ᐅ New Single-Family Home Construction in Southern Germany
Created on: 18 Nov 2020 00:43
W
WilderSueden
Hello everyone,
after jumping straight into the basement discussion thread, I want to use this one as an introduction and idea-sharing thread. Some things might seem a bit chaotic at first, but that will surely clear up.
We are expecting our first child in February. Since two rooms are obviously too few for the long term, we need something larger. The housing market here in Konstanz is notoriously difficult, so we didn’t spend much time searching here. Thanks to Corona home office, we focused on areas a bit further away right from the start. Initially, we looked mostly at existing properties, but due to the poor condition of what’s on offer, we unexpectedly ended up deciding to build. We were actually lucky to get a plot in a new development area around Stockach-Pfullendorf. The site started being developed this week and will probably be buildable from summer onward.
Here are some key details:
- He/I am 33, work in the software industry, based in Konstanz, from a rural area
- She is 41, a teacher in the Hegau region, from a city that basically doesn’t exist
- One child on the way, no further children planned and unlikely due to her age
- Currently living in about 65sqm (700 sq ft) with 2.5 rooms in a lovely apartment building…
- Basically, we don’t want anything too fancy—no extensive smart home automation, no luxury mansion with marble and so on. Just something solid and nice. We are not building to fulfill a lifelong dream but to avoid renovating an old house worth half a million euros. Plain wallpaper texture and laminate flooring would be fine for us if the quality is good.
- Accordingly, we don’t mind using a “standard” floor plan from a prefabricated house builder or a typical model home.
- That said, since we are building, it should be energy efficient and we don’t want to use concepts that might soon be politically outdated or unsupported.
- Do-it-yourself work only to a limited extent, as we are neither professionals nor do we have relevant contacts. Also, the new house is a bit further away, so working on it in the evening is unlikely. A weekend of painting before moving in is no problem, and after moving in, doing the carport, terrace, and garden ourselves is also fine.
- The construction partner must be reliable.
Plot and financials:
- Plot roughly 700sqm (7,535 sq ft) at 98€ per sqm → 70,000€, fairly rectangular
- 120,000€ equity (with some reserve left)
- Financing and ownership entirely in my name (unmarried and no joint assets intended)
- Planned overall budget about 500,000€
- Target monthly payment 1,500€
- Accordingly, loan to be repaid in 25 years with that rate, with some extra repayments planned mid-term aiming for about 20 years total
Budget breakdown:
- Plot 70,000€
- Ancillary plot costs 5,000€
- Other construction-related fees 60,000€
- Basement 50,000€
- Kitchen 10,000€
- Driveway, carport, terrace as DIY 15,000€
-----
210,000€
Leaves about 290,000€ in the budget for the house itself, which is probably quite tight for what we have planned. The budget still needs to be adjusted with a buffer.
So far, our wishlist looks roughly like this:
- Not excessively large, more like 120–130sqm (1,290–1,400 sq ft)
- Efficient, modern house
- Photovoltaic system (possibly with battery storage)
- Underfloor heating with heat pump
- Home office for me on the ground floor (makes sense since I mostly work from home)
- Bedroom upstairs, one office for her that also serves as a guest room and reserve nursery
- Large open-plan kitchen/living area
- Basement
- Cistern
- Carport for two cars and one trailer
Our first contact about building was through an ad from the local Town & Country partner. The consultant was friendly, and the show house in Geisingen looked quite nice, but somehow it all felt a bit too conservative. Built according to the Energy Saving Ordinance 2016, standard gas heating. Sure, upgrades are possible, but I’m not sure if a heat pump makes sense under that regulation anymore. The fact that the show house had cracks in the plaster here and there isn’t exactly reassuring either. But the base price is lower. Current status: two meetings, visited the show house, haven’t requested the scope of services yet.
Then we looked a bit into prefab houses. Most offer KfW55 standard, which is closer to what we want and would be a good base for going to KfW40+ since a photovoltaic system is already planned (probably just with battery preparation though). Visited the park in Villingen-Schwenningen. Had a long chat with Schwabenhaus; the consultant seemed to want to downplay costs and was very keen to sell a ground-source heat pump with boreholes. The upgrade options for the promotional houses looked likely to increase costs significantly. Visited Heldhaus, liked it quite a lot but their cost outline overshoots the budget by roughly 100,000€.
Today we had an appointment with Schwörerhaus. The floor plan of one of their promotional houses fits pretty well. Basement plus KfW40+ seems somewhat challenging in combination. Otherwise, a generally good impression; the briefly reviewed scope of services doesn’t give the impression the house would be unpleasant to live in. Let’s see what the first offer will look like. I don’t get the feeling there’s much that could go wrong there.
Next week we have an appointment with Weberhaus. We found a floor plan we really like. The price is initially the highest, but their examples include KfW40+ standard and smart home automation upfront.
Our goal is to narrow down the number of companies we continue with to a maximum of two by Christmas and then decide on a construction partner early next year. In spring, the baby will take priority, not just house planning.
I’ve already posted some thoughts about the basement and possible basement substitutes. The insulation costs for the basement seem to fully consume the additional subsidies, so the photovoltaic battery would have to be paid out of pocket again. One idea on the drive back from the appointment was whether it makes sense to build the house initially to KfW55 standard without extra insulation. The difference in heating costs is relatively small. Then install just the conduit pipes for photovoltaics with battery preparation. A few years later, add a battery once prices drop. That would also likely bring the house closer to the planned budget than going for KfW40+.
These are my thoughts so far. Have I missed anything important?
after jumping straight into the basement discussion thread, I want to use this one as an introduction and idea-sharing thread. Some things might seem a bit chaotic at first, but that will surely clear up.
We are expecting our first child in February. Since two rooms are obviously too few for the long term, we need something larger. The housing market here in Konstanz is notoriously difficult, so we didn’t spend much time searching here. Thanks to Corona home office, we focused on areas a bit further away right from the start. Initially, we looked mostly at existing properties, but due to the poor condition of what’s on offer, we unexpectedly ended up deciding to build. We were actually lucky to get a plot in a new development area around Stockach-Pfullendorf. The site started being developed this week and will probably be buildable from summer onward.
Here are some key details:
- He/I am 33, work in the software industry, based in Konstanz, from a rural area
- She is 41, a teacher in the Hegau region, from a city that basically doesn’t exist
- One child on the way, no further children planned and unlikely due to her age
- Currently living in about 65sqm (700 sq ft) with 2.5 rooms in a lovely apartment building…
- Basically, we don’t want anything too fancy—no extensive smart home automation, no luxury mansion with marble and so on. Just something solid and nice. We are not building to fulfill a lifelong dream but to avoid renovating an old house worth half a million euros. Plain wallpaper texture and laminate flooring would be fine for us if the quality is good.
- Accordingly, we don’t mind using a “standard” floor plan from a prefabricated house builder or a typical model home.
- That said, since we are building, it should be energy efficient and we don’t want to use concepts that might soon be politically outdated or unsupported.
- Do-it-yourself work only to a limited extent, as we are neither professionals nor do we have relevant contacts. Also, the new house is a bit further away, so working on it in the evening is unlikely. A weekend of painting before moving in is no problem, and after moving in, doing the carport, terrace, and garden ourselves is also fine.
- The construction partner must be reliable.
Plot and financials:
- Plot roughly 700sqm (7,535 sq ft) at 98€ per sqm → 70,000€, fairly rectangular
- 120,000€ equity (with some reserve left)
- Financing and ownership entirely in my name (unmarried and no joint assets intended)
- Planned overall budget about 500,000€
- Target monthly payment 1,500€
- Accordingly, loan to be repaid in 25 years with that rate, with some extra repayments planned mid-term aiming for about 20 years total
Budget breakdown:
- Plot 70,000€
- Ancillary plot costs 5,000€
- Other construction-related fees 60,000€
- Basement 50,000€
- Kitchen 10,000€
- Driveway, carport, terrace as DIY 15,000€
-----
210,000€
Leaves about 290,000€ in the budget for the house itself, which is probably quite tight for what we have planned. The budget still needs to be adjusted with a buffer.
So far, our wishlist looks roughly like this:
- Not excessively large, more like 120–130sqm (1,290–1,400 sq ft)
- Efficient, modern house
- Photovoltaic system (possibly with battery storage)
- Underfloor heating with heat pump
- Home office for me on the ground floor (makes sense since I mostly work from home)
- Bedroom upstairs, one office for her that also serves as a guest room and reserve nursery
- Large open-plan kitchen/living area
- Basement
- Cistern
- Carport for two cars and one trailer
Our first contact about building was through an ad from the local Town & Country partner. The consultant was friendly, and the show house in Geisingen looked quite nice, but somehow it all felt a bit too conservative. Built according to the Energy Saving Ordinance 2016, standard gas heating. Sure, upgrades are possible, but I’m not sure if a heat pump makes sense under that regulation anymore. The fact that the show house had cracks in the plaster here and there isn’t exactly reassuring either. But the base price is lower. Current status: two meetings, visited the show house, haven’t requested the scope of services yet.
Then we looked a bit into prefab houses. Most offer KfW55 standard, which is closer to what we want and would be a good base for going to KfW40+ since a photovoltaic system is already planned (probably just with battery preparation though). Visited the park in Villingen-Schwenningen. Had a long chat with Schwabenhaus; the consultant seemed to want to downplay costs and was very keen to sell a ground-source heat pump with boreholes. The upgrade options for the promotional houses looked likely to increase costs significantly. Visited Heldhaus, liked it quite a lot but their cost outline overshoots the budget by roughly 100,000€.
Today we had an appointment with Schwörerhaus. The floor plan of one of their promotional houses fits pretty well. Basement plus KfW40+ seems somewhat challenging in combination. Otherwise, a generally good impression; the briefly reviewed scope of services doesn’t give the impression the house would be unpleasant to live in. Let’s see what the first offer will look like. I don’t get the feeling there’s much that could go wrong there.
Next week we have an appointment with Weberhaus. We found a floor plan we really like. The price is initially the highest, but their examples include KfW40+ standard and smart home automation upfront.
Our goal is to narrow down the number of companies we continue with to a maximum of two by Christmas and then decide on a construction partner early next year. In spring, the baby will take priority, not just house planning.
I’ve already posted some thoughts about the basement and possible basement substitutes. The insulation costs for the basement seem to fully consume the additional subsidies, so the photovoltaic battery would have to be paid out of pocket again. One idea on the drive back from the appointment was whether it makes sense to build the house initially to KfW55 standard without extra insulation. The difference in heating costs is relatively small. Then install just the conduit pipes for photovoltaics with battery preparation. A few years later, add a battery once prices drop. That would also likely bring the house closer to the planned budget than going for KfW40+.
These are my thoughts so far. Have I missed anything important?
K
KalterKaffee30 Dec 2020 21:58WilderSueden schrieb:
I would have liked one, but it is already expensive by itself, and with the arsenic issue here, there is an additional difficult-to-calculate financial risk. That also made me think twice. Almost everyone advised against a basement because the excavation costs would be very high; however, I had a chemical analysis done (around 800 euros) and was able to hand that to a groundworks contractor, who then gave me a quote. It turned out to be cheaper than I expected. That’s why I decided to go with a basement—but it could have gone differently.
W
WilderSueden1 Jan 2021 16:52I have just compiled all the previous quotes into a comparison table. The only offer that keeps us under 500,000€ when including all costs (house, land, landscaping, surveyor, etc.) is the one from Town & Country, and even then, only just barely. I think the issue with the basement is settled even in the cheapest scenario, as that would mean an additional cost of at least 60,000€ for the basement and extra groundwork, and originally the goal was to build for 500,000€.
I also now have the construction specification from the local general contractor. To be exact, I actually had it all along but it was hidden in the spam folder and only found it after the second attempt didn’t arrive... The relatively high price is somewhat justified since almost everything is included: groundwork, deep drilling, temporary power supply, surveying, sewer works, cistern with connection—in other words, all the stuff the others wanted extra payment for. Only fees for utility connections and electricity for the screed heating are missing. So it really seems to be the all-inclusive package that I have missed so far with prefab house manufacturers. Otherwise, the specification reads as quite high-quality—for example, features like snow guards on the roof or a connection for external lighting with a motion detector at the entrance are mentioned for the first time. The only downside is 30€ per square meter (approximately 2.8 square feet) for flooring and tiles, which doesn’t quite match what is often mentioned in the forum, where tiles under 45€ per square meter are hard to find—but we’ll see.
Unfortunately, there’s some time pressure again, as he has received price increases from a few suppliers in the range of 7-12%, and the current price won’t be available for much longer. So definitely another meeting is necessary next week to clarify the details. I’m not really happy about having to make another decision under time pressure...
I also now have the construction specification from the local general contractor. To be exact, I actually had it all along but it was hidden in the spam folder and only found it after the second attempt didn’t arrive... The relatively high price is somewhat justified since almost everything is included: groundwork, deep drilling, temporary power supply, surveying, sewer works, cistern with connection—in other words, all the stuff the others wanted extra payment for. Only fees for utility connections and electricity for the screed heating are missing. So it really seems to be the all-inclusive package that I have missed so far with prefab house manufacturers. Otherwise, the specification reads as quite high-quality—for example, features like snow guards on the roof or a connection for external lighting with a motion detector at the entrance are mentioned for the first time. The only downside is 30€ per square meter (approximately 2.8 square feet) for flooring and tiles, which doesn’t quite match what is often mentioned in the forum, where tiles under 45€ per square meter are hard to find—but we’ll see.
Unfortunately, there’s some time pressure again, as he has received price increases from a few suppliers in the range of 7-12%, and the current price won’t be available for much longer. So definitely another meeting is necessary next week to clarify the details. I’m not really happy about having to make another decision under time pressure...
W
WilderSueden1 Jan 2021 18:05In case anyone is interested in how I calculated the costs:
House + additional construction costs according to the quote
The following costs are the same for everyone:
For the kitchen, the estimate is on the safe side. It is certainly possible to buy a nice kitchen for €10,000.00 or less, but since this will be the first kitchen I buy myself, especially regarding appliances, I am a bit uncertain about the costs.
I find it hard to imagine doing the outdoor facilities for €15,000.00 as a DIY project, but on the other hand, several rental tools and machines will be necessary to get the garden in shape. Also, probably adding some fresh topsoil over the clay soil, and that will add up quickly.
House + additional construction costs according to the quote
The following costs are the same for everyone:
| Kitchen | |
| Outdoor facilities | |
| Garage/Carport | |
| Garden shed | |
| Land + purchase-related costs | |
| Furniture, lighting, etc. | |
| Expert consultant |
For the kitchen, the estimate is on the safe side. It is certainly possible to buy a nice kitchen for €10,000.00 or less, but since this will be the first kitchen I buy myself, especially regarding appliances, I am a bit uncertain about the costs.
I find it hard to imagine doing the outdoor facilities for €15,000.00 as a DIY project, but on the other hand, several rental tools and machines will be necessary to get the garden in shape. Also, probably adding some fresh topsoil over the clay soil, and that will add up quickly.
Hausbau08151 Jan 2021 18:48WilderSueden schrieb:
Only 30€ per sqm (approximately $33 per sq ft) for flooring and tiles doesn’t quite match what you usually read in the forum, where tiles are rarely found under 45€ per sqm (about $50 per sq ft), but let’s see… You can forget about the 30€. That’s either just the material cost or the installation price per sqm (square meter), but definitely not the all-in price for both. What about the painting work? Usually, electrical and plumbing costs add up as well—another outlet here, a light switch there, or opting for a more expensive faucet. It all adds up in the end.
The kitchen, lighting fixtures, and furniture are of no interest to the bank and cannot be financed through the construction loan. You have to cover those costs with your own equity. You need to set that amount aside right from the start and cannot count it as equity when applying, because at least in our case, the declared equity had to be fully used before the loan was disbursed.
Hausbau08151 Jan 2021 18:59haydee schrieb:
30 euros for tiles is acceptable, as long as you aren’t talking about special sizes or formatsYes, as a material price, but definitely not as the total price for materials plus installation. Or am I mistaken?
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