ᐅ Costs of Semi-Detached House – Experiences?

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are looking for a property. Since prices are very high in our area (Hamburg and surroundings), many options are often out of reach. Then we came across an ad where someone is looking for a building partner for a semi-detached house, with the project planned and approved. According to the listing, it has about 150 sqm (1,615 sq ft) of living space and a 300 sqm (3,229 sq ft) plot. The price is 490,000, turnkey except for painting, flooring, and landscaping.

Since neither my wife nor I have much experience, I wanted to ask if you could provide an estimate “from a distance” of what additional costs we might face until the house is truly ready to move into. It’s clear that a kitchen needs to be installed. But what would the remaining work approximately cost? We plan to hire professionals for all work, no DIY.

If this seems affordable for us, I probably have many more questions, but this is the most important for now.

renkoooooo schrieb:

Since neither my wife nor I have much experience, I wanted to ask if it’s possible to get a rough estimate from you about the costs we might still face until the house is truly ready to move in.

You can only know that if we have the detailed building specifications and can tell you what’s not included.

What is the land value for the plot? What remains after that are the construction costs including incidental building expenses plus garage, terrace, and landscaping. Currently, typical pure construction costs are around 3,000-3,500 €/m² (280-325 USD/ft²) plus incidental expenses and so on.

Just off the top of my head: there will be many additional costs coming your way. Many manage to build the house itself for the price you mentioned, but the land still needs to be paid for separately.

I paid the following for a similarly sized house in 2020:
- $10,000 for wooden flooring including installation
- $9,000 for a large kitchen from Ikea
- $7,000 for painting work including materials

I saved a bit on the kitchen. It can definitely cost a lot more—$20,000 is also possible for a large kitchen. I didn’t cut costs on the flooring. You can probably get it for about half the price if you choose vinyl or similar.
Painting work will likely be more expensive now. I had well-plastered walls, so everything went surprisingly fast. Nowadays, $12,000 to $15,000 might be a realistic estimate for the painting.

Thank you for your answers. So the first step would be to ask the person for the building specification. That is already helpful. So far, I have only received a property brochure. I have shared the most important details from it here, but unfortunately, I don’t know more at this point.

renkoooooo schrieb:

The cost is 490,000, turnkey excluding painting, flooring, and exterior landscaping.

I would budget an additional €100,000 and be happy if you don’t end up needing it.
PS: this is meant seriously

renkoooooo schrieb:

where someone is looking for a building partner for a semi-detached house, designing and obtaining permits.

renkoooooo schrieb:

with that person

If it is a private individual, the offer could be very incomplete and roughly estimated. 490,000 is just under a search filter of 500,000€ and could therefore be a bait offer.

renkoooooo schrieb:

what additional costs we would still face until the house is really ready to move into.

Additional purchase costs, incidental construction costs, painting, floor coverings… exterior work including paving, garage/carport/garden shed.
This can range from 100,000€ to 170,000€ if you are not willing to paint walls or install parquet/laminate flooring yourself.

renkoooooo schrieb:

So far, I have only received a brochure.

Is there an online brochure? Which private person creates a brochure?
Or is it a building company? Where did you find the offer? And where is it located? In the commuter belt around Hamburg? North or South?
If the price stands out compared to the region, I would be cautious.
Are you planning to buy the finished house, or would you be the builder yourself? If it is a house purchase, higher property transfer taxes will apply.