ᐅ Hire a company or manage the entire construction process yourself?

Hi, my girlfriend and I are planning to build a house in 1 to 2 years and will have about 25,000€ of personal savings at that time.

I intend to approach the construction as follows: inquire with the mayors of nearby communities about available plots, buy a plot, have an architect design the house, act as our own construction manager by directly hiring contractors, and build the house with the help of friends. My question is, is it advisable to manage everything ourselves or would it be better to have a construction company handle the entire process? Also, does anyone have an idea of whether this can save money and, if so, how much?

Of course, you can save a lot of money by doing some of the work yourself, but even friends don’t work for free – especially if you expect some form of compensation in return. It can also be difficult to keep enough helpers motivated over a long construction period. Depending on the size of the house and the amount of work you plan to do yourself, easily 1,500 hours can add up.

Of course, the friends aren’t doing it for free, that much I’m aware of. But, for example, with the basement – the excavation can be done yourself, and the masonry work, of course, should be done by professionals. That way, you should be able to save quite a bit.

Hello Stefan, you’re not seriously suggesting that the guys should dig out the basement with shovels and spades, are you?

Regards, Thommi

Hi,

I would suggest a mix: do yourself and your friends what you can manage. However, some tasks like heating or electrical work should be handled by a professional, especially because of the warranty, even if you know someone with experience.

See you later.