ᐅ New Construction Project: What Is a Practical Approach?

Hello everyone,

after being inactive for a while, I have lots of questions again today.

Why? It looks like a new residential area will be developed in our preferred location, and we want to build our own house there.

At the moment, it seems the area is expected to be serviced starting spring 2016, and according to the city, construction on the plots could begin as early as January 2017.

So technically, we still have plenty of time... or do we?

We want to take advantage of this and start getting familiar with house building as early as possible. Over the past few years, we have only sporadically dealt with basic topics like basement construction, heating system choices, and mechanical ventilation. But because we didn’t have a plot yet, we never went deeper. That is about to change now.

However, we are wondering which topics we should tackle first or which ones can already be addressed at this very early stage? Do you experts here have some helpful ideas or advice?

One note: We are very well prepared regarding the financing of the whole project, as we both come from the banking sector. :-)

Especially since we currently still do not have a plot and the site plan will probably be available earliest by the end of 2015 / beginning of 2016, we would like to know which house-building related topics we can already start working on today.

What do you think about guides offered by consumer organizations like Stiftung Warentest or consumer advisory centers? Is it worth buying them to get a basic understanding?

Right now, I am unsure how useful it is to already approach a general contractor or a manufacturer of solid houses to get a first impression of the core building costs.

Also, is it sensible to compare building specifications at such an early phase?

Since we definitely want to involve an external expert (e.g., from the Private Homeowners Association or a Homeowners’ Protection Association) early on, we need to figure out when this would make the most sense, or if it’s better to already book an appointment now for mid-2016?

Regarding the house design, these points are currently certain for us:

• Absolutely three children's rooms
• Definitely need two bathrooms
• Construction with a basement
• The plot will definitely be on a slope
• The living area should be around 180-200 square meters (1,940–2,150 square feet)
• The plot will be approximately 500 square meters (5,380 square feet)
• We would also like a two-story house with a hipped roof

In summary, I would appreciate some support for getting started. Our goal is to plan the house building project thoroughly in the long term so that when it finally begins, we don’t face a bunch of unanswered questions.

Thanks in advance!

Joschka

Hello everyone,

In my opinion, one of the most important things at the start of such a project is your financing. Knowing your budget is, in my view, absolutely essential. We consulted with Interhyp and have been very satisfied with them. Maybe you could get a second opinion on your numbers... I’d find that interesting if I were a banker myself.

Otherwise, I can only advise you to take your time when looking for the right provider. Try to have direct conversations and ask for detailed calculations. Feel free to include items you don’t want initially and then remove them later. This can show the provider’s patience... maybe they’ll even roll their eyes. Observe their facial expressions and body language. In another post, I briefly shared our opinions on some providers.

You could also start planning what else you want for your house. What about a garage, or perhaps a double garage, a carport only, or maybe both? We included this in our planning and have already found a suitable partner for the garage construction.

Not really many tips here...

Best regards,
SaRo2000

EDIT: I wrote this in another post. Some might not apply to you since you are doing a prefab build.

Scanhaus Marlow Marlow: very friendly, professionally competent, patient, Scanhaus Marlow Marlow was happy to explain things twice /
Duration 1st meeting: 2.5 hours
Duration 2nd meeting: 3 hours

Massa: relaxed, casual… for us a bit too casual, statements like “it’ll be fine,” “that doesn’t matter”... we cannot recommend them at all / Duration: 1 hour

Haashaus: initially really good, took time, explained well... only their house proposal at the second meeting completely missed our expectations despite the conversation, cannot recommend / Duration: 2 hours

Gussek: “What do YOU want to build... Have YOU thought about that before...” / Duration: 45 minutes

Kampa: great houses… unfortunately, they first wanted to sell us the expensive option (exceeding our budget by a full 50,000 Euros), before listening to our wishes, talked a lot… said nothing / Duration: 1.5 hours

Ever Energy: 20 minutes of our lives we’ll never get back

ALLKauf: very relaxed, professionally knowledgeable, friendly, very patient, appointments no problem even on weekends, take care of answering open questions /
Duration 1st meeting: 3 hours
Duration 2nd meeting: 4.5 hours

How you can build your house will (unfortunately) only be clarified later in the development plan... for example, in our area, only single-story buildings are allowed. You can use the coming months to explore new residential areas and talk to homeowners there about who they built with and whether they would recommend them.

I wouldn’t put it so generally. For example, someone who absolutely does not want to build a bungalow but prefers a townhouse will narrow their search to plots where that is possible. It may be more challenging, but in my opinion, it is not impossible.

Joschka80 schrieb:
We are wondering which topics we should address first or which we can already tackle at this very early stage?

First, you should find out how to acquire a plot of land. Are they allocated to regular individuals or to investors? If the former, is there a lottery system? Make sure that when the time comes, you secure a plot. Ideally, you are the buyers, purchasing without any developer obligation and paying in cash.

You can estimate construction costs based on the forum: square footage multiplied by 1500 to 1800 euros plus 50,000 euros for the basement plus 30,000 euros for additional construction costs plus 15,000 euros for exterior work [very variable!] plus xx euros for furniture (kitchen, bathroom, etc.) plus expenses (moving, double rent, miscellaneous).

I wouldn’t talk to developers yet; in my opinion, it’s a waste of time at this stage.

If necessary, you could look for an architect (friends, acquaintances, past experiences?). You should plan for the time required here, but it can be worthwhile. Developers often promise an “architect-designed house,” but you rarely actually see one.

Check out new housing developments—what you like and what you don’t. (You can also look at older houses for inspiration, what appeals and what doesn’t ;-)).

Visit model homes.

Don’t commit yet! Stay flexible—you have time. You only need money. ;-)

If you both come from a financing background, do you also have a network of real estate advisors at your bank? They, in turn, have an interesting network that could help you find a plot of land more quickly. Vitamin B should be used when you have it.

Then, as mentioned above: gather information. What do you like, what don’t you like, how is technology implemented nowadays? (So don’t just ask parents or aunts who built 30 years ago.)

Buy a magazine sometimes and explore building methods beyond the standard types constructed in your area. Visit websites of common larger construction companies and order catalogs.

My general advice remains: never focus solely on one type of house (such as a town villa without knee walls, bungalow). Other options also offer effective ways to balance budget and space requirements so you can enjoy the rest of your life comfortably in your new home.

Regards, Yvonne