Hello,
I have been looking into house building for some time now, as we will likely be able to purchase a plot of land soon and would like to build a house on it. Through various websites, catalogs, and model home parks, we have already made some contacts and gathered ideas for planning.
In the first three initial meetings with prefabricated house companies, we realized that the candidates we selected all fall within a similar price range (not down to the last cent, but roughly speaking):
Is there a kind of categorization of companies by quality/price that a newbie should know? Like: Audi is more expensive than Skoda, this one is more like Porsche, and that one a Mercedes, which is about the same as the Audi?
For example, we have spoken with Baufritz, Kampa, Rensch-Haus, and Streif Haus, and still plan to talk with Weberhaus and Keitel-Haus.
Have I only chosen BMW, Audi, and Mercedes, or is there also a Ford in the group?
If you can roughly classify this, what is your impression?
(I understand that a Dacia is not only cheaper but also less capable/less well equipped than a Mercedes — but it would be helpful to know what kind of company you are dealing with and what the market offers, possibly without having calculated a project with every manufacturer — or am I the only one who thinks about such things?
Thank you very much and best regards,
Björn
I have been looking into house building for some time now, as we will likely be able to purchase a plot of land soon and would like to build a house on it. Through various websites, catalogs, and model home parks, we have already made some contacts and gathered ideas for planning.
In the first three initial meetings with prefabricated house companies, we realized that the candidates we selected all fall within a similar price range (not down to the last cent, but roughly speaking):
Is there a kind of categorization of companies by quality/price that a newbie should know? Like: Audi is more expensive than Skoda, this one is more like Porsche, and that one a Mercedes, which is about the same as the Audi?
For example, we have spoken with Baufritz, Kampa, Rensch-Haus, and Streif Haus, and still plan to talk with Weberhaus and Keitel-Haus.
Have I only chosen BMW, Audi, and Mercedes, or is there also a Ford in the group?
If you can roughly classify this, what is your impression?
(I understand that a Dacia is not only cheaper but also less capable/less well equipped than a Mercedes — but it would be helpful to know what kind of company you are dealing with and what the market offers, possibly without having calculated a project with every manufacturer — or am I the only one who thinks about such things?
Thank you very much and best regards,
Björn
Wickie schrieb:
Visited Stommel Haus again and also included Meisterstück-Haus in the considerations... If I remember correctly, Meisterstück is a solid construction cooperation comparable to Baumeister-Haus. Stommel Haus already had a good reputation back then (perhaps precisely because it is not one of the big players).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Hmm... Meisterstück is timber prefabricated construction. Maybe you’re mixing them up? But Stommel Haus is actually one of the smaller companies. Everything left a good impression back then, and you got the sense of a big Stommel Haus family from all the guys on the construction site. Very pleasant! They probably don’t have such a wide area of operation, though.
Wickie schrieb:
Hm... Meisterstück is timber prefabricated construction. Are you possibly mixing it up? It certainly seems that I might be confusing it with one of their competitors from back then (early 1980s). Or I may have already perceived it incorrectly at that time (?) – perhaps due to models featuring more authentic brick veneer façade architecture than the other prefab builders were offering back then. It’s difficult for me to reconstruct this right now, as my archive has deteriorated over the decades. I’ll have to look into it – if I’m not mistaken, I made this misclassification once before last summer.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Spunk schrieb:
Town & Country builds solidly.... or something like thatWe once looked into prefab houses (timber frame) in the Franconia region as well. The usual suspects were represented at various model home exhibitions.
We actually planned quite extensively with Luxhaus, initially spending almost a year together searching for a plot of land before moving on to detailed planning. The contact was excellent, almost friendly; they responded to questions promptly, even on weekends and from vacation. Luxhaus was the only company at the model home exhibition that didn’t pressure us or try to push us toward signing a contract — or heavily promote their financing partners like Sauerbier. Including the “this is how much house you can afford” flipcharts…
Luxhaus builds at a somewhat higher price point but enjoys a very good reputation in this region (at least from what I’ve heard from four colleagues at work). You do pay a premium for the name, but by far, they were the best and fairest provider, who laid out all costs transparently from the start.
So why didn’t it work out? For one, I didn’t like the wall construction anymore — they had no installation cavity, which was a deal breaker for me. In the meantime, due to the very small plot, we consulted an architect (with whom we are now building a solid masonry house) to tailor our floor plan. We ended up there and even asked Luxhaus if they could build the design, which they confirmed but would have been significantly more expensive. So unfortunately, they were out of the running, which was really a shame.
Other companies here include SchwörerHaus, FingerHaus, and Fingerhut Haus. Friends who built with the latter were quite satisfied, and the house is still standing today. You can have bad luck anywhere, as ypg already mentioned, even with (self-proclaimed) premium manufacturers.
A colleague also inquired with Engelhardt & Geißbauer and was very impressed. They are a smaller timber carpentry company with a very good reputation but are somewhat more expensive.
What would I do?
1. Go to an architect (many also build with wood and use general contractors).
2. As already suggested, visit local providers (both masonry and timber).
3. Drop the misconception that prefab houses are cheaper than masonry houses. With an architect and masonry construction, I am almost certain that, with the same features and customizations, the architect will build cheaper — despite their fees.
4. Accept that resale value for prefab houses tends to be lower. This isn’t necessarily justified, but the prejudices among buyers are quite strong.
5. Avoid the big prefab manufacturers. At those prices, you are definitely paying for the model home exhibition, the upscale selection center, and glossy brochures. And with few exceptions, in my opinion, they’re all quite similar. Each has their “super-duper climate wall,” and the building services technology is often very similar.
What I might consider: architect-designed timber house as a “shell” and then contracting or doing the other trades myself, e.g., electrical work. This should generally be much cheaper in a timber house since there is little chasing required, and the wiring can be done quickly. The markups on sockets, etc., from prefab manufacturers themselves, however, are enough to make you sick — that’s our experience. Just for comparison: socket from an electrician (self-contracted) conventionally (for comparability) 19 EUR net (Gira e2 pure white, including connection, wiring, delivery) — electrician at the prefab manufacturer & general contractor 30 EUR net (Gira 55)…
6. Stay away from “Stadt und Land” — at least in the Nuremberg area…
We actually planned quite extensively with Luxhaus, initially spending almost a year together searching for a plot of land before moving on to detailed planning. The contact was excellent, almost friendly; they responded to questions promptly, even on weekends and from vacation. Luxhaus was the only company at the model home exhibition that didn’t pressure us or try to push us toward signing a contract — or heavily promote their financing partners like Sauerbier. Including the “this is how much house you can afford” flipcharts…
Luxhaus builds at a somewhat higher price point but enjoys a very good reputation in this region (at least from what I’ve heard from four colleagues at work). You do pay a premium for the name, but by far, they were the best and fairest provider, who laid out all costs transparently from the start.
So why didn’t it work out? For one, I didn’t like the wall construction anymore — they had no installation cavity, which was a deal breaker for me. In the meantime, due to the very small plot, we consulted an architect (with whom we are now building a solid masonry house) to tailor our floor plan. We ended up there and even asked Luxhaus if they could build the design, which they confirmed but would have been significantly more expensive. So unfortunately, they were out of the running, which was really a shame.
Other companies here include SchwörerHaus, FingerHaus, and Fingerhut Haus. Friends who built with the latter were quite satisfied, and the house is still standing today. You can have bad luck anywhere, as ypg already mentioned, even with (self-proclaimed) premium manufacturers.
A colleague also inquired with Engelhardt & Geißbauer and was very impressed. They are a smaller timber carpentry company with a very good reputation but are somewhat more expensive.
What would I do?
1. Go to an architect (many also build with wood and use general contractors).
2. As already suggested, visit local providers (both masonry and timber).
3. Drop the misconception that prefab houses are cheaper than masonry houses. With an architect and masonry construction, I am almost certain that, with the same features and customizations, the architect will build cheaper — despite their fees.
4. Accept that resale value for prefab houses tends to be lower. This isn’t necessarily justified, but the prejudices among buyers are quite strong.
5. Avoid the big prefab manufacturers. At those prices, you are definitely paying for the model home exhibition, the upscale selection center, and glossy brochures. And with few exceptions, in my opinion, they’re all quite similar. Each has their “super-duper climate wall,” and the building services technology is often very similar.
What I might consider: architect-designed timber house as a “shell” and then contracting or doing the other trades myself, e.g., electrical work. This should generally be much cheaper in a timber house since there is little chasing required, and the wiring can be done quickly. The markups on sockets, etc., from prefab manufacturers themselves, however, are enough to make you sick — that’s our experience. Just for comparison: socket from an electrician (self-contracted) conventionally (for comparability) 19 EUR net (Gira e2 pure white, including connection, wiring, delivery) — electrician at the prefab manufacturer & general contractor 30 EUR net (Gira 55)…
6. Stay away from “Stadt und Land” — at least in the Nuremberg area…
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