ᐅ Avoid Mistakes When Building Your Second Home: Builder or Architect?

Hello forum,

In 2020, we built a new single-family home. However, for various reasons, we are not completely satisfied and are considering building again. We want to take our time with this (time frame 5-10 years) to be really sure about what exactly we want to change. In the meantime, we can also save more equity and observe everyday life with the children. From our experience, daily life with 3-4 children requires a lot of flexibility in the house because the needs of all family members seem to change quickly. That is why we have set quite a long time frame.

When we started planning the house in 2019, we didn’t always make the right decisions in hindsight. With the first and later the second child, and then the lockdown, we could not view or visit everything that was installed beforehand. Also, contact with the architect from the homebuilding company was quite limited. We often simply lacked proper advice.

My question to you is: How can we avoid making the same mistakes again in the next build? We always had to make decisions very quickly and often had no solid basis to decide. We would have liked to have quick access to prices and services; this just wasn’t available. For example, if we planned an additional window or increased the living area, we received a new total price and could only guess how much the extra cost was.

We found that the homebuilding company only builds in the way they usually do, meaning when we asked for something unusual, they said it wasn’t possible. For example, we wanted a large panoramic glass window wall that could slide open barrier-free. They said this wasn’t possible for structural reasons in our house. It seemed likely that our builder simply did not have this kind of feature in their program, or the profit margin on such a request was too low for them.

What frustrates me most is the roof. It is not usable as living space. It is a low pyramid roof made of nail plate trusses. There is not enough standing height for living space, and the structure is not suitable for conversion. We never discussed the roof with the architect at the time. The catalog house our free planning was based on originally had a gable roof—exactly what we would wish for today. The architect kept talking about a "town villa" we would be building, and we eventually adopted that term. As laypeople, we understood that as a house with two full floors. However, the architect from the building company implied a pyramid roof by "town villa." The change from the original gable roof to this non-convertible pyramid roof was never communicated to us, and we realized this far too late. Sure, you could say we should have noticed, but at some point, we just wanted to finish the project. The two-year construction period with two small children was really exhausting.

For the second build, we want to do everything right or make as few mistakes as possible, so we are allowing ourselves a much longer time for advance planning. We certainly will not build with the same homebuilding company again.

BUT: Is this the typical experience with standard (prefabricated) homebuilders? If you want something special like panoramic window walls, is it better to go to an architect? They are usually paid hourly. I worry that an architect might overall be the more expensive option. If we do go with a homebuilder, should we choose one that specializes in our style? For example, Huf-Haus comes to mind, but they are also very expensive.

Maybe someone here has had similar experiences with poor communication and advice, especially during the corona period?

Is there another solution besides a homebuilding company or an architect that we haven’t thought of? We just want to be involved in every decision and not be treated like we were the first time.

If what you want is above the average in size and features, does it make more sense economically to hire an architect than to modify a catalog house so much that it only ends up being more expensive?

Thanks for reading. I know this post is long.

From my point of view, you are making a fundamental mistake right from the start by choosing to build with a prefab house provider or a general contractor.

If you can truly afford to build a second time, then go to an architect and calmly plan your dream home with them. Not based on any standard houses from glossy brochures, but tailored to your needs and wishes. Architects are usually paid according to a fee schedule rather than by the hour.

As for the construction itself, based on my impression from reading your post, you should take the route of separate contracts for each trade. This way, you will inevitably engage deeply with each trade and may be able to make better and more sensible decisions. You won’t find yourself making last-minute color choices with the window installer two days before installation; instead, you’ll get a solid understanding of the details, costs, and what you ultimately want to afford. If you’re not under time pressure, you can even take more time with some trades.

In the end, you will realize that this method of building does not necessarily cost you more.

I know many people who have seemingly built cheaply with a general contractor over the past years. Statements like “we saved on the architect” are common, which is complete nonsense. At the same time, they talk enviously about the neighbor’s “architect-designed house,” wildly speculating about the supposed costs. And in the end, they are shocked to learn that the neighbor actually paid less overall but received significantly higher value.

RotesDach schrieb:

We want to do everything right with our second house build and avoid as many mistakes as possible, so this time we are taking our time with the preliminary planning.

Proper planning without any time pressure is essential.

It doesn’t matter whether you build with a production home builder (who tend to be less flexible), a local construction company, or a traditional architect-designed house with separate trade contracts. Planning errors happen at the beginning, not during construction. Communicating your needs (which actually isn’t specific to housebuilding – it’s true everywhere) is key.

masterflok schrieb:

If you can actually afford to build a second time, go to an architect and carefully plan your dream home together. Not based on some standard houses in glossy brochures, but according to your needs and wishes.

To sum it up in just two sentences.

masterflok schrieb:

You should manage the construction yourself using separate contracts with each trade, at least that’s my feeling after reading your post. That way you have to engage intensively with the trades and may be able to make better and more sensible decisions. You won’t be sent to the window fitter two days before installation to pick colors, but will get a good understanding of the options, costs, and what you can ultimately afford. If you are not under time pressure, you can take more time with some trades.

I don’t see this as absolutely necessary. Even a general contractor (GC) can build the same house – but whether with a GC or with separate trade contracts, you should have a 97%-complete plan before the first shovel goes in the ground. And with a GC I’m the one who decides which windows will be installed, not the other way around. I’m the client paying for everything. That must always be clear.

masterflok schrieb:

And in the end, you will find that this way of building doesn’t actually cost you more.

Exactly. Although architect-designed houses are often more expensive because owners come up with more costly ideas during construction. But comparable houses end up costing very similar amounts.

The only argument against an architect: if a ready-made house exactly fits your wishes, then it’s just about whether the windows are white or gray, and whether the floors are tile or hardwood (etc.).

If I were to build again, I would definitely work with an architect who also handles the tendering process and construction management. I would no longer accept conflicts of interest where the planner or construction manager is paid by the general contractor or, in the case of small companies, where the owner manages the construction themselves. In the end, you pay these people anyway but don’t get the best results.

Whether to tender individual trades separately or hire a general contractor is a different question.

I believe it strongly depends on the general contractor. I wouldn’t say that building with a general contractor is inherently less flexible than working with an architect…

You just need to find the RIGHT general contractor.

We took a great deal of time just to find the right general contractor for us. The research and planning definitely paid off… I wouldn’t do it any other way.

Ultimately, it’s clear that no matter who you build with, you are responsible for what is created!

In my opinion, the most important things to avoid mistakes are:

- Choosing the right architect/general contractor
- Reading extensively about EVERYTHING related to building a house, so you can participate in discussions and understand your options

The thing is: many people can’t do this due to family commitments (children, for example), because there simply isn’t enough time.

My wife and I spent a full year completely focused on this topic and put everything else on hold (we didn’t have children back then). Because of that, I would say our house (for our standards) is almost flawless, or exactly as we always imagined it. But you can only achieve this if you invest a lot of time in the building process yourself.

In your situation (probably not having time to dive deeply into all aspects):

Choosing the right architect/general contractor is key. If you invest time here and find the right company or person who can realize your wishes and truly understands you, you will almost certainly increase your chances of making fewer mistakes.

Thanks for your replies.
It’s interesting that many here recommend using an architect. You almost wonder why there are so many prefabricated house manufacturers (I had to look up that term first). Well, probably not when you have four children’s bedrooms...

What is frustrating in our case is realizing afterward that building in 2019 was still significantly cheaper than today—and I already thought back then, “If only we had built five years ago.”
At that time, we built our almost 200 sqm (2,150 sq ft) house for 400k, whereas today we will be well above that, especially if we want to expand due to the children’s bedrooms. Interest rates of 1% have unfortunately quadrupled.
Also, the building plot we have is exactly what we wanted both from a micro and macro location perspective. It would be a shame to give all that up.
Therefore, I’m considering whether the old house can still be “saved.” I’m thinking of a loft conversion to gain more living space.
However, my husband sees that as a waste of money because the roof structure would need to be removed and replaced with a new, higher, stronger pitched roof—and all of this after such a short time. He actually doesn’t want to invest anything more into the current house. The roof isn’t old or in need of replacement. I see his point, of course. That’s a problem.

And you don’t just replace four-year-old windows with new panoramic windows either.

So I’m currently struggling with replacing something new and functional, which emotionally seems like nonsense. But at least it’s cheaper than starting completely from scratch. Versus a new build, which would involve significant additional costs compared to a new roof.