ᐅ Procedure and Planning for Plot of Land and Single-Family Home in the MTK Region
Created on: 24 Aug 2019 11:28
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der_puffiD
der_puffi24 Aug 2019 11:28Hello dear community,
My wife and I (both around 30 years old) would like to make our dream of building a single-family home come true. The area of choice (due to its proximity to our workplaces) is the Main-Taunus district, right in the heart of the Frankfurt-Wiesbaden-Mainz region.
After several appointments with different prefab home providers at model home parks, we are somewhat frustrated with the sales approach. Nevertheless, based on various offers, we have had our financing capacity calculated. According to this, we could finance around €500,000 (including €60,000 of equity, of which we could use €40,000).
One of our challenges is, of course, that besides the house, we also need a plot of land in the area. Most of the prefab home providers we met with (the discussion always involved house + land) wanted us to sign a "reservation agreement" before we were even allowed to visit the plot. So far, we have clearly decided not to sign such a contract. The offer price for a 125m² (1,345 sq ft) KFW55 single-family home was about €260,000 plus additional construction costs and special features (including electric shutters).
Now we are wondering what other options there are to realize our dream. As mentioned, we are looking for not only the house itself but also a plot of land. Paying for the land outright from our own funds seems impossible in this area. Therefore, we need a "package deal" that includes both the land and the house, which so far we have only found with the mentioned prefab home providers (where again, we are not allowed to inspect the land without signing that agreement). We are also aware that our conditions (single-family home, land in MTK, only a €500,000 budget) represent a big challenge. Since we are both not professionals in this field, we are grateful for any tips or comments.
Many thanks in advance!
My wife and I (both around 30 years old) would like to make our dream of building a single-family home come true. The area of choice (due to its proximity to our workplaces) is the Main-Taunus district, right in the heart of the Frankfurt-Wiesbaden-Mainz region.
After several appointments with different prefab home providers at model home parks, we are somewhat frustrated with the sales approach. Nevertheless, based on various offers, we have had our financing capacity calculated. According to this, we could finance around €500,000 (including €60,000 of equity, of which we could use €40,000).
One of our challenges is, of course, that besides the house, we also need a plot of land in the area. Most of the prefab home providers we met with (the discussion always involved house + land) wanted us to sign a "reservation agreement" before we were even allowed to visit the plot. So far, we have clearly decided not to sign such a contract. The offer price for a 125m² (1,345 sq ft) KFW55 single-family home was about €260,000 plus additional construction costs and special features (including electric shutters).
Now we are wondering what other options there are to realize our dream. As mentioned, we are looking for not only the house itself but also a plot of land. Paying for the land outright from our own funds seems impossible in this area. Therefore, we need a "package deal" that includes both the land and the house, which so far we have only found with the mentioned prefab home providers (where again, we are not allowed to inspect the land without signing that agreement). We are also aware that our conditions (single-family home, land in MTK, only a €500,000 budget) represent a big challenge. Since we are both not professionals in this field, we are grateful for any tips or comments.
Many thanks in advance!
Don’t sign anything!
Most companies usually don’t even own any land. And if they do, it’s not the kind of property you want. But they’ll still charge you a penalty if you want to cancel the contract.
We searched for almost 2 years before we found our plot. That’s still normal, I’d say. A "complete package" from a developer is definitely not cheaper (where does that nonsense come from?). On the contrary—you even pay extra taxes on the land when it’s bought together with the building.
I think you should focus first on the question of finding the right plot. In the meantime, you can read thoroughly here.
Most companies usually don’t even own any land. And if they do, it’s not the kind of property you want. But they’ll still charge you a penalty if you want to cancel the contract.
We searched for almost 2 years before we found our plot. That’s still normal, I’d say. A "complete package" from a developer is definitely not cheaper (where does that nonsense come from?). On the contrary—you even pay extra taxes on the land when it’s bought together with the building.
I think you should focus first on the question of finding the right plot. In the meantime, you can read thoroughly here.
Phew, you didn’t choose a cheap area. Even new terraced houses start at around 450,000 euros... If I work backwards, you could afford a plot of land for 150,000 to 180,000 euros. Even with only 400 m2 (4300 sq ft), the price per square meter could be a maximum of 370 to 450 euros. And this is in the vicinity of Frankfurt, Mainz, and Wiesbaden?
It’s worth checking the websites of the municipalities where you’re considering building. Many local authorities publish their own real estate listings there, including plots of land. Often, you can also find private offers. On real estate portals such as Immoscout, you usually find only the less popular listings through agents. Online classifieds sometimes have offers, mostly from private sellers. Do you know others who want to build? Then you might be able to share a plot and build a semi-detached house, which could make more expensive plots an option.
Building gaps are something you can also find via Google Maps, and then you can try to identify the owner through the neighbors—maybe they’d be open to a reasonable offer. But that can be a tedious process!
I would be cautious about spending more than 180,000 euros on land with your budget. And regarding houses, make sure to check local solid construction companies. Prefabricated houses are not necessarily cheaper or completed faster!
It’s worth checking the websites of the municipalities where you’re considering building. Many local authorities publish their own real estate listings there, including plots of land. Often, you can also find private offers. On real estate portals such as Immoscout, you usually find only the less popular listings through agents. Online classifieds sometimes have offers, mostly from private sellers. Do you know others who want to build? Then you might be able to share a plot and build a semi-detached house, which could make more expensive plots an option.
Building gaps are something you can also find via Google Maps, and then you can try to identify the owner through the neighbors—maybe they’d be open to a reasonable offer. But that can be a tedious process!
I would be cautious about spending more than 180,000 euros on land with your budget. And regarding houses, make sure to check local solid construction companies. Prefabricated houses are not necessarily cheaper or completed faster!
der_puffi schrieb:
before we are even allowed to look at the plot.They don’t have any. And if they do, it’s only reserved or they act as agents.
Scout schrieb:
If I calculate backwards, you could afford a plot for 150,000 to 180,000.I’m calculating with x including ancillary purchase costs...
At €260 per 125 sqm (1,345 sq ft) bare price without special features, you end up at almost €300,000.
Additional construction costs €35,000
Exterior landscaping/parking/terrace €15,000
Carport with storage room €10,000
Painting and flooring €15,000
X = €125,000
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der_puffi24 Aug 2019 14:19kaho674 schrieb:
Companies usually don’t have land either. And if they do, it’s not land you want. But they still get the penalty fee if you want to cancel the contract. Of course, I can’t confirm this 100% since we never viewed any land. But here is a brief summary of how the situation was explained to us: The providers work with real estate agents (so the agents are not directly part of the provider) who then select from a current available "pool" of plots. In our case, two specific plots with location, size, and price were even mentioned. However, no one wanted to disclose the exact addresses before signing. In addition to the "standard" contracts, there are annexes that allow a free withdrawal if no suitable plot is found or if financing falls through. Still, we do not want to sign something like that.
kaho674 schrieb:
An "all-in package" with a developer is by no means cheaper (where does that nonsense come from?). On the contrary — you still pay extra taxes on the land if bought together. We only considered the "all-in package" because we couldn’t find plots elsewhere. I never claimed that option was cheaper. Moreover, these "all-in packages" were structured so that the land is purchased separately through an agent. That means agent fees apply, but the land is still bought separately.
Scout schrieb:
It’s worth checking the websites of the municipalities where construction is generally planned. Many local authorities publish their own real estate offers there, including plots — often also private ones. On platforms like Immoscout, you mostly find hard-to-sell listings from agents. Ebay Kleinanzeigen sometimes has offers, mostly from private sellers. Do you know others who want to build? Then maybe you could share a plot and build a duplex, which could also make more expensive plots viable. Thanks very much for the helpful comment. We also checked the municipality websites, although our main focus was actually on Immoscout. In the future, I would focus more on local/municipal listings. Unfortunately, we don’t know anyone else who wants to build there.
Scout schrieb:
I’d be skeptical about spending over 180,000 euros for the land with that budget. Also, be sure to look at regional builders for houses — prefab homes are not inherently cheaper or faster to complete! Thanks for the tip. Our budget estimate also came out to about 150,000 euros for the plot. I never said prefab homes were automatically cheaper. As I mentioned, Immoscout was our main source, and all suitable offers including both house and plot happened to be from prefab home providers.
If we look for a plot ourselves now, how does financing work? Would we need to already have a fixed construction contract as soon as we find a suitable plot so that both can be financed simultaneously? Financing the land first and then the house at a later time probably doesn’t make sense (please correct me if I’m wrong).
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der_puffi24 Aug 2019 14:33ypg schrieb:
They don’t have any. And if they do, it’s only reserved or acting as agents. As mentioned above, we were already given specific plots with location, size, and price. Since we never saw them ourselves, I can’t confirm this 100%.
ypg schrieb:
I calculate x including purchase incidental costs...
At €260 per 125sqm (1,345 sq ft) bare without special features, you end up at just under €300,000.
Additional construction costs €35,000
Outdoor area/parking space/terrace €15,000
Carport with storage room €10,000
Painting and flooring €15,000
X = €125,000 Thanks for the example calculation. Our initial estimate was quite similar. Painting and flooring were already included in the offer. We had about €315,000 for the house including special features and outdoor area/parking space. We calculated additional construction costs at €30,000 and would then come to about €155,000 for the plot including purchase incidental costs.
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