F
Fortuna863 Jul 2013 09:47Hello,
My fiancé and I are currently in the “finding the right solution” phase. We have equity of €30,000 (about $33,000) from old building savings contracts that I received as a gift from my grandparents. In addition, there is a small amount of capital from our own building savings contracts.
Overall, we would like to spend €150,000 (about $165,000), so we still need to borrow around €120,000 (about $132,000) and plan to repay it over 20 years with monthly payments of €700 (about $770) at an interest rate of 3%.
Plots of land are quite affordable here (compared to Munich or other metropolitan areas). Prices range from around €23 (about $25) in rural areas to about €70 (about $77) per square meter in small towns. We live about 50 km (30 miles) south of Bremen. We don’t want too large a plot—maybe 800–900 square meters (9,000–10,000 square feet)—as we are not really garden enthusiasts.
The size of the house should be between 130 and 140 square meters (1,400–1,500 square feet).
Considering the sharply rising energy costs, we want an energy-efficient house or passive house that can also be cooled in summer, as I have problems with hot weather. Since we don’t own a kitchen yet, this will need to be purchased. A small partial basement would be nice to do laundry and store things. Also, a double garage (with a small pit and/or lift and a small workshop). Oh, and underfloor heating inside the house. We both love wood. On the ground floor, all rooms except the living room, and in the upper floor bathrooms, should have tiles; the living room and other upper-floor rooms should have wooden floors. I would also really like to leave the upper wooden beams exposed.
My fiancé has already built a house once with his parents and is objectively not inexperienced; his family is the same. There are some tasks we would like to do ourselves, for example paving and installing interior doors. Also wallpapering and laying wooden floors.
I also dream of a plaster facade but have concerns about possible follow-up costs. We have already decided on clay bricks. Since we currently live in an attic apartment (which is actually quite lovely), I’m fed up with low sloping ceilings and therefore dream of a Tuscan-style house.
I am also wondering if I might want dark green window frames. By the way, I am aware that the house will probably have two stories. So much for the ideas so far.
Now I have about 1,000 questions running through my mind:
- How do I avoid ending up with a black sheep builder?
- How can I clearly separate contractor work from DIY work, so that in case of defects that aren’t our fault it’s clear who is responsible?
- Since we want to build with solar panels and so on, can we apply for any subsidies or incentives?
- Geothermal heat pumps are very popular, but don’t they consume a huge amount of electricity? Similar to night storage heaters?
- How do we find the right building plot for us? We’re afraid we might build and then not like the location (we’ve already had this problem when choosing our first apartment).
- How do we avoid expensive hidden costs with the plot, for example if building is difficult due to peat or other ground issues?
- Is a plaster facade really so expensive?
- Which DIY tasks actually save money and make sense to do yourself?
- What costs should we expect for creating a simple garden/site landscaping?
- How do I recognize harmful materials, paints, varnishes, etc.?
- What is better: plastic (PVC) windows or wooden windows?
- And the most important question is:
Are my plans even feasible with our budget and financing, or am I just building castles in the air?
My fiancé and I are currently in the “finding the right solution” phase. We have equity of €30,000 (about $33,000) from old building savings contracts that I received as a gift from my grandparents. In addition, there is a small amount of capital from our own building savings contracts.
Overall, we would like to spend €150,000 (about $165,000), so we still need to borrow around €120,000 (about $132,000) and plan to repay it over 20 years with monthly payments of €700 (about $770) at an interest rate of 3%.
Plots of land are quite affordable here (compared to Munich or other metropolitan areas). Prices range from around €23 (about $25) in rural areas to about €70 (about $77) per square meter in small towns. We live about 50 km (30 miles) south of Bremen. We don’t want too large a plot—maybe 800–900 square meters (9,000–10,000 square feet)—as we are not really garden enthusiasts.
The size of the house should be between 130 and 140 square meters (1,400–1,500 square feet).
Considering the sharply rising energy costs, we want an energy-efficient house or passive house that can also be cooled in summer, as I have problems with hot weather. Since we don’t own a kitchen yet, this will need to be purchased. A small partial basement would be nice to do laundry and store things. Also, a double garage (with a small pit and/or lift and a small workshop). Oh, and underfloor heating inside the house. We both love wood. On the ground floor, all rooms except the living room, and in the upper floor bathrooms, should have tiles; the living room and other upper-floor rooms should have wooden floors. I would also really like to leave the upper wooden beams exposed.
My fiancé has already built a house once with his parents and is objectively not inexperienced; his family is the same. There are some tasks we would like to do ourselves, for example paving and installing interior doors. Also wallpapering and laying wooden floors.
I also dream of a plaster facade but have concerns about possible follow-up costs. We have already decided on clay bricks. Since we currently live in an attic apartment (which is actually quite lovely), I’m fed up with low sloping ceilings and therefore dream of a Tuscan-style house.
I am also wondering if I might want dark green window frames. By the way, I am aware that the house will probably have two stories. So much for the ideas so far.
Now I have about 1,000 questions running through my mind:
- How do I avoid ending up with a black sheep builder?
- How can I clearly separate contractor work from DIY work, so that in case of defects that aren’t our fault it’s clear who is responsible?
- Since we want to build with solar panels and so on, can we apply for any subsidies or incentives?
- Geothermal heat pumps are very popular, but don’t they consume a huge amount of electricity? Similar to night storage heaters?
- How do we find the right building plot for us? We’re afraid we might build and then not like the location (we’ve already had this problem when choosing our first apartment).
- How do we avoid expensive hidden costs with the plot, for example if building is difficult due to peat or other ground issues?
- Is a plaster facade really so expensive?
- Which DIY tasks actually save money and make sense to do yourself?
- What costs should we expect for creating a simple garden/site landscaping?
- How do I recognize harmful materials, paints, varnishes, etc.?
- What is better: plastic (PVC) windows or wooden windows?
- And the most important question is:
Are my plans even feasible with our budget and financing, or am I just building castles in the air?
F
Fortuna863 Jul 2013 09:53I would like to sincerely apologize for this chaotic text. I don’t understand why so many words are written together. I created the text using Word, and there the words were correctly spaced. I also did not apply any different fonts. I would like to fix this, but the text can no longer be edited. I hope it is still possible to make sense of it somehow.
------------------
done :-)
Maybe you should write directly in this window; when you paste and copy, it seems like the spacing gets reduced on your end.
Regards, Building Expert
Building Expert
------------------
done :-)
Maybe you should write directly in this window; when you paste and copy, it seems like the spacing gets reduced on your end.
Regards, Building Expert
Building Expert
Am I understanding this correctly? You want:
A house with 140 sqm (1,507 sq ft)
A basement
A double garage
Preferably energy-efficient
A cooling system for the house
And a plot of land.
And all of this for 150,000 €. In Germany? No way.
I dare say, even if you do EVERYTHING yourself, that amount is not enough.
You haven’t read much here yet, otherwise you could answer your own questions.
A KfW 70 energy standard house with 140 sqm (1,507 sq ft) will cost you around 180,000–200,000 € on a slab foundation without a basement.
Add at least 30,000–40,000 € for the basement,
About 20,000 € for the double garage,
And don’t forget around 35,000 € for additional construction costs (such as fees, permits, and utilities),
10,000 € for interior finishing,
10,000 € for landscaping,
And so on…
An experienced builder often posts the same answer to the question: How much will a 140 sqm (1,507 sq ft) house cost?
You might save about 20,000 € by doing some of the work yourself, or maybe a little more if you’re a professional. But people tend to overestimate their own skills.
A house with 140 sqm (1,507 sq ft)
A basement
A double garage
Preferably energy-efficient
A cooling system for the house
And a plot of land.
And all of this for 150,000 €. In Germany? No way.
I dare say, even if you do EVERYTHING yourself, that amount is not enough.
You haven’t read much here yet, otherwise you could answer your own questions.
A KfW 70 energy standard house with 140 sqm (1,507 sq ft) will cost you around 180,000–200,000 € on a slab foundation without a basement.
Add at least 30,000–40,000 € for the basement,
About 20,000 € for the double garage,
And don’t forget around 35,000 € for additional construction costs (such as fees, permits, and utilities),
10,000 € for interior finishing,
10,000 € for landscaping,
And so on…
An experienced builder often posts the same answer to the question: How much will a 140 sqm (1,507 sq ft) house cost?
You might save about 20,000 € by doing some of the work yourself, or maybe a little more if you’re a professional. But people tend to overestimate their own skills.
Hello, I won’t address all the questions or requests here, but still: - Budget of €150,000 for house + land → No way! - Budget of €150,000 for the house alone → sorry, that won’t work either! Check out other threads from the past few days, where it’s already well explained why it’s not feasible...
I can only agree with the previous speaker... calling it a pipe dream is an understatement.
KfW 70 house 200,000
Land/taxes 50€/m² (approximately 50,000)
Basement 30,000
Additional costs 45,000
That brings the minimum for a basic finish to at least 325,000.
I’d say that with a monthly payment of around €1,400 (about $1,500), you’re probably being more realistic, but that would be for 25 years. Honestly, please take some time to familiarize yourself with the subject first; it’s not that difficult to get an overview online and elsewhere.
KfW 70 house 200,000
Land/taxes 50€/m² (approximately 50,000)
Basement 30,000
Additional costs 45,000
That brings the minimum for a basic finish to at least 325,000.
I’d say that with a monthly payment of around €1,400 (about $1,500), you’re probably being more realistic, but that would be for 25 years. Honestly, please take some time to familiarize yourself with the subject first; it’s not that difficult to get an overview online and elsewhere.
F
Fortuna863 Jul 2013 10:38Yes, I recently read that you have to add 300 € per square meter for a basement. So a small 30 sqm (320 sq ft) basement would cost around 6,000 €.
Why is an outdoor area so expensive? Simplifying a bit: a little lawn, some fencing (20 € per section).
And why are additional construction costs between 30,000 and 40,000 €? Of course, notary fees, temporary construction electricity, professional fees—but I’m not currently estimating those costs.
I want to get informed, and to be honest, I find your very shocked reactions a bit exaggerated right now. :-/
Why is an outdoor area so expensive? Simplifying a bit: a little lawn, some fencing (20 € per section).
And why are additional construction costs between 30,000 and 40,000 €? Of course, notary fees, temporary construction electricity, professional fees—but I’m not currently estimating those costs.
I want to get informed, and to be honest, I find your very shocked reactions a bit exaggerated right now. :-/
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