end, it is especially important to find a good local supplier with experience. I am still undecided and in the process of researching this.
@Nordlys
I have already looked at suppliers like Danwood or Scanhaus Marlow beforehand. The reviews are not bad, but seem a bit less positive than for Massahaus, which I already consider quite affordable overall. I will need to check if I can get local references and plan to do so.
@DIY
As I mentioned earlier, we can certainly imagine doing part of the work ourselves. However, we are realistic—the loss of income and the double housing costs are disadvantages and often look good only at first glance, leaving aside the additional excitement.
In the end, I see it more as a bonus...
Best regards,
CoolCat
Basement, building style, knee wall: at first, this sounds a bit naive to me – how thoroughly have you read the zoning plan / building permit and checked the (not just visually) flatness of the plot?
And what do these acquaintances say – I hope for their statistical relevance that there is more than just one person each – regarding the consistency between the planned and actual budget?
I know massa as a shell construction (or turnkey shell) manufacturer, and I find it hard to believe that, at a "finished" level of fittings, they would be significantly cheaper compared to Scanhaus Marlow.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
CoolCat schrieb:
We initially looked into two suppliers based on recommendations from acquaintances (Massahaus and Danhaus) and had preliminary discussions and price inquiries.
And what do these acquaintances say – I hope for their statistical relevance that there is more than just one person each – regarding the consistency between the planned and actual budget?
I know massa as a shell construction (or turnkey shell) manufacturer, and I find it hard to believe that, at a "finished" level of fittings, they would be significantly cheaper compared to Scanhaus Marlow.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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