Hello
My partner and I are planning to build a house. Today, we visited Town & Country for a consultation. We also read several opinions about Town & Country in different forums today. Has anyone had experience with whether using a prefabricated house provider like this is cheaper than building in the usual way? Also, has anyone had experience with Town & Country in the district of Landsberg am Lech?
My partner and I are planning to build a house. Today, we visited Town & Country for a consultation. We also read several opinions about Town & Country in different forums today. Has anyone had experience with whether using a prefabricated house provider like this is cheaper than building in the usual way? Also, has anyone had experience with Town & Country in the district of Landsberg am Lech?
Hello,
thank you for your reply. We visited Town & Country today, and well, we’re not entirely convinced. We only have about 160,000 euros available for the house. I hadn’t even considered a timber house yet. The representative from Town & Country said that if we build with them, it would take around six months until we could move in. She also mentioned that there is no other local company that builds brick by brick at that price.
thank you for your reply. We visited Town & Country today, and well, we’re not entirely convinced. We only have about 160,000 euros available for the house. I hadn’t even considered a timber house yet. The representative from Town & Country said that if we build with them, it would take around six months until we could move in. She also mentioned that there is no other local company that builds brick by brick at that price.
Oh dear, all the alarm bells are ringing.
When you then ask colleagues what they think about prefabricated wooden houses, arguments like “cardboard” and “really bad resale value” come up.
€160,000? What exactly do you want to build? What should be included in that €160,000? Does that include the land? Did Town & Country offer you a turn-key house for €160,000, or a shell house?
Sorry, if you can’t do almost everything yourself, it won’t work. The additional construction costs alone will be between €25,000 and €40,000. That leaves nothing left for the house itself.
I’ll list our costs for a prefabricated house with 145 sqm (1,560 sq ft) of living space, 1.5 stories, without a basement.
House in basic version without flooring and painting: €190,000
Ventilation system: €7,500
Wood stove: €7,500
Floor plan modifications: €5,000
Additional construction costs: €25,000
Extra costs for more expensive earthworks: €10,000
Land-related incidental costs (notary, real estate agent, taxes, authorities, land registry): €15,000
Kitchen: €10,000
Garage: €8,000
Landscaping at least: €10,000
I’m just listing these because you can easily reach €300,000 without the house itself being significantly more expensive. There is a long list of costs in house building that unreliable builders won’t tell you about because it’s not their concern whether you can afford a water connection or have to build a garage due to your municipality’s building requirements. A reputable builder will send you home and tell you that you still need to save a lot.
Six months until moving in... in the current peak phase where everyone is building? Sure... our builder constructs about 18 houses per week, and even there they have a backlog of 12 months until the house shell is delivered.
It’s important that you check where and especially how your house is produced. What materials are used, how it’s insulated, etc. Someone experienced can already recognize whether it’s a planned scam or if the builder means business honestly.
If you, say, need to finance €200,000 fully from the bank, you’ll need at least €1,000 per month for that. On top of that, expect roughly €300 per month for the ancillary costs that come with owning a home. Can you handle that with one salary? Always factor in the possibility that you might have children, that one of you could lose your job, or worst case you’ll have to refinance at a high cost because your money isn’t enough.
Before you sign anything, definitely have an independent financial advisor check your finances and calculate what’s realistically possible for you. The house bank is not always the best option. Don’t commit too early to home savings contracts. These are usually just money pits if you can’t use them for building for whatever reason. (Just check YouTube for some good explanations including some ZDF reports.) Home savings contracts are only really useful for locking in interest rates. But even then, sometimes it’s better to just put the money in a high-yield savings account. Interest rates for 20 years are no problem today anymore. Never commit to 10 years... you will pay a lot for that.
Enough of my rambling. I hope this helps you better assess your situation. If you have any questions, I’m happy to answer...
When you then ask colleagues what they think about prefabricated wooden houses, arguments like “cardboard” and “really bad resale value” come up.
€160,000? What exactly do you want to build? What should be included in that €160,000? Does that include the land? Did Town & Country offer you a turn-key house for €160,000, or a shell house?
Sorry, if you can’t do almost everything yourself, it won’t work. The additional construction costs alone will be between €25,000 and €40,000. That leaves nothing left for the house itself.
I’ll list our costs for a prefabricated house with 145 sqm (1,560 sq ft) of living space, 1.5 stories, without a basement.
House in basic version without flooring and painting: €190,000
Ventilation system: €7,500
Wood stove: €7,500
Floor plan modifications: €5,000
Additional construction costs: €25,000
Extra costs for more expensive earthworks: €10,000
Land-related incidental costs (notary, real estate agent, taxes, authorities, land registry): €15,000
Kitchen: €10,000
Garage: €8,000
Landscaping at least: €10,000
I’m just listing these because you can easily reach €300,000 without the house itself being significantly more expensive. There is a long list of costs in house building that unreliable builders won’t tell you about because it’s not their concern whether you can afford a water connection or have to build a garage due to your municipality’s building requirements. A reputable builder will send you home and tell you that you still need to save a lot.
Six months until moving in... in the current peak phase where everyone is building? Sure... our builder constructs about 18 houses per week, and even there they have a backlog of 12 months until the house shell is delivered.
It’s important that you check where and especially how your house is produced. What materials are used, how it’s insulated, etc. Someone experienced can already recognize whether it’s a planned scam or if the builder means business honestly.
If you, say, need to finance €200,000 fully from the bank, you’ll need at least €1,000 per month for that. On top of that, expect roughly €300 per month for the ancillary costs that come with owning a home. Can you handle that with one salary? Always factor in the possibility that you might have children, that one of you could lose your job, or worst case you’ll have to refinance at a high cost because your money isn’t enough.
Before you sign anything, definitely have an independent financial advisor check your finances and calculate what’s realistically possible for you. The house bank is not always the best option. Don’t commit too early to home savings contracts. These are usually just money pits if you can’t use them for building for whatever reason. (Just check YouTube for some good explanations including some ZDF reports.) Home savings contracts are only really useful for locking in interest rates. But even then, sometimes it’s better to just put the money in a high-yield savings account. Interest rates for 20 years are no problem today anymore. Never commit to 10 years... you will pay a lot for that.
Enough of my rambling. I hope this helps you better assess your situation. If you have any questions, I’m happy to answer...