Hello everyone,
we would like to hear your opinions and feedback on our cost estimate.
Is this calculation realistic?
A few details in advance:
We live in the southern part of Baden-Württemberg. The potential plot of land is 746 sqm (8000 sq ft). The application has been submitted. The plot is fully serviced and is not on a slope.
Hoping that we will get the plot, we started to calculate what our single-family home can cost.
A financial confirmation for 500,000 € already exists.
Equipment preferences:
Rooms:
Now to the cost estimate:
What remains:
Does this seem reasonable and realistically calculated?
Furthermore, we have our first consultation appointment with FischerHaus GmbH coming up soon. We are not quite sure how to best prepare for it.
What is typically discussed during this first meeting?
One thing that causes us some anxiety is the salesperson asking about our budget. Of course, the salesperson needs some "room to maneuver," but I want to avoid them selling us a house below its actual value just because they know our budget.
we would like to hear your opinions and feedback on our cost estimate.
Is this calculation realistic?
A few details in advance:
We live in the southern part of Baden-Württemberg. The potential plot of land is 746 sqm (8000 sq ft). The application has been submitted. The plot is fully serviced and is not on a slope.
Hoping that we will get the plot, we started to calculate what our single-family home can cost.
A financial confirmation for 500,000 € already exists.
Equipment preferences:
| KfW 40 standard energy efficiency | Foundation slab or basement will be contracted by us | Shell construction, floor plan 140 sqm (with basement 130 sqm), rectangular, no bay windows |
| Gable roof with eaves | Air-to-water heat pump with cooling function | Underfloor heating |
| Ventilation system | Photovoltaic system | Gutters with drainage and cistern |
| Straight staircase without winders, no solid wood | Electric exterior blinds with guide rails in gray | Front door with fingerprint or code access (module separately installed next to door) |
| Doorbell with camera | Interior doors (possibly sliding doors depending on floor plan) | Gray uPVC triple-glazed windows |
| No skylights | One sliding lift-and-slide door | Knee wall height 230 cm (7 ft 7 in) |
| Tiling in all rooms | Sanitary fixtures with wall tiles up to 130 cm (51 inches) | Walk-in shower without glass door, 100x100 cm (39x39 inches) |
| Double washbasin with two faucets | Rain shower | No plastic bathtub (freestanding corner or oversized tub) |
| Room lighting (larger recessed ceiling spotlights) | Smart home (controlled via smartphone) lighting, blinds, heating | Electricity and water connections for outdoor area |
| Outdoor water tap |
Rooms:
| Open kitchen-living-dining area ground floor | Guest room (only if basement is included) ground floor | Guest bathroom (including walk-in shower with glass panel) ground floor |
| Pantry (only with foundation slab) ground floor | Entrance hall ground and upper floor | Bedroom upper floor |
| Dressing room upper floor | Master bathroom upper floor | Study room upper floor |
| Exercise room without equipment upper floor | Utility room (on foundation slab in ground floor, otherwise in basement) |
Now to the cost estimate:
| Plot of land | ||
| Notary fee | ||
| Land registry fees | ||
| Property transfer tax | ||
| Soil survey | ||
| Building contract review | ||
| Building application | ||
| Building permit / planning permission | ||
| Structural engineering inspection | ||
| Surveyor | ||
| Building consultant | ||
| Builder’s liability insurance | ||
| Construction performance insurance | ||
| Construction water | ||
| Construction electricity | ||
| Excavation and earth removal | ||
| Water, sewage, wastewater connections | ||
| Electricity connection | ||
| Telephone connection | ||
| Total excluding house |
What remains:
| Budget | |||
| Total excluding house | |||
| Remaining budget for house | |||
| House budget | |||
| Basement or foundation slab | |||
| Absolute remaining budget for garage (single garage if basement, otherwise multi-car garage), kitchen, landscaping and possibly furniture |
Does this seem reasonable and realistically calculated?
Furthermore, we have our first consultation appointment with FischerHaus GmbH coming up soon. We are not quite sure how to best prepare for it.
What is typically discussed during this first meeting?
One thing that causes us some anxiety is the salesperson asking about our budget. Of course, the salesperson needs some "room to maneuver," but I want to avoid them selling us a house below its actual value just because they know our budget.
We are also building in the south of Baden-Württemberg and have gone quite deep into various timber frame prefabricated houses. I assume you are planning to build such a house, since you require KfW 40.
First of all: With your expectations, there is no way you will be able to stay within your budget. Since we are building similarly and have similar demands/requirements, but have gradually realized what can and should be omitted, I would like to share our experiences:
- As already mentioned by several people here in the forum: With your desired room layout, you will not be satisfied with 140m² (1500 sq ft) and/or 130m² (1400 sq ft) with a basement! You definitely need 150m² (1600 sq ft) to fully realize what you want. So you need to clarify exactly what you really need and what you can afford. A good guideline from our builders was always around +€2,000/m² or -€2,000/m².
---> We are building with a basement and would never change that, but if your budget is tight and you are not totally committed to having a basement, it might be better to make the house 10m² (100 sq ft) larger instead and save around €50,000 on the basement costs. Put together a floor plan from different companies and look carefully at what you really need and how large the rooms will be. Prefabricated house companies like to sell these "mini-houses" with 120-130m² (1300-1400 sq ft) and claim there is plenty of space, even for a 4-person family. I always find that difficult to assess and very individual... Don’t let anyone persuade you otherwise and think carefully about what you really need and want.
- Think about smart home features, external blinds (shutters) everywhere, all electrically controlled, cooling function of the air-to-water heat pump, room lighting, KfW 40 (which can make sense for timber frame construction due to subsidies), cistern, bathtub (general bathroom layouts) — all of that costs a lot, sometimes unnecessary money, and you will notice during further planning that most of these things can often be omitted. It sounds to me like you want everything, but with a low budget. That will definitely not be possible.
- Have the preparations for photovoltaic systems done, because it will be too expensive if you install it later!
- Regarding the listed additional costs: The structural engineer costs MUCH more than €1,000, the soil survey is also more expensive, the building permit/planning permission (consider switching to the notification procedure here — it costs less than half and might be possible), excavation cost estimate at €11,000 is far too low. We have no slope and are currently at around €30,000 - €35,000. This item can quickly escalate. The prefabricated house companies have always calculated between €10,000 and €15,000... You need to be very, very careful! That amount is no longer realistic nowadays. Otherwise, the rest should be okay.
- Remember, if you want a large garage (prefabricated garage), you are looking at €26,000 including foundations.
- Furniture and initial furnishing can quickly cost around €20,000, so be careful and budget for that as well.
- You will also need around €15,000 for the kitchen.
- For the outdoor area (you can do the garden later), you should still budget about €15,000 if you do some work yourself. Otherwise, this cost can easily climb to €25,000! Keep this in mind.
---> Now, let’s talk about the house:
Based on your expectations, without cutting anything (approx. 140m² (1500 sq ft) with a basement), WITHOUT garage, WITHOUT additional construction costs, WITHOUT outdoor work and furniture, you are estimated to cost around €400,000. Since we are also building in southern Baden-Württemberg and already have several offers for similar projects, I know what I am talking about. You won’t get it cheaper with your requirements.
I can tell you: Our plot cost exactly as much, and we are currently at a total cost for the house including the plot and all additional costs of around €620,000 - €650,000. I would estimate your total to be around €580,000 - €600,000 since we are not far from you with respect to specifications and requirements. However, we do floors, painting, and outdoor work ourselves... So I really can’t imagine you getting anywhere near €500,000 - €550,000.
One more VERY IMPORTANT thing: The cost transparency with the prefabricated house providers we dealt with at the beginning was absolutely ZERO compared to the transparency of local solid construction companies. Prefabricated house companies will add several costs and services later on that you are not yet factoring in. So very important: Always be realistic and maybe also look locally at a company to have some cost comparisons. The prefabricated house providers will try to sell you a lot, especially when you are just starting out.
First of all: With your expectations, there is no way you will be able to stay within your budget. Since we are building similarly and have similar demands/requirements, but have gradually realized what can and should be omitted, I would like to share our experiences:
- As already mentioned by several people here in the forum: With your desired room layout, you will not be satisfied with 140m² (1500 sq ft) and/or 130m² (1400 sq ft) with a basement! You definitely need 150m² (1600 sq ft) to fully realize what you want. So you need to clarify exactly what you really need and what you can afford. A good guideline from our builders was always around +€2,000/m² or -€2,000/m².
---> We are building with a basement and would never change that, but if your budget is tight and you are not totally committed to having a basement, it might be better to make the house 10m² (100 sq ft) larger instead and save around €50,000 on the basement costs. Put together a floor plan from different companies and look carefully at what you really need and how large the rooms will be. Prefabricated house companies like to sell these "mini-houses" with 120-130m² (1300-1400 sq ft) and claim there is plenty of space, even for a 4-person family. I always find that difficult to assess and very individual... Don’t let anyone persuade you otherwise and think carefully about what you really need and want.
- Think about smart home features, external blinds (shutters) everywhere, all electrically controlled, cooling function of the air-to-water heat pump, room lighting, KfW 40 (which can make sense for timber frame construction due to subsidies), cistern, bathtub (general bathroom layouts) — all of that costs a lot, sometimes unnecessary money, and you will notice during further planning that most of these things can often be omitted. It sounds to me like you want everything, but with a low budget. That will definitely not be possible.
- Have the preparations for photovoltaic systems done, because it will be too expensive if you install it later!
- Regarding the listed additional costs: The structural engineer costs MUCH more than €1,000, the soil survey is also more expensive, the building permit/planning permission (consider switching to the notification procedure here — it costs less than half and might be possible), excavation cost estimate at €11,000 is far too low. We have no slope and are currently at around €30,000 - €35,000. This item can quickly escalate. The prefabricated house companies have always calculated between €10,000 and €15,000... You need to be very, very careful! That amount is no longer realistic nowadays. Otherwise, the rest should be okay.
- Remember, if you want a large garage (prefabricated garage), you are looking at €26,000 including foundations.
- Furniture and initial furnishing can quickly cost around €20,000, so be careful and budget for that as well.
- You will also need around €15,000 for the kitchen.
- For the outdoor area (you can do the garden later), you should still budget about €15,000 if you do some work yourself. Otherwise, this cost can easily climb to €25,000! Keep this in mind.
---> Now, let’s talk about the house:
Based on your expectations, without cutting anything (approx. 140m² (1500 sq ft) with a basement), WITHOUT garage, WITHOUT additional construction costs, WITHOUT outdoor work and furniture, you are estimated to cost around €400,000. Since we are also building in southern Baden-Württemberg and already have several offers for similar projects, I know what I am talking about. You won’t get it cheaper with your requirements.
I can tell you: Our plot cost exactly as much, and we are currently at a total cost for the house including the plot and all additional costs of around €620,000 - €650,000. I would estimate your total to be around €580,000 - €600,000 since we are not far from you with respect to specifications and requirements. However, we do floors, painting, and outdoor work ourselves... So I really can’t imagine you getting anywhere near €500,000 - €550,000.
One more VERY IMPORTANT thing: The cost transparency with the prefabricated house providers we dealt with at the beginning was absolutely ZERO compared to the transparency of local solid construction companies. Prefabricated house companies will add several costs and services later on that you are not yet factoring in. So very important: Always be realistic and maybe also look locally at a company to have some cost comparisons. The prefabricated house providers will try to sell you a lot, especially when you are just starting out.
K
knalltüte9 Sep 2020 17:31tomtom79 schrieb:
You seem tight on money but you want KfW 40, which I never understood. By the way, a technical room outside the building envelope is not allowed. Hi,
At this point, it’s still a gut feeling and "just" a rough calculation based on current offers (windows + doors, plaster, heat pump + controlled ventilation system, photovoltaic, etc.) supported by some orders (foundation slab, shell...), but I want to disagree with you.
KfW40+ can be cheaper (depending on the circumstances) than building according to the Energy Saving Ordinance, thanks to the current high subsidies. I don’t want to share exact numbers yet, but we will (believe it or not) come in at well under 2000€/m² (gross) including all costs (of course without the land). I’m emphasizing those two words because “well” means well, and these numbers seem to be important here.
And: We are getting an external technical room (and building to KfW40+ or Passive House standard!). We have already received all approvals (Progress NRW, KfW), so it is certain that this works. The external technical room is not inside the thermal envelope used for calculations! It must, of course, be frost-free. That’s basically it... P.S.: Our architect is also our energy consultant.
Here is a picture of our house. The technical room will be built exactly on the boundary.
K
knalltüte9 Sep 2020 17:42Photovoltaics: 6.12 kWp + Battery storage 5.5 kW = €20,916
-> Better to have more photovoltaics and less battery storage (for 140 m² (1,507 sq ft) you need a minimum size of about 3 kWh). So rather around €16,000, because the harsh reality currently shows that photovoltaics are more expensive than expected ;-(
Photovoltaics are gross prices and you can reclaim the VAT. After 5 years, switch to the small business regulation. Additionally, there is a subsidy of €200 per kWh of battery capacity (or is that only in NRW?)
Concrete slab: 95 m² (1,023 sq ft), €218/m² = €20,708
Excavation work: €20,000
-> 170 m² (1,830 sq ft) concrete slab including excavation around €52,000
But excavation costs vary depending on the federal state and soil type
Soil report: €1,500
-> €952
One more addition to my previous post: The construction costs are calculated based on the amount we pay after deducting all subsidies. Fortunately, these are quite significant in our case.
-> Better to have more photovoltaics and less battery storage (for 140 m² (1,507 sq ft) you need a minimum size of about 3 kWh). So rather around €16,000, because the harsh reality currently shows that photovoltaics are more expensive than expected ;-(
Photovoltaics are gross prices and you can reclaim the VAT. After 5 years, switch to the small business regulation. Additionally, there is a subsidy of €200 per kWh of battery capacity (or is that only in NRW?)
Concrete slab: 95 m² (1,023 sq ft), €218/m² = €20,708
Excavation work: €20,000
-> 170 m² (1,830 sq ft) concrete slab including excavation around €52,000
But excavation costs vary depending on the federal state and soil type
Soil report: €1,500
-> €952
One more addition to my previous post: The construction costs are calculated based on the amount we pay after deducting all subsidies. Fortunately, these are quite significant in our case.
T
TangoDeltaLima9 Sep 2020 17:54We have currently scrapped all our previous plans.
We will no longer go with a prefab house.
We are now building a KfW 55 standard house using ytong blocks, working with an architect. Whether we will install photovoltaics and an energy storage system right from the start is still undecided.
For us, it is most important that the house’s structural design is correct. Everything else can be decided later.
We will no longer go with a prefab house.
We are now building a KfW 55 standard house using ytong blocks, working with an architect. Whether we will install photovoltaics and an energy storage system right from the start is still undecided.
For us, it is most important that the house’s structural design is correct. Everything else can be decided later.
The windows are arranged arbitrarily or.
And I am quite surprised that the technical room is allowed to be built right up to the property boundary.
There are several stages between the Energy Saving Ordinance and a Passive House, and just because a building complies with the Energy Saving Ordinance, it can still receive funding from BAFA for heating, ventilation, energy consulting, and so on.
And I am quite surprised that the technical room is allowed to be built right up to the property boundary.
There are several stages between the Energy Saving Ordinance and a Passive House, and just because a building complies with the Energy Saving Ordinance, it can still receive funding from BAFA for heating, ventilation, energy consulting, and so on.
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