ᐅ Our lifelong project: A single-family home with 8,600 square feet of living space
Created on: 8 Nov 2020 12:49
V
VanillaSwap
Good morning ladies and gentlemen,
I have found the form that everyone usually fills out in advance to provide more input. We are still trying to find a suitable plot of land. Most of the properties currently listed online in Hesse have either a too low floor area ratio or site coverage ratio, or they are unsuitable due to their location or neighborhood.
In general, we are not fixed on Hesse and have decided to remain flexible, as long as the location is not in the eastern part of the country (too far away for us), since this building project is only intended as a second home, to be used as a weekend house.
We see this house as our last major construction project before retirement. We are both very skilled at DIY work, so tasks like electrical installation planning, bathroom construction, and even building a sauna and steam bath have already been completed entirely by ourselves. We also finished the last interior work completely on our own, as well as the garden including the terrace and pond, independently built. As you can see, there is a high level of own initiative and expertise, which we believe enables us to successfully undertake such a project. Additionally, we aim to keep labor costs low by "optimizing" taxes and contributions.
General information about you:
Who are you? Father, mother, 2 teenagers.
How old are you? Parents are in their late 40s, children around 18 years old.
Are more children planned? No.
Are you employed, self-employed, retired, homemaker, etc.? Father is self-employed (lawyer with his own practice), mother does not work.
Income and assets:
What income do you have (gross/net)? Net: at least €30,000 per month as private withdrawal
How much equity do you want to invest in the house project? Preferably a low equity share to make the most of the current available funds (our consideration)
Housing costs:
No rent, own single-family house
General information about the property:
How large is the plot? We are trying to secure a plot from 1500 sqm (approximately 16,150 sq ft) upwards, preferably larger. Our motto is: the bigger, the better. Please feel free to post ideas on where to find such plots in Hesse – private tips via PM will of course be rewarded. We would need a building envelope with dimensions of about 34 x 25-30 meters (112 x 82-98 ft).
New build, existing building (year built), house type? Garage? New build with underground garage (a major wish to accommodate my husband’s small car collection)
How big is the house? (living area / usable area): approximately 800 sqm (8,600 sq ft) plus basement (part underground garage, partly fitness room, etc.)
Construction or purchase costs:
Plot costs: We are budgeting up to half a million (Euros); please correct us if this seems unrealistic. The last time we built was in ’08-’09, and at that time such a budget still worked well for the land.
Development costs: Unknown
Building or purchase costs (including architect, structural engineer): estimated €1,000,000 - €1,500,000
Additional construction-related costs (e.g., utility connections, soil surveyor, temporary power, etc.): Unknown
Outdoor facilities/terrace, paths, garden design, fences, etc.: Outdoor pool desired
Total costs: €1.5 - 2 million
Cost breakdown:
Total costs: €1,500,000
Deductible equity: e.g., €150,000
Financing amount: €1,350,000
Attached you will find some pictures that inspired us stylistically and that represent what the final product should look like. Of course, we know this project is quite demanding in terms of effort and execution, but we are confident that with our ideas and contacts within the industry, we should be able to realize it.
We very much look forward to your input and hope to receive ideas on implementation, opinions on the budget, and suggestions for possible locations of the plot.
Best regards,
S.
I have found the form that everyone usually fills out in advance to provide more input. We are still trying to find a suitable plot of land. Most of the properties currently listed online in Hesse have either a too low floor area ratio or site coverage ratio, or they are unsuitable due to their location or neighborhood.
In general, we are not fixed on Hesse and have decided to remain flexible, as long as the location is not in the eastern part of the country (too far away for us), since this building project is only intended as a second home, to be used as a weekend house.
We see this house as our last major construction project before retirement. We are both very skilled at DIY work, so tasks like electrical installation planning, bathroom construction, and even building a sauna and steam bath have already been completed entirely by ourselves. We also finished the last interior work completely on our own, as well as the garden including the terrace and pond, independently built. As you can see, there is a high level of own initiative and expertise, which we believe enables us to successfully undertake such a project. Additionally, we aim to keep labor costs low by "optimizing" taxes and contributions.
General information about you:
Who are you? Father, mother, 2 teenagers.
How old are you? Parents are in their late 40s, children around 18 years old.
Are more children planned? No.
Are you employed, self-employed, retired, homemaker, etc.? Father is self-employed (lawyer with his own practice), mother does not work.
Income and assets:
What income do you have (gross/net)? Net: at least €30,000 per month as private withdrawal
How much equity do you want to invest in the house project? Preferably a low equity share to make the most of the current available funds (our consideration)
Housing costs:
No rent, own single-family house
General information about the property:
How large is the plot? We are trying to secure a plot from 1500 sqm (approximately 16,150 sq ft) upwards, preferably larger. Our motto is: the bigger, the better. Please feel free to post ideas on where to find such plots in Hesse – private tips via PM will of course be rewarded. We would need a building envelope with dimensions of about 34 x 25-30 meters (112 x 82-98 ft).
New build, existing building (year built), house type? Garage? New build with underground garage (a major wish to accommodate my husband’s small car collection)
How big is the house? (living area / usable area): approximately 800 sqm (8,600 sq ft) plus basement (part underground garage, partly fitness room, etc.)
Construction or purchase costs:
Plot costs: We are budgeting up to half a million (Euros); please correct us if this seems unrealistic. The last time we built was in ’08-’09, and at that time such a budget still worked well for the land.
Development costs: Unknown
Building or purchase costs (including architect, structural engineer): estimated €1,000,000 - €1,500,000
Additional construction-related costs (e.g., utility connections, soil surveyor, temporary power, etc.): Unknown
Outdoor facilities/terrace, paths, garden design, fences, etc.: Outdoor pool desired
Total costs: €1.5 - 2 million
Cost breakdown:
Total costs: €1,500,000
Deductible equity: e.g., €150,000
Financing amount: €1,350,000
Attached you will find some pictures that inspired us stylistically and that represent what the final product should look like. Of course, we know this project is quite demanding in terms of effort and execution, but we are confident that with our ideas and contacts within the industry, we should be able to realize it.
We very much look forward to your input and hope to receive ideas on implementation, opinions on the budget, and suggestions for possible locations of the plot.
Best regards,
S.
B
Bertram1008 Nov 2020 13:21Such huge boxes quickly lose their value. Who would want to have such a massive property with high costs tied to them after 15 years? The northern part of our country is full of abandoned manor houses. Why not buy one and renovate it instead of sealing off so much new land, just for appearance’s sake? 🙄 To me, that definitely represents an attitude of "after me, the flood," even if it affects your own children.
V
VanillaSwap8 Nov 2020 13:24superzapp schrieb:
And please share plenty of pictures when the time comes; projects like this are quite rare 😉 We definitely will. The 150K was more of an example figure.
Pinky0301 schrieb:
Hessen is quite large; do you really not care about the specific area? I think it will be hard to find such a large plot for 500k around the bigger cities. For us, it’s important not to end up somewhere completely remote but to be within the catchment area of economically stronger locations. We have considered that Wetteraukreis is on an upward trend, given the demand that will gradually shift from the core of Frankfurt further "out to the countryside" in the future…
V
VanillaSwap8 Nov 2020 13:26Pinky0301 schrieb:
@Bertram100 I have also thought about the depreciation. Given the land requirements, the house would have to be more or less in a remote area...Yes, for that reason we are trying to find a balance between a rural setting and well-developed infrastructure, so it is easy to reach Frankfurt or other major cities.
B
Bertram1008 Nov 2020 13:29Pinky0301 schrieb:
@Bertram100 I have also considered the depreciation. Given the land requirements, the house would more or less have to be located in a remote area...Yes. It would have to be, and it would probably be well suited there. Or look for an older property in a historic area. There are still plenty of those. I grew up in one of those big old buildings myself. I wouldn’t want to own one. The showy effect is really very modest. Nowadays, people don’t really get impressed by such ostentatious displays of material luxury.
You are four people now, soon it will be three or two. 800 square meters (8,600 square feet) is about the size of a soccer field. That’s way over the top. The chance to make it feel “homey” is small. You have to be able to do that.
Personally, I really have no words for the blunt decadence expressed by your wishes. The earth simply cannot support such consumption for so few people. I don’t see a legitimate reason for it.
Take a look at Rick’s house that was introduced here in the forum. You can see if something like that appeals to you.