ᐅ Choosing fixtures and finishes only after signing the contract – how do you handle this? For example, with companies like Bien-Zenker
Created on: 1 Jul 2025 21:50
J
Jay_KayDear Forum,
We are facing some decisions regarding our planned prefabricated house project with Bien-Zenker.
In the prefabricated house guide by Stiftung Warentest, it is recommended to sign the construction contract only after the selection of finishes and fittings.
Is this a practical recommendation, or is it generally not feasible in reality?
My concern is that
a) we will only know the final total price at the selection appointment – of course, we plan to allow several thousand euros extra, but it still feels like signing a car contract and only using the configurator afterward, and
b) some features, such as stairs, may not be available from the supplier at all, and otherwise we might have chosen a different homebuilder. The latter is important to us since we plan to build a turnkey house.
Thank you very much!
We are facing some decisions regarding our planned prefabricated house project with Bien-Zenker.
In the prefabricated house guide by Stiftung Warentest, it is recommended to sign the construction contract only after the selection of finishes and fittings.
Is this a practical recommendation, or is it generally not feasible in reality?
My concern is that
a) we will only know the final total price at the selection appointment – of course, we plan to allow several thousand euros extra, but it still feels like signing a car contract and only using the configurator afterward, and
b) some features, such as stairs, may not be available from the supplier at all, and otherwise we might have chosen a different homebuilder. The latter is important to us since we plan to build a turnkey house.
Thank you very much!
Papierturm1 Jul 2025 22:07It depends somewhat on the provider, and I’m not familiar with Bien-Zenker in this regard.
But the magic word is: pre-selection!
We visited a total of three providers for pre-selection (also because one provider went bankrupt... Pre-selections already require significant interest). For two of the three providers, the pre-selection was very detailed and was largely incorporated into the contract. Only the electrical planning and visual highlights were excluded. (However, things like the number of power outlets were included; for example, if the contract states 25 single outlets and 10 double outlets, you can say, "we actually want 20 single outlets, 30 double outlets, and 5 quadruple outlets.")
This, of course, made things much more predictable.
If the providers don’t cooperate and refuse to include this in the contract? Ok, move on to the next provider. (Joking aside, if you clearly state that you won’t sign otherwise, they will usually comply.)
That obviously didn’t mean that changes couldn’t happen later – they did in our case. But only medium-sized rather than major surprises occurred.
But the magic word is: pre-selection!
We visited a total of three providers for pre-selection (also because one provider went bankrupt... Pre-selections already require significant interest). For two of the three providers, the pre-selection was very detailed and was largely incorporated into the contract. Only the electrical planning and visual highlights were excluded. (However, things like the number of power outlets were included; for example, if the contract states 25 single outlets and 10 double outlets, you can say, "we actually want 20 single outlets, 30 double outlets, and 5 quadruple outlets.")
This, of course, made things much more predictable.
If the providers don’t cooperate and refuse to include this in the contract? Ok, move on to the next provider. (Joking aside, if you clearly state that you won’t sign otherwise, they will usually comply.)
That obviously didn’t mean that changes couldn’t happen later – they did in our case. But only medium-sized rather than major surprises occurred.
Jay_Kay schrieb:
Choosing equipment only after contract signing – how do you deal with this? For example, Bien-ZenkerExactly this question was thoroughly discussed just yesterday in the now closed thread https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/weberhaus-ausstattungsprotokoll-schluesselfertiges-einfamilienhaus.49230/
so you can already find everything you need to know there. Does no one at least bother to read "that far" to the left and right anymore, to discover the similar questions that have appeared over the last few days?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/