ᐅ Is Buying a House for up to €350,000 Realistic?

Created on: 1 Jun 2020 09:31
M
Mlt1402
Dear Forum,

We are about to purchase a plot of land (500m2 (5,382 sq ft)) and are trying to get an idea of the costs involved in building a house.

Our maximum budget for the house construction is €400,000, but since we want to have a safety margin, we initially set a budget of €350,000.

Our ideal house would have a pitched roof and a basement, with approximately 130m2 (1,400 sq ft) of living space—no frills, no luxury, but still modern.

We are unsure whether to go for a traditional masonry build or a prefabricated house. A well-known local company specializing in masonry construction quoted us costs of around €3,000 per m2 (€3,000 per 10.8 sq ft) as a basis for a “standard house.”

At first, this sounds quite expensive to me.

Since we could imagine contributing some work ourselves (with help from acquaintances and skilled friends), we hope to reduce costs somewhat this way.

Is it necessary to plan for €3,000 per m2 in any case? Even with prefabricated houses? I am also quite skeptical of the attractive offers in catalogues.

I would greatly appreciate your feedback.
M
Mlt1402
18 Aug 2020 21:11
Mlt1402 schrieb:

Even though some advised me against scheduling too many appointments, I find it extremely difficult to decide in advance who to sit down with. One key criterion for selection would definitely be the possibility of a preliminary sampling or selection of materials. The consultant from Büdenbender specifically emphasized that this is absolutely useful to make the cost estimate as realistic as possible. That definitely sounded professional.

Some consultants from prefabricated house providers have offered to first visit the plot together and then continue planning afterwards. That certainly left a good impression. Other providers, on the other hand, only offer appointments at the model home center.

To avoid showing up to the meeting with a blank slate, I have sketched out two preliminary ideas just for fun, which probably don’t make much sense. I didn’t pay attention to the square meters (m²) or whether the door placements are practical. The goal was only to organize our thoughts regarding the layout. If you notice anything, I’d appreciate any feedback. The first draft would still be missing a small narrow pantry.


What do you generally think about the floor plan idea?
kati133718 Aug 2020 21:13
Scout schrieb:

In new construction, "painting" involves much more than what you might expect from renting an apartment: filling holes, sanding, smoothing, priming, and applying wallpaper with a painting fleece come first. This includes stairwells and ceilings. The actual "painting" is then the easy part. Two amateurs can easily spend their entire annual vacation just on that. And then there’s installing the floors... possibly leveling, laying them down, installing baseboards, and fitting door frames. After that, most office workers are "almost done" — it's a fact!

We approached it thinking, "Oh, just a bit of DIY, wallpaper isn’t that expensive"… what can I say. Tonight I spoke with the painter to arrange an appointment. He’s going to prime, wallpaper, and paint the entire house for us. After one day of painting the utility room, we already realized we’re too much in "office mode" for this kind of work.
V
vorkalmatador
18 Aug 2020 21:32
How much do you pay for it (approximately)?
kati133718 Aug 2020 22:48
Approximately 5,500. +/- 200€
S
Scout
19 Aug 2020 07:28
kati1337 schrieb:

Around 5,500. +/- 200€

Without puttying and sanding probably? How many square meters?
Y
Ybias78
19 Aug 2020 07:55
Since we are on the topic, we plan to build ready for occupancy with an interior plaster finish of quality Q2. Will any additional work be required, or is it sufficient to paint directly over it?