Hello dear home builders.
Over the past few weeks, we have gathered numerous quotes from construction companies and are now facing the question: Whom should we choose?
What criteria would you base your decision on, and what would you pay special attention to when deciding who you want to build with?
We would appreciate your suggestions.
Brief overview of the building project:
- Two-story urban villa or single-family house with knee wall of 1.80m (5 feet 11 inches), starting from 130sqm (1,400 sqft)
- No plot of land yet, as they are scarce in Erfurt and the surrounding area. So we are still searching. (Some construction companies offer assistance with this)
Over the past few weeks, we have gathered numerous quotes from construction companies and are now facing the question: Whom should we choose?
What criteria would you base your decision on, and what would you pay special attention to when deciding who you want to build with?
We would appreciate your suggestions.
Brief overview of the building project:
- Two-story urban villa or single-family house with knee wall of 1.80m (5 feet 11 inches), starting from 130sqm (1,400 sqft)
- No plot of land yet, as they are scarce in Erfurt and the surrounding area. So we are still searching. (Some construction companies offer assistance with this)
erfurter110287 schrieb:
No, directly at the city/town hall
Development area "Offenhain Nord"So, to wrap up the topic of the plot and help you further with your decision regarding construction companies, here are a few tips and experiences from my side, as well as our previous and current approach, since we also have not signed anything yet:
- Visit model home exhibitions, let yourself be informed by the various prefabricated house companies, and see where the differences lie. After the 10th conversation, you will naturally realize with whom you won’t want to talk a second time and which companies could potentially be an option for you.
- Look through the brochures on site/model homes locally, have conversations, and then grab your laptop and start googling. Check the websites of the prefabricated house companies, read online blogs from homeowners who have built with different companies, see if the style of the houses or the company philosophy (for example, some companies focus heavily on ecology, etc.) fits your preferences. The market is full of prefabricated house providers… You cannot compare them all. With thorough internet research and a lot of reading (also in forums like this), you can certainly narrow down a few companies to consider more closely.
- Get in touch with the companies (not too many, otherwise you will get overwhelmed, maybe 4-5 companies), meet in person or arrange a phone/video conference, and work out an initial floor plan. This way, you will have several floor plans to review; try to develop one yourself that really appeals to you and see if you can realize the floor plan you envision. First and foremost, the initial floor plans and price quotes should help you compare everything with each other. Many things will be pushed on you during the first meetings, and over time you can identify which companies are worthwhile and which are not.
- Request all construction and performance specifications, create an Excel sheet with all important details, and compare all construction companies side by side. This involves a lot of effort but will pay off in the end. You will be able to recognize different quality levels and compare “apples to apples,” so you won’t be surprised if one company charges significantly more or less for a similar house.
- Look very closely at the construction and performance specifications to determine what is important to you. Does it have to be a premium company? Is a mid-range company sufficient? How much can the house cost? What are your standards? Based on these specifications, you can filter by quality level and see which companies operate within that class. You can then include additional companies later if none of the 4-5 filtered companies meet your requirements.
- Meet with the companies again, develop the first offers, and try to get all offers aligned to the same level (floor plans, fittings). Also pay close attention to additional construction-related costs, as there are huge differences in which company includes what in their pricing.
- See where you feel comfortable (trust your gut feeling when choosing a construction company!), who works efficiently, is always reachable for you, works cleanly, doesn’t make unrealistic promises, gives good advice, and doesn’t just want to sell you something (which is very difficult to find in the prefabricated house industry).
- Ultimately, the decision is based on price compared to performance (using your Excel list with construction and performance specifications).
--> My advice is to definitely consider regional construction companies (solid construction such as masonry or timber frame construction)! With these, you have much greater cost transparency, they are closer to your project, and therefore more tangible. They have a certain “reputation” to uphold locally and may have built many houses in your area. You will quickly notice that there are huge differences compared to a prefabricated house company located maybe 500 km (310 miles) away from you. Those companies don’t care much about your plot, etc. They just want to sell their house (which is not necessarily bad; it depends entirely on your individual needs and what is important to you in your build).
You can compare these regional companies just as well with the prefabricated home builders on a nationwide or international level based on the construction and performance specifications.
In short: Compare the services of the companies directly against each other; this only works if you request the same house from all (the floor plan and also the fittings/performance should be very similar), otherwise it’s very difficult to decide. The prices can vary enormously!
E
erfurter11028721 Sep 2020 11:49Hello everyone,
here are some pictures of the plot. We have now reserved plot no. 8 with 809 square meters (8,710 square feet) according to the new survey. Now we are starting to request quotes based on exact details and then thoroughly compare all construction descriptions. Our plot essentially extends over the old path.
The only downside to the plot (in our opinion) is the 60 cm (2 feet) fill under the house and thus the slight slope of the rest of the plot, especially when you see how it looks at the neighbor’s property.
here are some pictures of the plot. We have now reserved plot no. 8 with 809 square meters (8,710 square feet) according to the new survey. Now we are starting to request quotes based on exact details and then thoroughly compare all construction descriptions. Our plot essentially extends over the old path.
The only downside to the plot (in our opinion) is the 60 cm (2 feet) fill under the house and thus the slight slope of the rest of the plot, especially when you see how it looks at the neighbor’s property.
P
Pinkiponk21 Sep 2020 13:09erfurter110287 schrieb:
Strangely, some construction companies said they still have some available. In that case, I think the answer to your question is quite simple. In this situation, unless there are serious reasons against it, I would build with the company that offers me the best plot of land for me and my family at a price I can afford. If they own plots, the construction companies will surely be able to provide you with the addresses. You can look at the plots, the location, etc., and if it suits you, you build with the provider (as mentioned above, provided there are no serious reasons to object).From my point of view, you are in a very comfortable position if several construction companies offer you decent and affordable plots. Unfortunately, that was not the case for us.
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