ᐅ Is the quote realistic? It seems too low to me.

Hello everyone,

Could you please help me? I have received a quote for my house construction that is considerably cheaper than other providers. This makes me a bit suspicious, and now I would like to know how to evaluate this offer.

Construction location in Franconia

Solid brick house €210,000

• Brick construction with 16cm (6 inches) external thermal insulation,
• Roof insulation 24cm (9.5 inches),
• Plastic windows with triple glazing,
• Underfloor heating,
• Air heat pump (brand unknown yet),
• 2 bathrooms (ground floor and upper floor),
• Walkable attic (I believe it also has a gable window and a folding attic ladder),
• Living area 145sqm (1560 sq ft), usable floor area 170sqm (1830 sq ft),
• Chimney flue for a decorative fireplace up to the ground floor,
• Terrace,
• Garden with humus layer removed,
• Including all painting work and all floor coverings (tiles approx. €20/sqm (approx. $20/sq ft), laminate approx. €12/sqm (approx. $12/sq ft)),
• Without dormers, cross gables, etc. Should correspond to the Alto SD100 model from Heinz von Heiden, only the floor plan has been modified,

Watertight concrete basement €55,000

• Not insulated as a living basement,
• Light wells drained and protected against backflow,
• Multi-utility connection,

The total price also includes all excavation work for water, electricity, sewage, telephone, etc., as well as transport and disposal costs for the excavated material.

So, except for some fees, most of the additional building costs that construction experts usually warn about should basically be covered, right?

From what I understand, the basement is built by Glatthaar and the shell construction by Heinz von Heiden. Most of the other trades are with providers from the local area.

Controlled ventilation is planned, but we have not received a price yet. (We would like to include it if the budget allows.)

• Is the price too low?
• What would be realistic for a build like this?
• How much more would it possibly cost without external thermal insulation? (I was thinking of perlite-filled bricks to achieve KfW 70 building envelope standard),

Fortunately, we already own the plot.

I appreciate any advice or criticism.

Sorry, I posted this in the wrong section. Please move it to Construction Costs / Grants if it’s inconvenient here (I think it belongs there). Sorry and thank you.

Does the supplier know your plot because “all” (earth)works are already included in the offer?

“All” works always means only as much as is specified in the scope of work and the offer appendix.

Yes, he is familiar with it since he built the house on the neighboring plot. A detailed scope of work is still pending (I will definitely need to review it carefully).

What did your neighbor say? What was his offer, and what did it end up costing?
Is he satisfied, and so on...

The price seems much too low to me. But without a construction and scope of work description, it's impossible to judge anyway.

Hello,

Baulaie Franken schrieb:

As far as I understand, the basement is built by Glatthaar and the shell by Heinz von Heiden. Most other trades are handled by local suppliers.

That is a strange statement... but since the three-letter companies are involved, I am not really surprised by the price.

Baulaie Franken schrieb:

Construction site in Franconia

The Franconia region is not exactly known for being inexpensive.

Baulaie Franken schrieb:

Solid house €210,000

• Brick construction with 16cm (6 inches) external thermal insulation,
• Roof insulation 24cm (9.5 inches),
• Plastic windows with triple glazing,
• Underfloor heating,
• Air-source heat pump (brand unknown),
• 2 bathrooms (ground and upper floor),
• Walkable attic (I believe also with a gable window and a retractable ladder),
• Living area 145m² (1,560 ft²) (usable floor area 170m² (1,830 ft²)),
• Chimney flue for recreational fires up to the ground floor,

Up to this point, the price lags behind what you would expect in the Rhineland region by about €15,000; in Franconia it falls short by a bit more.

Baulaie Franken schrieb:

• Terrace,
• Garden with topsoil leveled,
• Including all painting work and all flooring (tiles about €20 per m² (2 sq ft) and laminate about €12 per m² (1.3 sq ft)),
• No dormers, cross gables, etc. Should correspond to the Alto SD100 model from Heinz von Heiden with modified floor plan,

I estimate that these services amount to about €15,000; the preferred house model is standard with all providers—the only differences are in the naming.

Baulaie Franken schrieb:

Waterproof basement €55,000

• Not insulated as a living basement,
• Light wells drained and protected against backflow,
• Multi-utility connection,

For this house, the price is about €10,000 too high.

Baulaie Franken schrieb:

The total price also includes all excavation work for water, electricity, sewage, telephone, etc., as well as transport and disposal costs for the excavation.

That cannot be true, since—depending on the location of the public sewer on the street—a significant part of these works cannot be performed by your provider, as they must be carried out only by city-authorized companies.

Baulaie Franken schrieb:

So most of the incidental building costs that Bauexperte rightly refers to would basically be covered except for some fees, right?

The price offered for the house cannot be correct; moreover, even if it were realistic against all experience, the additional costs would only be reduced by fees for utility connections, notary/court costs, and earthworks. My list does not include painting/flooring or landscaping costs.

Baulaie Franken schrieb:

Controlled ventilation is planned but no price has been received yet. (We would like to have it if the budget allows)

For a house of this size and depending on the provider, costs tend to be in the range of €8,000 to €12,000. Furthermore, I consider ventilation an essential “must-have” when building with external thermal insulation composite systems (ETICS).

Baulaie Franken schrieb:

• Is the price too low?

Yes, in my opinion it's unrealistic—especially in southern Germany.

Baulaie Franken schrieb:

• What would be realistic for such a build?

About €285,000 including the basement and air-to-water heat pump but excluding additional incidental building costs... in the Rhineland region.

Baulaie Franken schrieb:

• What would it possibly cost without external insulation composite system (I was thinking of perlite-filled bricks to achieve a building envelope roughly at KfW 70 standard)

That should be roughly cost-neutral.

Best regards