ᐅ Home Building for Enthusiasts – Looking for Experiences!

Hello dear forum members,

A few weeks ago, you already helped me with some good advice. It became clear that building a house for 400,000€ without significant equity in rural Baden-Württemberg would be quite challenging. However, some of you encouraged me.

Now, surprisingly, I have acquired 100,000€ in equity through an early inheritance. I plan to build in 3 to 4 years and, based on my total income, I could afford a project between 500,000€ and 550,000€ (approximately 540,000 to 595,000 USD). I also intend to save a bit more during that time.

Since my family background makes me a real nerd... all of us in my family always have a strong desire to get the very best possible value for our hard-earned money. This is not always an advantage... And because we think we are good at something, we prefer to do it ourselves... .

So now I am specifically reaching out to the “nerds” among you. Who has built a house with an architect (possibly only phases 1-5) and with individual trade contracts while also contributing a significant amount of own labor? How long was the planning period? And what was the pure construction time?

In the next 12-24 months, I want to find a plot and, during and after that time, thoroughly consider what I want and need. For me, this includes intensive research in many areas (technology, architecture, building materials, etc.). Additionally, I have support from family members, as we are currently lifting and almost fully renovating a house ourselves.

Thanks to the long lead time, I am hoping to have plenty of time to make decisions, secure tradespeople, and so on.

Now, let’s be honest. Who has built like this? Were you able to save money by taking this approach? A general contractor or a prefab house is not really an option for me. I want the freedom to choose and make decisions myself, especially regarding materials and fittings.

Oh, and I understand everyone who doesn’t want or can’t build this way! I would personally feel very limited by a general contractor. The same goes for model home selections in prefab houses. Some people just want a house, and that’s perfectly fine! So I especially hope to get answers from homeowners who are as crazy about this as I am.

Thank you!

Then I’ll raise a point regarding the architect and direct contracting.
First, you need the land. Then the right design for the house. Of course, you should already know what you need or want.
With direct contracting, you can save money, but above all, you can implement more customized requests.
Planning accounts for 80% of the construction process. From others I know, the planning phase took about one year. In our case, due to some delays and special requirements, it took almost two years. If everything goes well, we will start in two weeks. At least the debris from the old house has been removed now.

Camille1984 schrieb:

So now I’m specifically addressing the nerds among you. Who has built with an architect (possibly only phases 1-5) and managed individual trade contracts themselves, while also doing a significant amount of work personally? How long was the design phase? How long was the actual construction period?

We worked with the architect on phases 1-5 and then either afterwards or simultaneously contracted the trades ourselves. We did very little work ourselves; my wife basically doesn’t trust me to do it, and I don’t want the stress.
The planning phase took about 12 months.
Another 3 months passed before construction started.
We began in early September 2018.
We expect to move in July 2019.
Due to the complex site, the groundwork including the foundation slab took almost 6 months.

Camille1984 schrieb:

Let’s be honest. Who has built like this? Were you able to save costs by approaching it this way?

Honestly: Did we save money by doing it this way? No. We are clearly spending more.
As you said, we’re not restricted by material requirements and often choose—not the cheapest options, let’s say. This leads to significant additional costs that wouldn’t have occurred with a more pragmatic construction approach. One of many examples: Sicis mosaic tiles for a feature wall in the bathroom. You won’t get something like that from a general contractor or prefab house manufacturer. Sure, we don’t pay the architect for the remaining phases, but that doesn’t offset our choices at all.
Since completing the foundation slab, the site management has been absolutely on schedule. The tradespeople are excellent, know each other, and come from the local area. Our focus here was “quality and hassle-free handling” rather than “lowest price.” That’s more expensive but pays off for us.

Whether extra spending or money “saved”: I am convinced that this approach gives you much greater control over the cost-performance ratio. And that’s what really matters to you in the end, right?

Camille1984 schrieb:
Due to family reasons, I’m a real nerd... I (and everyone in my family) always have a strong desire to get the absolute best value for our hard-earned money.

Then you are probably in the wrong place here.

This forum is mainly for reliable payers who don’t scrutinize every penny and every trade with a fine-tooth comb. Craftsmen may occasionally make mistakes... the main thing is that they get corrected. (We know the tradespeople and how solution-focused they generally are ).
And even if mistakes are only fixed after a long time or after persistent requests, it’s best to remain calm, patient, and always very polite.

According to many here in the forum, building is only for owners willing to make compromises.

So my advice is: Don’t take everything here in the forum too seriously, and keep your options open elsewhere as well.

Otherwise, I wish you the best of luck! It will work out.

P.S.: Since you have experience in renovations and apparently good people on your side, it’s better to look for an existing property. That will probably be easier than buying a building plot at a “fair” price.

Contracting individual trades can save a lot of money. Your approach is very good; I believe this is the best way to build a house. Unfortunately, everyday life does not allow many people to follow this method.

Bookstar schrieb:

Unfortunately, everyday life doesn’t allow many people to follow this approach.

That’s true, it takes time. You have to be able to set priorities.

Farilo schrieb:

This forum mainly caters to reliable payers who don’t scrutinize every penny or closely watch every trade. Craftsmen are allowed to make mistakes sometimes… the main thing is that the errors get corrected. (We know the craftsmen and generally trust how solution-oriented they are).
And even if mistakes aren’t fixed or only corrected after a long time of persistent pleading, it’s still important to stay calm, patient, and always very polite.

Here we have the non-homeowner who tirelessly paints a questionable picture of craftsmen, refuses to believe positive experiences, sees willingness to compromise as a weakness, and imagines calm homeowners have deep pockets. His advice not to take everything too seriously is valuable in this context.