Hello,
Actually, we have been looking for an existing property since last summer. According to our mortgage broker, we have a budget of around 300,000 (all-in), which a bank is likely to approve.
The market here in Schleswig-Holstein has also become very tight, and the houses on offer are often in need of renovation, so you easily exceed the budget (especially since many city dwellers laugh at our house prices and like to secure a holiday home here).
Now the question is whether it would be possible to build a house within our budget (assuming we can get a building plot). Our requirements are not very high; it doesn’t need to be a huge house. 120 square meters (1300 square feet) would be completely sufficient.
In a neighboring village, plots are currently being developed. The price isn’t fixed yet but is expected to be below 100 euros per square meter. The plots are about 700 square meters (7500 square feet) in size. Unfortunately, we have no experience with this topic at all, and I definitely don’t want to miscalculate.
We can only contribute limited personal labor. We are not unskilled, but both fully employed with a child, dog, and horse. What are your thoughts?
Actually, we have been looking for an existing property since last summer. According to our mortgage broker, we have a budget of around 300,000 (all-in), which a bank is likely to approve.
The market here in Schleswig-Holstein has also become very tight, and the houses on offer are often in need of renovation, so you easily exceed the budget (especially since many city dwellers laugh at our house prices and like to secure a holiday home here).
Now the question is whether it would be possible to build a house within our budget (assuming we can get a building plot). Our requirements are not very high; it doesn’t need to be a huge house. 120 square meters (1300 square feet) would be completely sufficient.
In a neighboring village, plots are currently being developed. The price isn’t fixed yet but is expected to be below 100 euros per square meter. The plots are about 700 square meters (7500 square feet) in size. Unfortunately, we have no experience with this topic at all, and I definitely don’t want to miscalculate.
We can only contribute limited personal labor. We are not unskilled, but both fully employed with a child, dog, and horse. What are your thoughts?
H
hampshire30 Dec 2020 09:29It’s all a matter of space requirements and living preferences. If, in principle, 75 sqm (807 sq ft) of interior space is sufficient, you can also build a correspondingly small house within that budget. There are quite a few good floor plans of chalet-style homes available in the Netherlands that fit this size.
I would look for a plot with pasture access.
Did I understand correctly that the house will be occupied by two adults?
I would look for a plot with pasture access.
Did I understand correctly that the house will be occupied by two adults?
ypg schrieb:
You said it yourself: Schleswig-Holstein and Berlin.
And furthermore: the land price.
And furthermore: the lifestyle and comfort you want.
And furthermore: whether you have children or plan to have them.
All of this CAN make building a house possible, but it does not have to.
Where I am skeptical is the issue of time for early repayment. I can only repeat myself: if the financial advisor says the original poster will receive €300,000 (about $320,000), then it is very likely that neither the income is high enough to cover building a house nor a high repayment rate is feasible. Planning to build without equity at ages 48 and 45 and being 19 years away from retirement does not seem reasonable to me.
The most important information is simply missing here.
Zaba12 schrieb:
The key information is simply missing here. You're right about that.
Building on a "small" budget is possible, though. However, it requires determination from responsible, mature individuals who are handy with both their left and right hands.
We managed something similar ourselves, although on leasehold land, but with a larger property. Loan amount around 200,000 euros (about 220,000 USD), with equity of 100,000 euros (about 110,000 USD).
ypg schrieb:
You’re right about that.
Building on a “small” budget is possible, though. It requires determination from mature, responsible individuals who are skilled with both hands.
We managed it ourselves under similar conditions, although our project was larger and based on a ground lease. Our loan amount was around 200,000€ (approximately 220,000 USD), with equity of 100,000€ (approximately 110,000 USD). I don’t see what is supposed to be similar. Neither the year nor the budget matches, and I haven’t seen anything about grants. Just like in Jana’s case, this simply doesn’t add up. Without more information, there’s nothing else to conclude at the moment.
Seven years ago, we built a complete house for under €300,000 (approx. $300,000).
The plot of land was included in that price at about €45,000 (approx. $45,000).
For the rest, we got a 125m² (1,345 sq ft) KfW 70 standard house, including a double steel garage and landscaping on a level site.
At that time, this was achievable at that price. It might have been possible to go even cheaper by sticking to more basic standards.
Initially, we carefully watched the budget to avoid exceeding it, and of course, there was no mechanical ventilation system or electric shutters or anything similar included. Toward the end, it was comfortable financially, since the long construction period allowed us to save some additional funds.
However, there have been around 5% price increases annually over the past few years.
At €700,000 (approx. $700,000), the cost would be significantly higher than what we paid.
Personally, I doubt that you could still achieve a price of €300,000 (approx. $300,000) for the plot and house now without a lot of self-performed work.
The plot of land was included in that price at about €45,000 (approx. $45,000).
For the rest, we got a 125m² (1,345 sq ft) KfW 70 standard house, including a double steel garage and landscaping on a level site.
At that time, this was achievable at that price. It might have been possible to go even cheaper by sticking to more basic standards.
Initially, we carefully watched the budget to avoid exceeding it, and of course, there was no mechanical ventilation system or electric shutters or anything similar included. Toward the end, it was comfortable financially, since the long construction period allowed us to save some additional funds.
However, there have been around 5% price increases annually over the past few years.
At €700,000 (approx. $700,000), the cost would be significantly higher than what we paid.
Personally, I doubt that you could still achieve a price of €300,000 (approx. $300,000) for the plot and house now without a lot of self-performed work.
Musketier schrieb:
Seven years ago, we built an all-inclusive house for under €300,000. The land was included in that for about €45,000. Seven years of inflation, changing interest rates, no child-building grants, lower development costs... these factors change every year. It is therefore difficult to compare different building years. Still, €300,000 was already a substantial amount for building a house seven years ago. I still remember offers from 2013/2014 when several turnkey semi-detached houses were offered here for €250,000/260,000, and they remained unsold for a long time because they were considered overpriced. And in another seven years, people will probably say again, "If only I had built back in 2020, when it was still reasonably affordable"...