ᐅ Initial Discussions with Prefabricated House Manufacturers – Any Tips?

After the first quotes were clearly above what I could and wanted to spend, I approached the initial meetings very cautiously, like a thrifty person. I deducted about 30,000 euros as a buffer from what I could and wanted to actually spend, and told the providers that I had to build very budget-consciously. I then shared my basic ideas regarding size, heating technology, and the basement. This led to very different outcomes:

One company’s salesperson snapped at me, saying I couldn’t ask a Mercedes dealer for a small car and expect prices like Opel. Ironically, their sales team called me later because I had ordered a catalog from them. That gave me a chance to provide feedback about their extremely courteous salesperson at the model home.

A few salespeople did say my budget was quite tight, but still put together (seemingly) reasonable offers with detailed descriptions of the scope of work, floor plans, and additional construction cost breakdowns that were financially acceptable (perhaps slightly adjusted to meet my limit?).

Others completely ignored my budget expectations and made offers that were 50,000 to 120,000 euros above my target price, explaining that quality always has its price, and that for the others, Eastern Europeans were just working the construction site...

Then there were those who wanted to close the deal in 2017 due to upcoming price increases. One offered to give up 2,000 euros of their commission, another to include a “high-quality” kitchen worth 12,000 euros, and yet another assumed that I would sign immediately after a two-hour presentation of the not particularly spectacular offer…

The sales representatives are there to present the house construction with their company, and you can ask them how and with what materials they build, as well as what is possible when building a house.
You have the opportunity to get to know the company’s philosophy and consider whether your house could be built by them.
A sales representative is not the right contact person to discuss potential difficulties with the building permit / planning permission; this responsibility lies solely with an architect. A sales representative might be knowledgeable (like we are), well-trained, or even a qualified architect and able to provide some information about the plot or building regulations. But usually, a sales representative is just a sales representative.
You can meet the architect at later appointments.

Stagenberger schrieb:
I then provided basic requirements regarding size, heating system, and basement. This led to very different results:

And this is precisely the main point in the initial phase: to process one’s amazement at 1. how varied the responses can be based on the same information, 2. the mix of technical expertise and communication style with which those responses are presented, and so on. This already creates a heavy load of impressions, even before the reference point for the eaves height is mentioned.

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https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

ypg schrieb:
The architect can be met at later appointments.

So, you receive the detailed scope of work after round 1, which serves as the basis for discussing the specifics of the development plan with the architects? The architect from the provider is involved in round 2, or does this happen behind the scenes, and we get a scope of work after round 1 that has already been coordinated internally with the architect (and hopefully takes our priorities into account, e.g., a low-sloped mono-pitched roof instead of a flat roof, etc.). In theory, this is the only logical and sensible approach. Having the architect interpret the development plan later, after the seller and we have worked through 2-3 rounds of the scope of work, doesn’t make much sense, in my opinion.

11ant schrieb:
That will be an overwhelming amount of information, without even mentioning the reference point for the eaves height.

That’s what I think as well. I don’t want to leave it unmentioned though. Otherwise, the seller will spend weeks preparing our individual scope of work, and in the end (if the process is different from what I described above), the architect might reject 30% of it, and the seller will say annoyed, “Why didn’t you mention this earlier?” Essentially, he would have a point.

When exactly is a surveyor involved, and is this usually included in the offer within the additional construction costs? The height reference points and precise position of the building on the site must be clearly defined at some point, right? It also makes sense to do this as early as possible, or is this the last step before the final drawings for submitting the building permit / planning permission?

I can't believe it. Not even my wife gives me this much mental stress. Go there, don’t overthink the company, don’t write down fantasies here—talk to those who are serious candidates for you. Then let it sink in. By the way, positioning and measuring come at the very end. The designs are in the middle. The scope of work develops from the designs, and so does the price. The only thing that’s clear from the start is a standard house. The feeling at the beginning of something custom is what tells you that this company can likely build our house at a reasonable cost.

Nordlys schrieb:
I can't believe it. Not even my wife creates that much speculation. Go there, don’t overthink the company, talk to those who might be relevant to you instead of writing fantasies here. Then let it sink in.

Well, if this detailed discussion helps others who read it at some point, that’s great. It doesn’t always have to be just the seller leaving such conversations with a big smile.