ᐅ Which prefabricated house provider offers the best prices and experience?
Created on: 17 Oct 2019 08:49
S
saralina87
Hello,
we unexpectedly have the opportunity to purchase a plot of land. Since it comes from family, the price would be a real bargain for us, around 200 euros per square meter (about 19 USD per square yard) (Bavaria - Baden-Württemberg border area).
Unfortunately, the plot is not perfectly shaped; it is 13 m (42.7 ft) wide and 23 m (75.5 ft) long, so roughly 300 square meters (3,229 square feet) in size.
This weekend, we visited a large model home park and checked out various builders.
We were especially impressed by Baufritz, Weberhaus, Schwabenhaus, and Gussek Haus.
I wanted to ask for your experiences with these companies—maybe also regarding costs?
Our budget is about 450,000 euros (around 478,000 USD), minus the land cost leaves us with 390,000 euros (about 414,000 USD) for the house and additional building costs (the plot is already serviced). Our idea for the house is about 130 to 140 square meters (1,400 to 1,507 square feet) of living space, with a footprint approximately 7 m (23 ft) by 12 m (39 ft). We plan to do the landscaping ourselves; a garage is not planned for now, and we also do not want a basement.
I would really appreciate any suggestions!
PS: No, we do not want to buy and renovate an existing property. On the one hand, there are hardly any available here, and on the other hand, it is outrageously expensive when something does appear (recent example: semi-detached house, built in 1969, no (!) renovation measures since construction except for windows replaced in 2012, mold in all rooms, 400 square meters (4,306 square feet) of land, not in a city but in a village, sold by bidding for 380,000 euros (about 404,000 USD)).
we unexpectedly have the opportunity to purchase a plot of land. Since it comes from family, the price would be a real bargain for us, around 200 euros per square meter (about 19 USD per square yard) (Bavaria - Baden-Württemberg border area).
Unfortunately, the plot is not perfectly shaped; it is 13 m (42.7 ft) wide and 23 m (75.5 ft) long, so roughly 300 square meters (3,229 square feet) in size.
This weekend, we visited a large model home park and checked out various builders.
We were especially impressed by Baufritz, Weberhaus, Schwabenhaus, and Gussek Haus.
I wanted to ask for your experiences with these companies—maybe also regarding costs?
Our budget is about 450,000 euros (around 478,000 USD), minus the land cost leaves us with 390,000 euros (about 414,000 USD) for the house and additional building costs (the plot is already serviced). Our idea for the house is about 130 to 140 square meters (1,400 to 1,507 square feet) of living space, with a footprint approximately 7 m (23 ft) by 12 m (39 ft). We plan to do the landscaping ourselves; a garage is not planned for now, and we also do not want a basement.
I would really appreciate any suggestions!
PS: No, we do not want to buy and renovate an existing property. On the one hand, there are hardly any available here, and on the other hand, it is outrageously expensive when something does appear (recent example: semi-detached house, built in 1969, no (!) renovation measures since construction except for windows replaced in 2012, mold in all rooms, 400 square meters (4,306 square feet) of land, not in a city but in a village, sold by bidding for 380,000 euros (about 404,000 USD)).
I have been in houses built on 300m² (approximately 3,230 sq ft) of land. However, they only had about 106m² (1,141 sq ft) of living space. Therefore, I cannot imagine fitting a proper 140m² (1,507 sq ft) of living area there. I would aim for 110–120m² (1,184–1,292 sq ft) of living space and additionally plan for a basement. With a budget of 390,000 euros, this should still be feasible.
For such small plots, I personally find a basement important. Everything that is not essential for living should go down there: technical equipment, washing machine, dryer, office, hobby room, storage, and so on. It might also be possible to create a separate entrance with a ramp to store bicycles, lawnmowers, and similar items down there. This eases the space situation upstairs.
On such small plots, I see the value of a good architect with clever ideas.
On such small plots, I see the value of a good architect with clever ideas.
danixf schrieb:
if there isn’t much financial flexibilityI interpret the mentioned brands as an indication of good dual incomes. However, the original poster does not seem to have just jumped in casually but appears to have done some reading in the forum already, so any initial naivety, if there was any, seems somewhat diminished.My immediate concerns would be trying to create 140 sqm (1507 sq ft) of living space from 84 sqm (904 sq ft) of floor area, which is quite ambitious anyway, but especially in Bavaria regarding setback regulations. However, the aerial photo suggests that a 3 m (10 ft) side building setback might still be feasible here even with a generous knee wall. Would the neighbor possibly be willing to sell an additional meter of garden width?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
A seven-meter (23 feet) wide house is possible.
The walls just shouldn’t have the width of a KfW40 house.
Take a look at alpinahaus in Vorarlberg. They have some clever, narrow floor plans.
Do you still have some flexibility in the length?
The suggestion from [USER=45635]@Scout with the bay window/projection would definitely help with the house width.
Or maybe the neighbor on plot no. 74 could take on a building setback easement, of course for compensation?
I also think a basement makes sense for a house this size. Utility, technical room, office, storage—all in the basement.
An architect would certainly enjoy the challenge of designing a house this size.
What are your room requirements?
The walls just shouldn’t have the width of a KfW40 house.
Take a look at alpinahaus in Vorarlberg. They have some clever, narrow floor plans.
Do you still have some flexibility in the length?
The suggestion from [USER=45635]@Scout with the bay window/projection would definitely help with the house width.
Or maybe the neighbor on plot no. 74 could take on a building setback easement, of course for compensation?
I also think a basement makes sense for a house this size. Utility, technical room, office, storage—all in the basement.
An architect would certainly enjoy the challenge of designing a house this size.
What are your room requirements?
S
saralina8718 Oct 2019 06:53danixf schrieb:
The discussion about VS makes sense only if there isn’t much financial leeway and if your arguments about costs are simply incorrect.
...
You mentioned something about a 70sqm (750 sq ft) garden. Zaba brought you back down to earth, and now you’re sulking.
They’re trying to help you here, and you don’t seem willing to accept any of it. Did I argue anywhere that a prefab house is cheaper? On the contrary.
Zaba is simply assuming I want to make the entire long side 7 x 4 meters (23 x 13 feet) facing the terrace – yes, that’s true, then there would be very little garden left. BUT I never actually claimed I want that... We were thinking more of a terrace on the northeast corner, but apparently that doesn’t matter.
I don’t want to accept anything?! Wow. Sorry, but I can only shake my head.
kaho674 schrieb:
If you only wanted concrete experience reports about these 4 companies, you are in the wrong subforum. That may have given the impression that you wanted more general advice.
Otherwise, you should go here:
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/forums/Erfahrungen-mit-Hausbau-firmen.119/ No, I didn’t only want concrete experience reports.
Many of the answers so far have actually been very, very helpful!
WingVII schrieb:
I have seen houses built on 300m² (3,230 sq ft) plots. But they only had around 106sqm (1,140 sq ft) of living space. So I can’t imagine fitting 140sqm (1,500 sq ft) of living space in properly.
I’d go for 110-120sqm (1,185-1,290 sq ft) of living space plus a basement. With a budget of €390,000 (about $420,000) that should still work. The basement is a tricky issue – we would generally prefer one as well. But looking at the house prices, I’m not sure if it can really fit within the budget...
If I take, for example, Gussek Haus’s model (myline 140), it costs €235,000 (about $253,000) excluding interior doors, painting, and flooring. With additional selections, that will probably be 30,000 more (€30,000 / $32,000) (or am I too naive here? I still don’t have that much experience!). Then the basement for around €50,000 (about $54,000?), plus additional building costs, which also increase with the basement.
That makes €375,000 (about $403,000) including the plot – will the remaining €75,000 (about $81,000) be enough for additional costs including a buffer? Does this calculation even make sense?
It’s just for a rough estimate.
11ant schrieb:
I interpret the brands mentioned as an indicator of good dual incomes. However, the original poster doesn’t seem to have just stumbled in here but has read up a bit in the forum, so any naivety has probably been somewhat reduced.
My immediate concern would have been trying to magically squeeze 140sqm (1,500 sq ft) of living space out of 84sqm (900 sq ft) of plot area, which is quite ambitious anyway, but especially challenging in Bavaria (BY) due to setback rules. The aerial image rather suggests that a 3m (10 feet) side building setback could work here as well, with a generous knee wall. Could the neighbor possibly sell you an additional meter of garden width? I’m certainly still naive about many things related to housebuilding. But we both work professionally a lot with land purchases and development, so at least we have some basic knowledge.
By the way: We both work in the greater Munich area, where even larger houses are sometimes built on smaller plots – necessity is the mother of invention.
Unfortunately, the neighbor does not want to sell (we even once considered buying and combining the back parts of both lots). But he also has grandchildren who want to build, just not right now, or else a semi-detached house would have been possible. So he won’t give up the extra meter because that would make it really difficult for him to build on his already slightly narrower lot compared to ours.
Solveigh schrieb:
A seven-meter (23 feet) wide house is doable.
The walls just shouldn’t be as wide as a KfW40 house.
Check out Alpinahaus in Vorarlberg – they have clever, narrow floor plans.
Do you have room to extend the length?
The suggestion from @Scout with the bay window/projection would help the house’s width a lot.
Or maybe the neighbor on plot no. 74 could take on a setback easement, of course in exchange for money?
I also recommend a basement for a house of this size – utility room, technical room, office, storage, pantry in the basement.
An architect would certainly enjoy the challenge of such a size.
What are your room requirements? The floor plans from Alpinahaus are really great! I’ll save some of those later, thanks!
The length is not fixed yet. It was just a rough estimate after looking at several model houses. To reach the desired living area, they were all about 12m (39 feet) long.
If it gets longer, then, of course, there will be very little garden left... (But as I said, I don’t have big expectations for the garden. We don’t really have time to maintain a large one anyway.)
The bay window idea is really great! Many, many thanks to Scout for that!
Regarding the architect: At the Gussek Haus and Kampa model homes, architects were present – both got excited when we talked about the plot. It’s great and makes a good impression when you can tell that someone is enthusiastic about this kind of project and doesn’t just look down at you when you mention the plot size (which has happened too).
Room requirements...
Actually (I think) quite straightforward: an open living area, a guest toilet, two kids’ rooms, a guest room/multi-purpose room, a master bedroom, either an office or a small office nook, and of course a bathroom. The guest room is not essential but would be nice. The rest is must-have.
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