ᐅ Multi-family Building with 6 Residential Units – Current Status and Next Steps

Hello everyone,

I have been an active reader here for some time and am really impressed with this forum. Now I’m starting to participate myself.

We (family) are planning to build a multi-family house with 6 residential units in Hamburg, in a very good location. The plot with an old single-family house is already owned and will be replaced by a new building. All three of us work full time and have neither much experience nor much time to manage everything. After initial talks with general contractors and architects, we are still unsure about the best way to proceed.

Our goals:
- Simple handling of the construction and financing
- Cost-effective building and renting
- Reduced maintenance effort and fees

Basic information:
- 6 residential units
- Approx. 200m² (2,150 sq ft) floor area – 2.5 stories
- KFW 55 energy standard
- Basement as a waterproof concrete shell (“white tank”) required (if possible, a small living area in the basement of the ground floor apartments should be realized)

General questions:
- What is the best setup for construction? Options are A) architect with open tendering, B) architect for design and execution by general contractor, C) all through a general contractor or prefabricated building company
- What cost per square meter can be expected?
- What building services/heating systems are commonly used?
- What else should we pay attention to?

Thank you in advance!

Best regards

I would do something like this with an architect up to design phase 4 and then hand it over to a general contractor who has small apartment buildings in their portfolio. I would have KFW40+ certification evaluated, as the incentives are currently very high.

A few brief thoughts that I believe are important. Who currently owns the land? Has it already been subdivided, and is each family member acting as a builder registered in the land registry? This is a point to consider regarding taxes and inheritance issues. Consulting a tax advisor is, in my opinion, essential.

Since the property is apparently for personal use and each of you will likely have individual preferences, I would involve an architect up to design phase 4 (LPH 4). During their services, you can consider the next steps. Possibly a reputable general contractor (GC) would be advisable.

Who is "we"?

Is the whole project really worth it?

You would also need to set up a partnership, handle tax matters, and so on.

Then there’s also the demolition, etc.

Wouldn’t it be more worthwhile to just sell the plot?

HilfeHilfe schrieb:

You would also need to set up a GBR, consider the tax aspects, and so on.

In my opinion, setting up a GBR is not necessarily required. However, I would still like to hear your thoughts on this, @HilfeHilfe.

Thanks first of all for the replies.

The project is managed by my mother, sister, and me (son). All three of us are registered in the land registry with equal shares. My mother’s share will later be transferred to the two of us.

The multi-family house is not intended for owner occupancy but only for rental purposes. We were considering forming a partnership. Would this be disadvantageous?

A few more questions, since @HilfeHilfe brought up the topic of profitability:
- Is it worthwhile? From what point does it become profitable, or what key figures would be necessary? We believe so, but this also depends on several factors, for example, square meters/costs and basement/ground level.
- What square meters/costs can we approximately expect for standard finishes?
- Is the concept of basement-level rooms that require a basement (waterproof concrete structure) profitable, or would it be better to build only on the ground floor? The utility room would then be on the ground floor, and instead of storage rooms in the basement, there would be storage and technical rooms within the apartments. This would reduce rentable living space somewhat but would save a significant amount of construction costs.