ᐅ Finding the Right Partner for Your Home Construction Project
Created on: 13 Mar 2022 11:58
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HaeusleBauer77
Hello everyone,
We were fortunate to secure one of the rare plots in the commuter belt around the Rhine-Main area at a reasonable price. It is an end-of-terrace house and can basically be built like a somewhat wider semi-detached house.
Now we face the challenge of finding the right partner for our project. Our initial idea was to work with an architect, at least to guide us through the early phases and identify potential pitfalls early on. Unfortunately, this was unsuccessful because our project is considered too small by everyone so far.
We are now starting to approach prefabricated house suppliers. We have already had several discussions at the show home park in Bad Vilbel and feel that most offer roughly the same package, but the price (ready to move in, including additional construction costs/groundwork/outdoor landscaping) varies widely, ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 EUR. The differences likely result from the building specifications and selection options. We have a very clear (and simple) idea of how the floor plan should look and what is allowed under the local development plan. It is very conventional and feasible by all suppliers.
Nevertheless, there seems to be an almost endless number of possible providers and alternatives, such as general contractors, solid construction houses, and so on. The time we could invest would probably be significant, and we still might not find the one perfect partner. How did you make this decision “measurable” for yourselves, and how did you approach the preselection process?
We would also appreciate any recommendations for interesting partners.
Thanks in advance for your replies!
We were fortunate to secure one of the rare plots in the commuter belt around the Rhine-Main area at a reasonable price. It is an end-of-terrace house and can basically be built like a somewhat wider semi-detached house.
Now we face the challenge of finding the right partner for our project. Our initial idea was to work with an architect, at least to guide us through the early phases and identify potential pitfalls early on. Unfortunately, this was unsuccessful because our project is considered too small by everyone so far.
We are now starting to approach prefabricated house suppliers. We have already had several discussions at the show home park in Bad Vilbel and feel that most offer roughly the same package, but the price (ready to move in, including additional construction costs/groundwork/outdoor landscaping) varies widely, ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 EUR. The differences likely result from the building specifications and selection options. We have a very clear (and simple) idea of how the floor plan should look and what is allowed under the local development plan. It is very conventional and feasible by all suppliers.
Nevertheless, there seems to be an almost endless number of possible providers and alternatives, such as general contractors, solid construction houses, and so on. The time we could invest would probably be significant, and we still might not find the one perfect partner. How did you make this decision “measurable” for yourselves, and how did you approach the preselection process?
We would also appreciate any recommendations for interesting partners.
Thanks in advance for your replies!
MeinHaus99 schrieb:
Well, honestly, we hadn’t experienced it like that before. The engineering firm billed the builder for the work. So, for us, it was basically free of charge.That does sound quite innovative indeed.MeinHaus99 schrieb:
We would have paid the builder for the design services anyway. This way, we still had the freedom to plan as we wanted.However, having the freedom to plan is an advantage that not all homebuyers actually need.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
driver55 schrieb:
This is clearly a rigged game. Both are cunning players here... Thank you :-( for your misjudgment. Although I assume that @MeinHaus99 is "connected" ;-) with the mentioned provider, that does not stop me from praising the approach of an engineering firm I had never heard of until an hour ago. I openly admit this, despite being active nationwide myself and certainly not knowing all the players (and in this case partly competitors) who deviate from the usual paths. I often hear that homebuilders today want a different kind of professional support during the planning process than was customary in previous generations. @Gerddieter’s expectations as a "consumer architect client" are not exactly representative, but they are increasingly "not an isolated case." When I published my "Housebuilding roadmap, also for you: the HOAI phase model!" I intended, among other things, to explain the architect’s systematic approach to those clients who want to try navigating the planning process themselves. Many of the responses I received focused on the disappointment that many architects are reluctant to stray from this “standard procedure” and develop more customer-focused, new approaches. The mentioned provider seems to be more open in this regard, and if someone promotes that, I’m happy for the provider. My own similar consulting and coaching offers were also created based on demand (mainly from advice seekers in this forum). I could certainly also just enjoy my retirement as a former window manufacturer 🙂
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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HaeusleBauer7715 Mar 2022 17:58Self-promotion is acceptable. The market is open, and everyone is free to advertise their services with valid arguments. An active exchange in the forum also allows for interpretation of available capacities, which can be a useful indicator for short-term consultations.
Thank you very much for the additional tips! We will probably start by creating a list of providers that we subjectively find "appealing" (prefabricated house manufacturers, engineering firms, and general contractors) and approach them one by one with our request, asking for offers including construction and service specifications. My hope is to compile a comparable list and, together with the price, gain a clear indication for further discussions (the IT specialist in me shows here). What do you think?
Thank you very much for the additional tips! We will probably start by creating a list of providers that we subjectively find "appealing" (prefabricated house manufacturers, engineering firms, and general contractors) and approach them one by one with our request, asking for offers including construction and service specifications. My hope is to compile a comparable list and, together with the price, gain a clear indication for further discussions (the IT specialist in me shows here). What do you think?
HaeusleBauer77 schrieb:
Self-promotion is fine. The market is open, and everyone is free to advertise their services with valid arguments. Active discussions in the forum can also suggest available capacity, which can be a helpful indication for short-term consulting. Tell me, where exactly did you see the valid arguments for my services or those of the mentioned Weinheim engineering firm? I’m not sure if you meant to imply my schedule must be too empty if I can give so much advice here ;-) but actually, there is still some availability for you...
HaeusleBauer77 schrieb:
Thanks for the remaining tips! You’re welcome — do you mean these here and/or did you take a look at Baulotse?
HaeusleBauer77 schrieb:
We will probably start compiling a list of providers we personally find “appealing” (prefabricated house manufacturers, engineering offices, and general contractors) and contact them one by one with our requests and ask for offers including construction and service descriptions. My hope is to create a comparable list and use pricing as a clear indicator for further discussions (here comes the IT specialist in me). What do you think about that? I don’t think that’s a good approach, and it mostly shows your Excel enthusiast side. The IT specialist part of you will probably be disappointed how little progress you make in finding a construction partner this way. General contractors who strictly follow templates are poor problem solvers for customer-designed projects; and before you strain yourself trying to clean up various construction scope descriptions, you’ll write your own faster. If construction scope descriptions were scored for thoroughness, the big names would regularly lead; however, these texts are usually written by legal departments, which isn’t necessarily an advantage for the client. Regarding engineering offices, the one mentioned here recently might be a promising exception, but otherwise, I would favor a traditional architect in this field. If I were you, I would start there and first do what should be done anyway: the preliminary project analysis (phase 1). Once you have this framework clarified (plot, needs versus budget, zoning/planning permission), I would discuss with the architect (or similar consultant) whether to proceed by adapting a standard or catalog design or to develop a customized plan. Keep in mind that catalog designs are provider-specific, and building a catalog design from company A with company B usually turns into a custom design after all. Choosing a catalog home is best done as if the preliminary design phase (phase 2) were the key focus: not before and not afterward. Since there are quite a few structural differences, it should already be clarified at this point which type(s) of general contractor (masonry or timber construction) you want to approach — NEUTRAL and INDIFFERENT are NOT the same here! (because it affects what kind of “documentation” you request).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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