ᐅ Building – From the Beginning

Hello,

I am glad to have found this forum! I have already learned a lot here 🙂

I am still quite young but very skilled in craftsmanship, and nowadays everyone worries about retirement planning. In my opinion, the best retirement plan is to build a house, which has always been my dream.

I would choose solid construction using styrofoam blocks that are assembled and then filled with concrete inside. I want to do as much as possible myself, with support from friends and family.

I live in the Stuttgart area and would like to build nearby since my workplace is with the railway here. Unfortunately, I don’t have much knowledge yet about what I need to consider at the beginning or what to expect, so I have a few questions that I hope you can help me with.

Specifically, how should I get started?

How do I find a suitable plot of land? Should I use a real estate agent or not? What is the approximate cost of a building plot?

Who needs to plan and design the house? An architect? What would that roughly cost?

Where do I need to submit the application for the building permit (planning permission)? What costs are involved here?

What costs come up with the notary? Is it 1.5% of the land price or of the total project?

What are the construction costs excluding the interior finishes or material costs if I do most of the work myself?

Is there anything I might have forgotten to consider?

I am budgeting a total of about 250,000 euros (around $270,000). Is that realistic?

Kind regards

M. W.

WolfM schrieb:

aa) Did I possibly forget anything important to consider?

bb) I am estimating a total price of around 250,000€; is that realistic?

aa) Quite a few things.
bb) In short: it might be tight.

For building land at about 150 euros per square meter (upward flexible scale), for roughly 400 m² (4,300 sq ft), you’re looking at around 60,000 euros plus an additional 15% surcharge.
For building permits/planning permission, design fees, and utility connections (water, sewer, electricity, telephone, gas), expect another five-figure amount starting with a 2 or 4.

For a basic unfinished basement, budget another 30,000 to 40,000 euros depending on size (standard 10 x 10 m or 33 x 33 ft), or you could skip the basement (which you might regret later) and estimate about 10,000 euros instead.

Load-bearing walls, ground floor columns, concrete slab for the upper floor shell, knee walls, and roof will easily add another 55,000 to 70,000 euros.
You still won’t have windows, doors, screed, plaster, or anything else at that point.

The raw structure with land will cost you roughly 190,000 euros, but you still don’t have a turnkey house.

Personally, I wouldn’t build new anymore.
A house today is no longer a good investment. Dealing with building authorities, permits, utility hookup costs... it’s a lot of running around, and you burn through a lot of money in the first 30 years.
After that, the place still needs renovation and when you’re retired, the cycle starts over.

Better buy a well-maintained 30- or 40-year-old complete house and renovate it.
That way, you have a project to work on through retirement and spend less money than on the whole new-build craze.

So, how should I begin?

Start by determining your budget. How much can you afford? How many Euros can the project cost you monthly over the next X years?
The budget is based on:

Monthly income (please do not include 13th month pay, Christmas bonus, or potential tax refunds here)
From this, subtract (do not subtract rent + utilities):
- Living expenses
- Extras
- Car costs (insurance, tax, savings)
- All other expenses
- 10% buffer
= Total monthly budget for the house building / purchase project

From what remains, deduct at least 200€ (better 300€) to set aside as savings (eventually you will need a new heating system, new plaster, a new roof – unless you want to take out a loan for these).

Then subtract additional housing-related costs (these might be higher than your current ones, since insurance/taxes will then be solely your responsibility).

What remains is the monthly budget for bank interest and loan repayment.
Based on this, you can quickly estimate how much money you can or should borrow from the bank. Please repay at least 2% annually if you want to be debt-free in this lifetime.
Rule of thumb: about 500€ monthly payment per 100,000€ loan.

If at this point you reach an unsatisfactory figure, please don’t try to make the numbers look better.
Not shocked yet by everything that comes with it? Then you should get advice. How much house / building land can you get for the money? For us, starting points were model home parks / forums like this one. There you get a rough idea of prices. How big can it be? Is the budget enough? What other costs will arise? Etc.

How do I find a suitable plot of land? - Real estate agent or not? What does a building plot roughly cost?

Just keep your eyes open. This doesn’t have to be through an agent. Are there new residential developments available or in planning that interest you or that you know of? Ask the local municipality, read newspapers, search online.
The cost of the plot mainly depends on two factors:
1. Price per square meter
2. How many square meters you eventually buy/want to buy.

Additional costs include: property transfer tax (in Baden-Württemberg: 5%), possible (further) development costs (depending on the plot and progress of infrastructure), possibly agent fees.

Who has to plan and design the house? - An architect? - What does that cost roughly?

Always (yes, even large prefabricated house providers use architects – even if you don’t always see them). After that, a structural engineer checks the plans.

Where do I have to submit the building permit application? What additional costs come with this?

At the responsible building authority.

What costs are involved at the notary? Is the 1.5% charged on the land or the whole property?

Any contract that must be notarized by a notary will incur fees.

What does the pure construction cost without interior finish or material cost if I do most of the work myself?

Without knowing your desired house size, whether there’s a basement, and many other details, this can range from a garden shed to a castle.

Have I possibly forgotten anything important to consider?

Start at the beginning above all 🙂

I calculate a total price of about 250,000€ – is that realistic?

Does that question refer to a sum you calculated? So, is there room for increase, or do you shrink back if suddenly 340,000€ comes up?
(* Just throwing the number out there)

Or is that already your set budget and everything has to fit within it?

Otherwise, see question/answer: "What does the pure construction cost without interior finish or material cost if I do most of the work myself?"

Hello WolfM,

I think the first step is to be clear about what and how you want to build. A rough idea is enough to help you find a suitable plot of land that matches your needs. However, in the Stuttgart area, the price per square meter is quite high. The closer you are to a city, the more expensive it gets. I live near Pforzheim, and even here the prices can exceed 200 euros per square meter. So, just for a 400m² (4300 sq ft) plot, you should expect to pay at least 80,000 euros plus 5% land transfer tax plus notary fees (around 500–1000 euros).

Before you buy anything or proceed, make sure you can finance both the entire construction and the land.

Regards,
Earl