Hello everyone!
We are currently considering three companies as potential builders. One of them is Laux Fertigbau from Saarland. They have offered to design our house according to our wishes (we sent them a list in text form). They have their own draftsmen but also work with architects.
The agreement would be that we pay €1500 (about $1600) for this planning work if we decide NOT to choose the company in the end. However, we would receive the plans and drawings and could have the house built by another company if we wanted to. If we decide in favor of Laux, then this planning is part of the project and costs nothing extra.
Overall, I find this arrangement fair, and I think it’s interesting to see what a local architect comes up with if given free rein. Still, I have some reservations about paying this money upfront because I worry it might create a sort of "pre-selection" for the builder and that we might then feel influenced to go with them, just so we don’t waste the €1500.
The second company (currently ranked third in my mind) is called DHI, and the third one is a very local provider with no website or brochures but has been building houses in the region for over 20 years and relies almost entirely on word-of-mouth recommendations. I had a long phone conversation with them, and it was all very likeable. However, I don’t have a price estimate yet, and their aversion to anything digital (no smartphone, no website) puts me off a bit. On the other hand, their workload despite having no advertising clearly speaks in favor of the builder.
Best regards,
Kati
We are currently considering three companies as potential builders. One of them is Laux Fertigbau from Saarland. They have offered to design our house according to our wishes (we sent them a list in text form). They have their own draftsmen but also work with architects.
The agreement would be that we pay €1500 (about $1600) for this planning work if we decide NOT to choose the company in the end. However, we would receive the plans and drawings and could have the house built by another company if we wanted to. If we decide in favor of Laux, then this planning is part of the project and costs nothing extra.
Overall, I find this arrangement fair, and I think it’s interesting to see what a local architect comes up with if given free rein. Still, I have some reservations about paying this money upfront because I worry it might create a sort of "pre-selection" for the builder and that we might then feel influenced to go with them, just so we don’t waste the €1500.
The second company (currently ranked third in my mind) is called DHI, and the third one is a very local provider with no website or brochures but has been building houses in the region for over 20 years and relies almost entirely on word-of-mouth recommendations. I had a long phone conversation with them, and it was all very likeable. However, I don’t have a price estimate yet, and their aversion to anything digital (no smartphone, no website) puts me off a bit. On the other hand, their workload despite having no advertising clearly speaks in favor of the builder.
Best regards,
Kati
I think it also depends on how important it is to the customer. Some people just want to live in a solid, owner-occupied home and don’t have high expectations about exactly how the interior should look. Others spend days on Pinterest, picking out every detail exactly the way they want it – for those people, this type of selection process probably wouldn’t work.
Personally, I see myself somewhere in between. Our general contractor was a mid-sized company, but they had a showroom. That definitely helped us to have a manageable selection to choose from while still being able to imagine and physically touch everything.
Personally, I see myself somewhere in between. Our general contractor was a mid-sized company, but they had a showroom. That definitely helped us to have a manageable selection to choose from while still being able to imagine and physically touch everything.
@Nordlys If you were and still are satisfied, that’s great. I just wanted to point out that this isn’t for everyone. And especially making fun of others (okay, exaggerated in your case, understood) has always bothered me whenever I dealt with sellers or tradespeople. Customer friendliness means something different. Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but whenever someone belittles another person, in any way, it doesn’t really reflect well on their own character.
Tolentino schrieb:
@Nordlys If you were and are satisfied, then that’s all that matters. I just wanted to point out that this isn’t for everyone. And especially making fun of others (okay, exaggerated in your case, understood) has always bothered me whenever I dealt with salespeople or craftsmen. Customer friendliness is something different. And of course, people are free to think what they want, but whenever someone puts another person down, no matter how, it doesn’t exactly reflect well on their own character.That’s true. What bothered me the most wasMy wife is eyeing the profile. Well, you can easily wipe off the dirt, right. I think if someone who wanted money from me had said something like that, I would have just walked away. The people from the ’50s called; they want their worldview back.
motorradsilke schrieb:
Example with our toilet: additional charge from the company is 35, from the plumber 60, and then from the general contractor 85 Euros. I believe measuring this by the extra charge (and not by the total price of the more upscale option) distorts the picture. Moreover, it is necessary that some compensation remains at every stage of value creation for those involved.
kati1337 schrieb:
I think it also depends on how important it is to the customer. Surprisingly many first-time homebuilders aren't even aware of how much the belief "you only build once" (and the related consequence of a perfectionist obsession) can actually hinder them.
Tolentino schrieb:
And especially making fun of this [...] has always bothered me. I appreciate reading this as very valuable information when a project participant reveals their attitude toward certain design options. What they laugh at, I make sure to highlight on my expert’s checklist.
kati1337 schrieb:
The people from the 1950s called; they want their worldview back. In my opinion, you misunderstood that: in the gender roles of the 1950s, women cleaned the house because cleaning was considered women’s work; by the seaside, the woman cleans onshore because the man cleans the ship.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
M
Myrna_Loy6 Mar 2022 12:29It’s still annoying that as a woman, you almost always get put into the “cleaning and decoration” category first. Most of our tradespeople quickly realized I was the one wearing the hard hat, but with every new worker, the same scenario started over again. I’m used to it from work, but it still gets frustrating. The highlight was when one of the bricklayers needed a tool because his had broken, and I gave him my Hilti, only for him to seriously ask if my husband was okay with me handing out the tool. 🙄
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