ᐅ Build or buy? Prefabricated house or solid construction? Baden-Württemberg/Rhineland-Palatinate – detached house/semi-detached house

Wanted/Desired:
- Semi-detached house (dream)
- Semi-detached house with a granny flat
- Single-family house with a granny flat
- Two-family house

Budget including land calculated:
400,000 (if acceptable)
500,000 (if the house is perfect and relatively new)
600,000 (if it’s a semi-detached house)

In short: buying a house that also generates rental income to reduce overall costs.

Background:
We have been looking for some time but haven’t found anything that really fits, mainly because prices are extremely high. It’s not easy. My partner is from Worms and I’m from Stuttgart. We want to own a home somewhere between Mannheim and Karlsruhe/Pforzheim or between Mannheim and Heilbronn—basically along the highway. So near Mannheim, Speyer, Karlsruhe, Bruchsal, Sinsheim, Heilbronn. Small towns are fine; it doesn’t have to be in a city. Being 10 minutes away is also okay. So far, we have found well-located houses near Speyer, Phillipsburg, Germersheim. That’s on the border of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. I can’t say if these are cheap. I usually compare the price per square meter on homeday.

Our dream would be to build a semi-detached house with two units of about 110-130 m² (1,184–1,400 sq ft) each. We would live in one and rent out the other, then possibly sell it later. At first, we looked at prefabricated houses (wood). For example, we had an offer for 550,000 all inclusive (including land) for the entire semi-detached house. After talking to some people, we learned that wooden prefabricated houses can creak because the wood “moves”. We don’t want that, so that option is off the table. Also, the offer included 170,000 for interior finishing, but colleagues said it should cost less than 100,000, so that seemed high.

I contacted many masonry/concrete construction companies but got very few responses. Two of them replied with 300,000 per semi-detached unit if we want a semi-detached house. Plus land, that’s about 750,000–800,000. That’s way beyond our budget. I’m not sure if there are any masonry builders here who could manage 600,000 including land (about 150,000 of that). We also considered just contracting the shell construction for XXX,XXX and managing the interior finishing ourselves. But no company seems to offer just the shell; they mostly offer nearly finished or turnkey solutions. We know many people who could do windows/doors, flooring, plumbing, electrical work, plastering, but unfortunately no one does the shell work. Do you think that would be feasible?

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Otherwise, we resumed looking for houses:
We find semi-detached houses quite attractive, especially with the option of a granny flat.
We have now found one or two near Speyer:

••• One semi-detached house (Offenbach / Palatinate) was built in 1994 and costs 500,000 (via agent). It’s huge—250 m² (2,691 sq ft) with 9 rooms—and sits on a 450 m² (4,844 sq ft) plot. It has a double garage and photovoltaic system for water heating and sauna. The granny flat is in the basement, about 60 m² (646 sq ft), with 2-3 rooms including a shower and toilet but no kitchen yet. It is accessible via the garden or through the main house. Upstairs are 4 rooms plus the attic, which has been converted but not included in the total area. One room is about 15 m² (161 sq ft). On the ground floor, there is an office plus a large open living/dining/kitchen area with a kitchen worth about 20,000 € (from Miele). There is a covered terrace and a large garden.
The granny flat basement has some moisture on the wall, allegedly because it was closed off too early. Also, there are moisture problems in the utility room due to a lack of ventilation, according to the agent. The fittings are almost upscale but somewhat older since the house dates from 1994. The knee wall (kniestock) is 1.60 or 1.80 m (5 ft 3 in or 5 ft 11 in).

••• Another semi-detached house built in 2018 in Lingenfeld costs 520,000 (private sale). It has about 160 m² (1,722 sq ft) of living space plus a 17 m² (183 sq ft) terrace, totaling around 177 m² (1,905 sq ft). The plot is 250 m² (2,691 sq ft) with a small garden. It has an open living/dining area including a small nice kitchen. There is a shower and guest toilet on the ground floor. Upstairs are three bedrooms and a bathroom with shower. In the basement is a two-room granny flat of about 48 m² (517 sq ft) including kitchen and shower, with a separate entrance near the main entrance and a separated staircase. The roof is hipped. Knee wall is 2 m (6 ft 7 in). There is a garage with an electric vehicle charging option. Everything is fairly new and the fittings are upscale. I haven’t negotiated the price yet but I think it’s possible to agree on 500,000 or even less with a private seller.

So here’s my question: Is it better to buy the newer one? Or the older, larger one, although the location is less ideal and some work may be needed?
Or would it make sense to build ourselves for that price? For example, a semi-detached house that looks just like the newer house mentioned above, assuming we can make it work for the budget. The land would cost about 50,000–100,000 for the semi-detached plot, leaving roughly 300,000–350,000 for construction.
Or to contract just the shell and manage finishing ourselves?

So many questions. There are so many options, but which one makes the most sense?

I hope I’m not overwhelming you all.

Netodo_de schrieb:

In short: buying a house that also generates rental income to reduce overall costs.

However, you have a tenant who can cause stress and expenses, and you also need to invest more capital.

Netodo_de schrieb:

First, we looked at prefabricated houses (timber). For example, we received an all-inclusive offer of 550,000 including the land for a complete semi-detached house.

Either located in the middle of nowhere or with minimal features and possibly missing additional costs.

Netodo_de schrieb:

After consulting with a few people, it turned out that prefabricated timber houses creak because the wood "moves.”

What nonsense, rarely have I laughed so hard...

Netodo_de schrieb:

The offer also included 170,000 for interior finishing, but colleagues said that would cost less than 100,000, but okay.

Then let your colleagues do the building.

Netodo_de schrieb:

I contacted many solid construction companies, but most didn’t respond at all. Two answered with 300,000 per semi-detached unit if you want a duplex. Plus land, so about 750,000-800,000. That exceeds our budget by far. No idea if there are still solid construction companies here that could meet our 600,000 including land (about 150,000 of that). We also considered just having the shell built for XXX,XXX and managing the interior finishing ourselves. But no company seems to offer just shell construction—mostly near completion or turnkey. We know many people who could do windows/doors, floors, plumbing, electrical, plastering. But unfortunately no one who does shell construction. Do you think that would even be feasible?

First: prefabricated timber houses and solid (masonry) construction cost about the same, prefabricated tends to be more expensive.
Second: if you use a general contractor or house provider, they want to sell you the complete package. If you want to manage separate trades yourself, you should hire an architect. Do you have the construction knowledge to manage a complex and technical house build on your own? Not to mention the enormous time commitment.
By the way, the “people” you know also don’t work for free. And materials cost money anyway.

Regarding both houses: according to every real estate agent, moisture is no problem—as long as you haven’t bought the property yet and can’t get rid of mold afterward.
Negotiations on price nowadays usually work the other way around (except in the middle of nowhere). The highest bidder gets the house.

It sounds like you don’t yet know exactly how you want to live, plus the focus on a basement apartment. Think carefully beforehand about what you really want. For house building, you can roughly calculate 2,000€ (about $2,000) per square meter (10.8 sq ft) of living space. Add additional costs such as fees, special requests, basements, land, and kitchen/furnishings.
The price for a semi-detached house is similar to a detached single-family home but requires less land area.

For existing buildings, always remember that people say “you can move in as is,” but usually have many more wishes. Alternatively, older properties generally require renovation.

Renting out a property requires financial capability – ideally not in the same building where you live. Convincing yourself that living under the same roof with a tenant is a dream might be considered an April Fool’s joke.

Otherwise, I see a lot of common clichés – hypotheses told by others that should first be carefully examined to understand the reality behind them.

Renting out a single housing unit is ultimately the most pointless zero-sum game (unless the rented unit is noticeably larger than the owner-occupied one, and/or located in a higher-priced area). A good age for a used house is between ten (fresh wallpaper, technically everything can stay, defects are fixed or never existed) and twenty (technical maintenance will soon be necessary) years. Younger properties rarely make sense, while older ones experience price depreciation that is offset by renovation costs. Divorce homes are the best option; otherwise, annoying neighbors at this age could be the reason for selling. Thanks for the funny comment about the creaky prefabricated house—I hadn’t heard that one before.

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It is a pink cloud to believe that a tenant finances a house to a large extent for someone else.

You already list how much a house without and with a granny flat is allowed to cost. Then you can also calculate how many years of rental income you need to break even, let alone make a profit.