ᐅ Finding the Right Partner for Your Home Construction Project

Hello everyone,

We were fortunate to secure one of the rare plots in the commuter belt around the Rhine-Main area at a reasonable price. It is an end-of-terrace house and can basically be built like a somewhat wider semi-detached house.

Now we face the challenge of finding the right partner for our project. Our initial idea was to work with an architect, at least to guide us through the early phases and identify potential pitfalls early on. Unfortunately, this was unsuccessful because our project is considered too small by everyone so far.

We are now starting to approach prefabricated house suppliers. We have already had several discussions at the show home park in Bad Vilbel and feel that most offer roughly the same package, but the price (ready to move in, including additional construction costs/groundwork/outdoor landscaping) varies widely, ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 EUR. The differences likely result from the building specifications and selection options. We have a very clear (and simple) idea of how the floor plan should look and what is allowed under the local development plan. It is very conventional and feasible by all suppliers.

Nevertheless, there seems to be an almost endless number of possible providers and alternatives, such as general contractors, solid construction houses, and so on. The time we could invest would probably be significant, and we still might not find the one perfect partner. How did you make this decision “measurable” for yourselves, and how did you approach the preselection process?

We would also appreciate any recommendations for interesting partners.

Thanks in advance for your replies!

HaeusleBauer77 schrieb:

It is an end-terrace house and can basically be built like a slightly wider semi-detached house.

Congratulations on your plot and a warm welcome to the forum.

Do you know which companies your terraced neighbors are building with? Perhaps one of these companies could be suitable for you as well, and there might even be financial synergies, among other benefits.

Pinkiponk schrieb:

Congratulations on your plot of land and a warm welcome to the forum.

Do you know which companies your townhouse neighbors used? Perhaps one of those companies could be suitable for you, and there might even be financial synergies among other benefits.

Thank you very much!
Our plot is located in an established area and was developed about 40 years ago. Unfortunately, we don’t know which companies the neighbors used for their houses. Given the history, synergies are probably unlikely. Currently, there is a house for demolition on our land; renovating it based on its condition and the investment required was not practical.

First, be clear about what you want. What standard and budget are you aiming for? Do you have a preference for timber or masonry? Question any biases — both methods can be used to build efficient and affordable houses. Are you leaning towards a small or large construction company? Are there special requirements, such as increased soundproofing, specific demands from the plot or zoning regulations (building permit / planning permission), etc.?

The more specific the requirements, the more it makes sense to hire an architect rather than a company that mainly builds standard houses. If you choose a general contractor, look for one whose standard offerings already come as close as possible to your requirements to avoid costly upgrades.

In our case, the decision was ultimately a combination of value for money and gut feeling. I simply preferred speaking directly with the company owner during the bidding phase rather than with a sales representative.

HaeusleBauer77 schrieb:

Thank you very much!
Our plot is located in an established area and was developed 40 years ago. Unfortunately, we do not know which companies our neighbors used for their construction. Given the history, it is probably unlikely to expect any synergies. Currently, there is a house to be demolished on our plot; renovation was not practical considering the condition and investment required.

Hmm, the initial post read differently… see Pinkiponk…
Why is a house from the 1980s being demolished?

So, it’s about a gap in an existing built-up area where you are allowed to place a single-family house.

And here comes WilderSueden again…

@WilderSueden: beyond a certain size, there’s no direct contact between builder and client. Or do you also negotiate with Ola? 😀

HaeusleBauer77 schrieb:

There seems to be an almost endless number of possible providers and alternatives, such as general contractors, solid construction houses, and so on. The time we could invest would probably be considerable, and we still might not find "the one" perfect provider. How did you make this decision "measurable" for yourselves, and how did you approach the initial selection?

I have been dealing with this topic for many years, but I couldn’t explain on a parametric level how to arrive at a result, so I would have difficulties with the term "measurable." But you really only need "one right one" — it doesn’t have to be the "only right one." So don’t worry about whether there might be someone even better over the seven mountains with the seven dwarfs.

HaeusleBauer77 schrieb:

Our initial idea was to first consult an architect who would at least guide us through the early phases to identify potential pitfalls early on. Unfortunately without success, since our project is too small for everyone so far.
[...] We have a very clear (and simple) idea of what the floor plan should look like and is allowed according to the development plan. This is very conventional and feasible by all providers.

That sounds to me like a construction consultant (site manager) could be at least as suitable for you as an architect. Baulotse-Hoffmann is based in Rhineland-Palatinate but, as far as I know, has contact with the building industry around Frankfurt. Google is your friend...

driver55 schrieb:

Beyond a certain size, there is no direct contact between the head and the customer.

That is by far the most understandable argument against the big names, with their, to put it mildly, "lack of focus on the aspect of equal footing" 🙂 — a positive perspective on the same insight (that is, "in favor of a regionally rooted provider") I read here a few days ago:

Ypsi aus NI schrieb:

It is a local family business. I always said: The owner still has a certain local patriotism. When she goes to the sports field on a Sunday afternoon, she does not want to be pelted with rotten eggs ;-) Thus, the company stands for solid craftsmanship.

---

https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/