Hello everyone, we are Ina and Philipp. We both want to take the next step and build our own home.
We are intentionally moving away from the big city back to the countryside (Ina comes from a rural area). Perhaps some of you remember we have posted here before and shared some bad experiences with looking for land. Thanks to your advice, we quickly figured out what to watch out for. We want to actively share our journey toward homeownership here and are grateful for any tips and tricks.
What is the current status?
We are currently in contact with an owner (over 70 years old) of a plot of land who is willing to sell us 1,400 square meters (15,070 square feet) for 50,000 euros. All utility connections except for gas are already available at the site. The land is currently farmed as agricultural land. The plot is located next to a low-traffic federal road.
Yesterday, we spoke with potential neighbors. They also bought from this gentleman in 2011 and are still very satisfied with the quality of living and housing in the area. The neighbors were in the same situation back then—the land was also used as farmland.
Next Tuesday, we have an appointment with the bank. We will discuss whether to finance the land or possibly pay in cash. The advisor told us on the phone yesterday that we should generally consider paying for the land in cash rather than financing it.
If everything goes well, we will call the owner on Tuesday and hopefully tell him that we want to buy the land. He said yesterday he would then send us all the documents.
We have a specific idea we want to realize: a bungalow (the neighbor’s house is already a bungalow) modeled after a Swedish-style home.
Currently open questions:
Do you already have any advice on what we should pay attention to?
I (Philipp) have some doubts and would prefer to finance the land because the €50,000 should serve as equity/reserve for building the house.
There is a sewage access point right at the edge of the property. The owner said—if I understood correctly—that he would also talk to the water utility company to see if we would not have to buy that part of the land.
Thank you very much for reading this far. We wish you a nice weekend and will continue to report here openly and regularly. We appreciate any feedback or suggestions on things we can clarify early on.
We are intentionally moving away from the big city back to the countryside (Ina comes from a rural area). Perhaps some of you remember we have posted here before and shared some bad experiences with looking for land. Thanks to your advice, we quickly figured out what to watch out for. We want to actively share our journey toward homeownership here and are grateful for any tips and tricks.
What is the current status?
We are currently in contact with an owner (over 70 years old) of a plot of land who is willing to sell us 1,400 square meters (15,070 square feet) for 50,000 euros. All utility connections except for gas are already available at the site. The land is currently farmed as agricultural land. The plot is located next to a low-traffic federal road.
Yesterday, we spoke with potential neighbors. They also bought from this gentleman in 2011 and are still very satisfied with the quality of living and housing in the area. The neighbors were in the same situation back then—the land was also used as farmland.
Next Tuesday, we have an appointment with the bank. We will discuss whether to finance the land or possibly pay in cash. The advisor told us on the phone yesterday that we should generally consider paying for the land in cash rather than financing it.
If everything goes well, we will call the owner on Tuesday and hopefully tell him that we want to buy the land. He said yesterday he would then send us all the documents.
We have a specific idea we want to realize: a bungalow (the neighbor’s house is already a bungalow) modeled after a Swedish-style home.
Currently open questions:
Do you already have any advice on what we should pay attention to?
I (Philipp) have some doubts and would prefer to finance the land because the €50,000 should serve as equity/reserve for building the house.
There is a sewage access point right at the edge of the property. The owner said—if I understood correctly—that he would also talk to the water utility company to see if we would not have to buy that part of the land.
Thank you very much for reading this far. We wish you a nice weekend and will continue to report here openly and regularly. We appreciate any feedback or suggestions on things we can clarify early on.
P
philipp19901 Sep 2019 11:36haydee schrieb:
What type of roof do you have to build?
For an accessible layout, try searching for Hanse Haus Bungalow 133 on Google.
In the show home, instead of a storage room, there is a staircase leading down to the basement. It might be possible to extend the roof there, adding space for building services and a children's room upstairs. While the kids are still small, they can use the home office.We have to build a gable roof.
S
Strahleman1 Sep 2019 11:44According to your plan, the house is supposed to be 13.9 x 8 meters (46 x 26 feet) in size. Is that correct?
If so, I’m not sure how you could neatly arrange that many rooms within this area. You would have a total floor space of 111.2 square meters (1,197 square feet), which is less than 14 square meters (150 square feet) per room, not counting the hallways.
Especially if a person with a disability will be living in the house, you should plan more generously. If you cannot increase the floor area, consider including either a basement or a finished attic space.
If so, I’m not sure how you could neatly arrange that many rooms within this area. You would have a total floor space of 111.2 square meters (1,197 square feet), which is less than 14 square meters (150 square feet) per room, not counting the hallways.
Especially if a person with a disability will be living in the house, you should plan more generously. If you cannot increase the floor area, consider including either a basement or a finished attic space.
P
philipp19901 Sep 2019 11:47Strahleman schrieb:
According to your plan, the house is supposed to be 13.9 x 8 meters (45.6 x 26.2 feet) in size. Is that correct?
If so: I don’t see how you could reasonably fit that many rooms in that area. You would have a floor area of 111.2 square meters (1,197 square feet) or less than 14 square meters (150 square feet) per room, excluding hallways.
Especially if a person with a disability lives in the house, you should plan more generously and consider either a basement or a finished attic if you cannot increase the floor area. It is not a disability, it only concerns stair climbing. Everything else is not an issue.
P
philipp19901 Sep 2019 11:48The dimensions are:
15.04 x 8.79 m (49.3 x 28.8 ft)
We could also go for 15.04 x 9.42 m (49.3 x 30.9 ft) for a supposedly small additional fee
15.04 x 8.79 m (49.3 x 28.8 ft)
We could also go for 15.04 x 9.42 m (49.3 x 30.9 ft) for a supposedly small additional fee
philipp1990 schrieb:
The entrance area is just to prevent the cats from running out onto the street That's funny, I actually thought right away that the whole thing is pointless.
From what I’m reading from you, I’m not very optimistic. The budget is too tight, the building plot is still farmland, the floor plan is a disaster, and overall there seems to be a lot of lack of experience.
You should leave the floor plan to a professional.
Overall, I would advise you to find someone you trust (ideally a close family member) who has expertise to supervise your project. Sorry if this offends you, but it really looks like this could easily go wrong. If you’re not careful, the money will run out very quickly and you’ll have hardly anything finished on the house.
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