ᐅ Floor Plan Comparison for a Single-Family Home: 3 Designs, Family Planning, Honest Opinions Requested

NMarieKH schrieb:

Thank you! For me, it’s really important to make House 1 more livable because that’s the one I would actually live in…

I have more time over the weekend, so I can gladly take another look then. For now, unfortunately, I have to go (yes, still browsing the forum until then, but only on my smartphone – not suitable for long texts). So just briefly:

And may I ask how it looks budget-wise if the contract has already been signed like this, and then you want to remove or move individual rooms without changing the overall dimensions of the house? Does that cause a significant price increase?

I have several issues here. On one hand, I don’t know what construction costs are like in Austria. I have been assuming Germany. On the other hand, I don’t know what exactly is included in the offer. (For example, in Germany: Is the excavation work included by the builder or the owner? Is the soil disposal included by the builder or the owner? Builder included: part of the house price. Owner included: extra cost.)

So I really can’t estimate what the final costs will be.

Normally, changes like that should still be possible in Germany. I’m not sure about Austria.

To be blunt: If someone could offer me a house of that size with a basement for 512,000 (EUR/USD depending on country), I would take it immediately. But that doesn’t exist here. Just the basement, finished as planned, would cost somewhere between 250,000 and 350,000 (including additional building costs).

Have the contract reviewed. The pitfalls are usually in the fine print or what is not included in the scope of work. Anything to be provided by the builder will be extra. How is the electrical installation? Most often, it reflects standards from 40 years ago. Everything not included will be an additional cost.

Austria is not a low-wage country with low building standards.

Draw in the furniture for the large room. A functional kitchen that can do more than just thaw food and make coffee, a large dining table, a cupboard, a sofa that you would actually buy. The floor plan should be based on this, not on “Oops, how do I furnish it?”

Store the floor plan in a ring binder. Take a blank sheet of paper and write down your must-haves and nice-to-haves. Everything that sets you apart from others. This needs to be included. The 200 pairs of shoes, Grandpa Hubert’s farmhouse cupboard, the 1,000 books, etc.

Take a tape measure and measure carefully. Your friend’s bathroom is great, Erna’s kitchen is always too small, you like the entrance and cloakroom setup, and so on. Visit model homes. Imagine living there. What bothers you? Open an oven door for once. It happened to me: the kitchen looks great, but when you open the oven door, it hits the island.

Is the hallway even narrower? Consider strollers, car seats, school bags, sports bags, etc.

nordanney schrieb:

WOW. Which builder offers you an unplanned house for that price? In Germany? With a basement?
Basement roughly 80,000 to 100,000 euros, since it’s a living basement within the thermal envelope
House 160 m² (1,720 sq ft) roughly 500,000 euros
Garage roughly 30,000 euros
Additional construction costs roughly 50,000 euros
==> Total: 700,000 euros

Get ready for all the extra charges...

I’m out.

512,000 euros is a house with basement and excavation, without garage, in Lower Austria 🙂

I have not looked at the other floor plans; they are no better. Just the narrow hallways and the many doors that either hit each other or people.

NMarieKH schrieb:

May I ask what the budget looks like if the contract has already been signed as is, but you want to remove or relocate individual rooms without changing the overall dimensions of the house? Does that lead to a significant price increase?

At that price, I would generally say: ANYTHING you want to change will cost a lot of money. Even in Austria, the basics remain the same—building materials aren’t really cheaper, and neither are skilled tradespeople.
So I think, in the end, you will pay significantly more than the 512,000 (currency) quoted. Because with DIY and probably quite amateurish tendering, you have effectively opened the door wide for the contractor to charge extra.

nordanney schrieb:

At that price, I would generally say: EVERYTHING you want to change will cost a significant amount of money. Even in Austria, they use the same basic materials, and building materials aren’t really cheaper. Skilled labor isn’t either.
So, I think in the end, you will pay well over the 512k. Because with DIY and likely very amateurish contracting, you’ve basically left the door wide open for the construction company.

So even if I want to remove a room, you think that will add a considerable extra cost?