Hello everyone,
great to see so much information being shared here to help out!
My question:
We have a budget of 200,000 for a turnkey house construction (including everything!). This means also garden, earthworks, foundation slab, etc. Please assume fully turnkey!
A basement is not necessarily planned, unless someone can convince me that having one, or even a partial basement, would be more cost-effective.
As I said, the house including all additional costs and everything around it should not exceed 200,000.
The plot of land is separate.
My question: Is this budget sufficient?
Alternatively: Would a semi-detached house be cheaper? I assume I would save only one wall and some land, right?
And—please calculate separately—what additional costs would peat soil add, expressed in Euros?
Many thanks in advance for your kind help and efforts!!!!
great to see so much information being shared here to help out!
My question:
We have a budget of 200,000 for a turnkey house construction (including everything!). This means also garden, earthworks, foundation slab, etc. Please assume fully turnkey!
A basement is not necessarily planned, unless someone can convince me that having one, or even a partial basement, would be more cost-effective.
As I said, the house including all additional costs and everything around it should not exceed 200,000.
The plot of land is separate.
My question: Is this budget sufficient?
Alternatively: Would a semi-detached house be cheaper? I assume I would save only one wall and some land, right?
And—please calculate separately—what additional costs would peat soil add, expressed in Euros?
Many thanks in advance for your kind help and efforts!!!!
@ Gluecklich
If I were in your position, I would request detailed building specifications from several different suppliers. Then you sit down and compare them item by item. We created an Excel spreadsheet and entered what was included and how each item was executed for every supplier. This allowed us to eliminate the first suppliers who offered high prices and low-quality performance.
In addition, this process helped us gradually become familiar with the subject of construction.
For detailed assessments, we then hired an independent building consultant who could evaluate the actual value of any additional or reduced services.
If I were in your position, I would request detailed building specifications from several different suppliers. Then you sit down and compare them item by item. We created an Excel spreadsheet and entered what was included and how each item was executed for every supplier. This allowed us to eliminate the first suppliers who offered high prices and low-quality performance.
In addition, this process helped us gradually become familiar with the subject of construction.
For detailed assessments, we then hired an independent building consultant who could evaluate the actual value of any additional or reduced services.
B
Bauexperte7 Dec 2012 10:56Hello,
No, that is by no means strange. In the automotive industry, generally—with a few exceptions—the same suppliers are involved. This allows any imaginable configuration for every car to be assembled, and the final price can be stated.
Home construction is different—although there are a few providers who have consistently adopted this approach (which benefits the builder)—mostly, each company uses its own mix of subcontractors and suppliers. The options for home customization are far greater than for a car. Combined with each individual’s personal situation and preferences, this makes it nearly impossible to give a final sales price without calculating volumes accordingly.
That is quite understandable from a human perspective. Most builders won’t honestly tell you what their house really cost in total publicly, because it would expose them: “Oops, it cost more than planned… the consultant or the ‘dumb’ salesperson was right… unforeseen costs came up…” and so on. Some of them even tend to be modest about it…
What they will honestly share with you, however, is their experience with their chosen builder or provider. Of course, this is again subjective—but it’s at least a good starting point!
For example, “Perlenmann,” “Musketier,” “Shism,” and also “Der Da” have written quite a bit on this topic…
Do you really believe that a prefabricated house is completed faster?
The only time advantage a prefab house offers is for ordering the shell structure. Afterwards, interior work takes just as long as with conventional construction. Meanwhile—the prefab industry critically depends on a building permit/planning permission without conditions to start production—usually the shell structure is already standing with the conventional builder. And—as “Der Da” among others can confirm—if you’re dealing with a quality prefab supplier, the waiting times until production even begins can be extremely long.
Of course, there are prefab providers who deliver with complete wiring and even curtains on the windows … but I hardly believe these represent the kind of provider you have in mind.
Best regards
Gluecklich schrieb:
Still, I find it difficult and, compared to all other products, strange. I can equip a car brand with a special engine, leather seats, or various rims. Or I take it in the basic version and pay the fixed price X. With home construction, it’s somehow different. When I look at a show home in a model home park and say I want it EXACTLY like this, I still don’t get a concrete price. Isn’t that strange!?
No, that is by no means strange. In the automotive industry, generally—with a few exceptions—the same suppliers are involved. This allows any imaginable configuration for every car to be assembled, and the final price can be stated.
Home construction is different—although there are a few providers who have consistently adopted this approach (which benefits the builder)—mostly, each company uses its own mix of subcontractors and suppliers. The options for home customization are far greater than for a car. Combined with each individual’s personal situation and preferences, this makes it nearly impossible to give a final sales price without calculating volumes accordingly.
Gluecklich schrieb:
Builders also give me subjective information about their homes. But again: concrete final prices… nowhere to be found. This is also true for all TV reports. Nowhere—except for very few exceptions—do you find out what the house actually cost in total until completion.
That is quite understandable from a human perspective. Most builders won’t honestly tell you what their house really cost in total publicly, because it would expose them: “Oops, it cost more than planned… the consultant or the ‘dumb’ salesperson was right… unforeseen costs came up…” and so on. Some of them even tend to be modest about it…
What they will honestly share with you, however, is their experience with their chosen builder or provider. Of course, this is again subjective—but it’s at least a good starting point!
Gluecklich schrieb:
I actually hoped to find a forum that provides the following info: House Y purchased turnkey, including flooring, wallpaper, and basement/slab. That was the initial price used to attract us, the price we signed for, and the price we actually paid in the end.
For example, “Perlenmann,” “Musketier,” “Shism,” and also “Der Da” have written quite a bit on this topic…
Gluecklich schrieb:
We would build traditionally… if we had the time. Unfortunately, we don’t. So, we are somewhat stuck with prefabricated houses. And I thought their prices were fixed…
Do you really believe that a prefabricated house is completed faster?
The only time advantage a prefab house offers is for ordering the shell structure. Afterwards, interior work takes just as long as with conventional construction. Meanwhile—the prefab industry critically depends on a building permit/planning permission without conditions to start production—usually the shell structure is already standing with the conventional builder. And—as “Der Da” among others can confirm—if you’re dealing with a quality prefab supplier, the waiting times until production even begins can be extremely long.
Of course, there are prefab providers who deliver with complete wiring and even curtains on the windows … but I hardly believe these represent the kind of provider you have in mind.
Best regards
My post was somehow deleted, so here it is again.
And yes, Bauexperte is right, the waiting time is about 12 months. But then it goes quickly—around 3 months—and you can move in.
So here again is my post from earlier:
With prefabricated houses, it is indeed possible to calculate a final price. But the seller also has to want that.
And that’s where the problem lies.
Homebuilders want to compare, and unfortunately often look only at the total price at the bottom right. The lowest offer usually wins.
If the seller wants to sell well, they have to hide or obscure costs so they don’t always appear as the most expensive.
Unfortunately, honesty doesn’t pay off in this industry...
We decided quite early on a supplier and made that very clear to our seller. The decision was based on some colleagues who had built with the same company, and on conversations with homeowners of that company. We had a rough idea of what to expect with the house.
From that moment on, we could clearly tell our seller what we wanted and keep it fixed price.
Up until the selection of finishes stage, we had a fixed price. The only costs our seller didn’t disclose were for trades not described in the construction contract.
These were:
about €800 for base plaster (approx. $870)
about €1,400 for a KfW floor insert stair (approx. $1,520)
about €1,000 for construction electricity (approx. $1,090)
about €500 for fencing (approx. $545)
about €4,000 for remodeling the floor plan (we made significant changes) (approx. $4,350)
The only unknown was the house’s finish selection. Here, around €10,000 (approx. $10,900) was added for special requests and technical upgrades. About €3,000 (approx. $3,270) of that was unavoidable since we absolutely wanted a wood stove that had to be room air-independent. But in financial difficulties, you can skip things like that.
So, my advice is: roughly compare construction services, then—as Bauexperte said—visit new housing developments and talk to people, then push the sellers. You will quickly notice which sellers are committed to providing you with prices and which ones try to avoid it.
In the end, we got a prefabricated house with KfW 55 standard, mechanical ventilation with enthalpy exchanger and preheating coil, wood stove, water softener, gas boiler, solar panels, 300 liters (79 gallons) of hot water, gas connection for the kitchen, about 150 square meters (1,615 square feet) of living space, base plaster, satellite, and complete CAT7 Ethernet wiring, 2 bathrooms (ceramics from Renova) completely finished, five-point locking system on the front door plus improved burglary protection on shutters and windows, about 80 power outlets (additional outlets cost about €50 each, roughly 40 were included), clay tiles, painted underside of the roof, color strip on the exterior plaster, covered entrance, stainless steel standpipes—for exactly €223,000 (approx. $242,000). Everything else that came along was our responsibility. Our additional construction costs were extremely high, but the house supplier is not to blame. That is solely due to the plot of land.
I’m sure that if you negotiate well with the seller, you can get the same house for the same price. However, my seller really had to make a lot of calls to the supplier to get more discounts approved at the end.
You have to be a bit tough. After all, it’s a lot of money.
And yes, Bauexperte is right, the waiting time is about 12 months. But then it goes quickly—around 3 months—and you can move in.
So here again is my post from earlier:
With prefabricated houses, it is indeed possible to calculate a final price. But the seller also has to want that.
And that’s where the problem lies.
Homebuilders want to compare, and unfortunately often look only at the total price at the bottom right. The lowest offer usually wins.
If the seller wants to sell well, they have to hide or obscure costs so they don’t always appear as the most expensive.
Unfortunately, honesty doesn’t pay off in this industry...
We decided quite early on a supplier and made that very clear to our seller. The decision was based on some colleagues who had built with the same company, and on conversations with homeowners of that company. We had a rough idea of what to expect with the house.
From that moment on, we could clearly tell our seller what we wanted and keep it fixed price.
Up until the selection of finishes stage, we had a fixed price. The only costs our seller didn’t disclose were for trades not described in the construction contract.
These were:
about €800 for base plaster (approx. $870)
about €1,400 for a KfW floor insert stair (approx. $1,520)
about €1,000 for construction electricity (approx. $1,090)
about €500 for fencing (approx. $545)
about €4,000 for remodeling the floor plan (we made significant changes) (approx. $4,350)
The only unknown was the house’s finish selection. Here, around €10,000 (approx. $10,900) was added for special requests and technical upgrades. About €3,000 (approx. $3,270) of that was unavoidable since we absolutely wanted a wood stove that had to be room air-independent. But in financial difficulties, you can skip things like that.
So, my advice is: roughly compare construction services, then—as Bauexperte said—visit new housing developments and talk to people, then push the sellers. You will quickly notice which sellers are committed to providing you with prices and which ones try to avoid it.
In the end, we got a prefabricated house with KfW 55 standard, mechanical ventilation with enthalpy exchanger and preheating coil, wood stove, water softener, gas boiler, solar panels, 300 liters (79 gallons) of hot water, gas connection for the kitchen, about 150 square meters (1,615 square feet) of living space, base plaster, satellite, and complete CAT7 Ethernet wiring, 2 bathrooms (ceramics from Renova) completely finished, five-point locking system on the front door plus improved burglary protection on shutters and windows, about 80 power outlets (additional outlets cost about €50 each, roughly 40 were included), clay tiles, painted underside of the roof, color strip on the exterior plaster, covered entrance, stainless steel standpipes—for exactly €223,000 (approx. $242,000). Everything else that came along was our responsibility. Our additional construction costs were extremely high, but the house supplier is not to blame. That is solely due to the plot of land.
I’m sure that if you negotiate well with the seller, you can get the same house for the same price. However, my seller really had to make a lot of calls to the supplier to get more discounts approved at the end.
You have to be a bit tough. After all, it’s a lot of money.
G
Gluecklich24 Feb 2013 13:50Hello again,
Sorry for bumping the thread, but it’s still better and clearer than starting a new one ;o)
So this is our current situation:
The plot will be around 140-145 square meters (approximately 1507-1562 square feet) – alternatively a semi-detached house, then about 100 square meters (1076 square feet).
Budget: 430 euros
After deducting additional costs for the land and house estimated at around 40 euros, about 250 euros should be left for the house itself, right?
Well, the garden should be included in that as well.
The whole thing turnkey. Alternatively, almost finished (except for floors and walls), but then the total amount should still add up and not be exceeded!
We have already looked around the market a bit and are kind of going in circles without making real progress. The sellers don’t always make it easy either... some lack honesty...
Our wish: at least (!) 145 square meters (approx. 1562 square feet), without a basement due to costs, but with a large storage room on the ground floor (either to house the technical installations or as an additional room). A small pantry would also be nice.
Upstairs: large bedroom, children’s room, bathroom, and a small office.
Because we are tall, as few sloping ceilings as possible – either a very high knee wall or a shed/flat roof.
Unfortunately, a hip roof is not allowed (too bad, as that would give us ceiling height plus storage space).
Since we want to have the house built quickly, prefab house providers have the advantage.
Because we want to build turnkey and want to avoid delays, hassles, and surprise costs, we are currently looking at some of the higher-end suppliers (although I’m not even sure if they are really higher quality): Büdenbender, Schwörerhaus, Weberhaus, Rensch-Haus. Rensch-Haus is probably the cheapest? Promotional houses would also be fine!
Unfortunately, none of them quite manage to meet all our wishes. That’s why we also check out Elk from time to time...
And now initial discussions show that solid construction houses are significantly cheaper... hmm... financially definitely interesting! But what about onsite completion times? And: How can I be sure that the cost won’t go up in the end?
One provider that might fit our budget range but from whom we haven’t received an offer yet is Viebrockhaus.
My question: Does what I’ve written so far sound about right? Is our budget definitely sufficient? (We definitely don’t want to go over, rather keep some reserve).
Do you have any other tips?
And sorry for going in circles / discussing again... maybe someone can show us the way out ;o)
Sorry for bumping the thread, but it’s still better and clearer than starting a new one ;o)
So this is our current situation:
The plot will be around 140-145 square meters (approximately 1507-1562 square feet) – alternatively a semi-detached house, then about 100 square meters (1076 square feet).
Budget: 430 euros
After deducting additional costs for the land and house estimated at around 40 euros, about 250 euros should be left for the house itself, right?
Well, the garden should be included in that as well.
The whole thing turnkey. Alternatively, almost finished (except for floors and walls), but then the total amount should still add up and not be exceeded!
We have already looked around the market a bit and are kind of going in circles without making real progress. The sellers don’t always make it easy either... some lack honesty...
Our wish: at least (!) 145 square meters (approx. 1562 square feet), without a basement due to costs, but with a large storage room on the ground floor (either to house the technical installations or as an additional room). A small pantry would also be nice.
Upstairs: large bedroom, children’s room, bathroom, and a small office.
Because we are tall, as few sloping ceilings as possible – either a very high knee wall or a shed/flat roof.
Unfortunately, a hip roof is not allowed (too bad, as that would give us ceiling height plus storage space).
Since we want to have the house built quickly, prefab house providers have the advantage.
Because we want to build turnkey and want to avoid delays, hassles, and surprise costs, we are currently looking at some of the higher-end suppliers (although I’m not even sure if they are really higher quality): Büdenbender, Schwörerhaus, Weberhaus, Rensch-Haus. Rensch-Haus is probably the cheapest? Promotional houses would also be fine!
Unfortunately, none of them quite manage to meet all our wishes. That’s why we also check out Elk from time to time...
And now initial discussions show that solid construction houses are significantly cheaper... hmm... financially definitely interesting! But what about onsite completion times? And: How can I be sure that the cost won’t go up in the end?
One provider that might fit our budget range but from whom we haven’t received an offer yet is Viebrockhaus.
My question: Does what I’ve written so far sound about right? Is our budget definitely sufficient? (We definitely don’t want to go over, rather keep some reserve).
Do you have any other tips?
And sorry for going in circles / discussing again... maybe someone can show us the way out ;o)
B
backbone2324 Feb 2013 14:57Your budget will already become tight.
Whether a prefabricated house or a solid (concrete/block) house, it doesn’t matter; both can be completed in the same amount of time. The prefabricated house is not produced immediately after planning is finished but also has certain waiting times.
Whether a prefabricated house or a solid (concrete/block) house, it doesn’t matter; both can be completed in the same amount of time. The prefabricated house is not produced immediately after planning is finished but also has certain waiting times.
I would suggest getting a few quotes from a solid construction company in your area. In terms of price, building around 150sqm (1600 sq ft) should be feasible, in my opinion. Of course, this varies from region to region.
As mentioned before, construction time should not really be an argument for or against a solid (brick-and-mortar) house versus a prefabricated house. Prefabricated houses are also produced only after ordering, with some waiting time involved. Therefore, both types should be completed around the same time in the end.
As mentioned before, construction time should not really be an argument for or against a solid (brick-and-mortar) house versus a prefabricated house. Prefabricated houses are also produced only after ordering, with some waiting time involved. Therefore, both types should be completed around the same time in the end.
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