ᐅ Construction method: prefabricated house, solid (or masonry) house, construction manager, architectural design

Hello dear forum members,

I have now joined this forum and hope to get some useful ideas and suggestions.

We have found and purchased our dream plot of land. It is 1600 square meters (17,200 square feet) with plenty of space for children’s play areas around it.

Now the question is what we can do with the “remaining” budget of about EUR 270,000 to a maximum of EUR 300,000. Realistically, I can hardly do much myself. Well, I can still manage wallpapering and laying carpets, parquet, and laminate flooring. But beyond that, I have neither the talent nor the time.

We live in Northern Germany, more precisely in the Ammerland region.

We are struggling with three fundamental considerations and are not making much progress. The first question is how to actually build. Basically, we are considering three options: a) prefabricated house, b) solid / masonry house with a construction manager, and c) architect-designed home.

a) Prefabricated house

We have found some interesting ideas here, and we like the building method quite a lot. In particular, Schwörerhaus matches our ideas best. However, prefabricated houses apparently have the downside that they are not cheaper to build and tend to sell only at significant price reductions (if resale happens at all).

We are initially assuming that a sale will not be necessary. Are there other disadvantages that I might not be aware of? Regarding acoustic insulation, I understand that many technical improvements have been made. Are there suppliers here who can be recommended with confidence?

b) Construction manager

I have already had two semi-detached houses built turnkey using a construction manager. Both were solid masonry buildings, and the completion went quite well. Of course, there were problems — actually quite a few — but they were solved satisfactorily each time. When that many trades and people come together... mistakes happen and sometimes people are just careless. But as I said, everything worked out well in the end.

I expect (slightly) lower total costs with a construction manager because you are basically buying “off the shelf” rather than commissioning a completely new design. This way, planning costs are spread over many clients, and the overall calculation may look more favorable. And that is exactly my question: can this really be the case? The construction manager acts as general contractor and is liable for all damages and complaints. I would initially hire only a company that has been active and successful in the local market for a long time and has good creditworthiness. But wouldn’t such a company also reflect the general contractor risk in a surcharge on the prices they pay to subcontractors? Will you really end up paying less? How is this usually handled? Am I completely wrong here?

c) Architect-designed home

This is actually my preferred option. On the other hand, I do not know a single architect. I have zero experience and am a little worried about ending up with one you really should not hire. Also, the costs seem quite high in comparison. Of course, that may be only subjective because prefabricated house manufacturers and construction managers do not usually disclose their calculations, so these costs are not transparent to me.

It’s all quite frustrating.

I only know a little so far. The living area should be about 140 to 150 square meters (1500 to 1600 square feet). KfW-70 standard, nothing fancy, no basement, standard fittings. Am I way off with about 1500 euros per square meter here? As I said, I do not want to exceed my total budget because I want to pay it off someday. I am aiming for a loan term of about 17 years (because of retirement), which limits the loan amount.

Thank you very much for your comments — even from those who cannot really answer the questions but want to point that out.

Volker