ᐅ Home Purchase, Home Construction – Fundamental Questions and Considerations
Created on: 11 Jul 2018 09:53
T
TR188
Hello, since I have already read a lot on the forum and seen how some people were advised, I would like to try to present our situation and get your opinion on our plans.
My fiancée and I want to purchase a house. Both buying an existing home and building a new one are options we are considering. I personally prefer building new, even though it is clearly more expensive, because then you really get everything exactly as you imagine and want it. My fiancée is a bit hesitant because of all the work, stress, and of course the costs. That’s why I wanted to ask here which option you would recommend for us.
A little about us: I am 26, she is 24, and we are getting married in April 2019.
Current income: together about €3,500 net per month (both have permanent public sector jobs)
Rent: about €700 including utilities for an 80m² (860 sq ft) maisonette with 3 rooms.
We are still paying off our cars, which will be finished by October 2019.
There are, of course, other fixed costs like internet, mobile phone, insurance, and some small extras (Netflix, gym, underground parking space...), so at the moment we can save about €600 per month, but this will probably go entirely towards the wedding at first.
The apartment fits us perfectly for now, but if our family grows, it will definitely become too small. That’s why we are thinking about homeownership. Larger apartments aren’t available in our town, and in nearby towns they are not affordable. So we are considering building as an alternative for roughly the same monthly expenses.
Equity: Currently, a house with land including arable, grassland, and forest areas from an inheritance is for sale. We expect proceeds of about €100,000 to €120,000.
My plan: First finalize the sale of the inherited property to see how much cash we have available. We have been offered a plot of land for €40,000, about 2,000m² (dimensions approximately 20m by 104m (66 ft by 341 ft)).
If we decide to build new, my idea is to buy the land outright with cash and then use about half of the remaining equity as a down payment for construction financing. Is it advisable to buy the land outright?
Once the car loans are paid off in October 2019, we want to focus on financing the build.
It is convenient for us that the landowner wants to sell only next year because he first wants to let his real estate agent contract expire, which he signed somewhat naively, so the agent won’t get a commission. The agent basically only put up a sign.
The plot is currently used as a sheep and goat pasture. A soil embankment will need to be removed as well as some planting (we are already in contact with the environmental office). Utility connections are available at the street (I believe this is called partially serviced, so the final connection to the actual building site is still missing). The question is, of course, what kind of good-sized house can be built on just 20m width? A building setback of 3m means a building width of about 14m is set.
Since it is a district at the edge of the town and there is a requirement to blend in, our originally planned modern villa will likely not be possible. Since we don’t want any sloping ceilings, we are considering a bungalow. We are thinking about about 130–140m² (1,400–1,500 sq ft) with 5 rooms (1 child planned) and possibly moving in a parent at some point.
Buying an existing house is also an option, but it will be difficult to find something that really matches our expectations, of course within the overall budget but cheaper and probably less stressful.
In short:
1. Should we consider buying an existing house or building new, and is it realistic for us?
2. Is it advisable to buy the land outright if we decide to build?
3. Can you build a decent house on 20m width?
I hope you can help us move our considerations forward or give good tips on how we should approach this.
Best regards,
Tom
My fiancée and I want to purchase a house. Both buying an existing home and building a new one are options we are considering. I personally prefer building new, even though it is clearly more expensive, because then you really get everything exactly as you imagine and want it. My fiancée is a bit hesitant because of all the work, stress, and of course the costs. That’s why I wanted to ask here which option you would recommend for us.
A little about us: I am 26, she is 24, and we are getting married in April 2019.
Current income: together about €3,500 net per month (both have permanent public sector jobs)
Rent: about €700 including utilities for an 80m² (860 sq ft) maisonette with 3 rooms.
We are still paying off our cars, which will be finished by October 2019.
There are, of course, other fixed costs like internet, mobile phone, insurance, and some small extras (Netflix, gym, underground parking space...), so at the moment we can save about €600 per month, but this will probably go entirely towards the wedding at first.
The apartment fits us perfectly for now, but if our family grows, it will definitely become too small. That’s why we are thinking about homeownership. Larger apartments aren’t available in our town, and in nearby towns they are not affordable. So we are considering building as an alternative for roughly the same monthly expenses.
Equity: Currently, a house with land including arable, grassland, and forest areas from an inheritance is for sale. We expect proceeds of about €100,000 to €120,000.
My plan: First finalize the sale of the inherited property to see how much cash we have available. We have been offered a plot of land for €40,000, about 2,000m² (dimensions approximately 20m by 104m (66 ft by 341 ft)).
If we decide to build new, my idea is to buy the land outright with cash and then use about half of the remaining equity as a down payment for construction financing. Is it advisable to buy the land outright?
Once the car loans are paid off in October 2019, we want to focus on financing the build.
It is convenient for us that the landowner wants to sell only next year because he first wants to let his real estate agent contract expire, which he signed somewhat naively, so the agent won’t get a commission. The agent basically only put up a sign.
The plot is currently used as a sheep and goat pasture. A soil embankment will need to be removed as well as some planting (we are already in contact with the environmental office). Utility connections are available at the street (I believe this is called partially serviced, so the final connection to the actual building site is still missing). The question is, of course, what kind of good-sized house can be built on just 20m width? A building setback of 3m means a building width of about 14m is set.
Since it is a district at the edge of the town and there is a requirement to blend in, our originally planned modern villa will likely not be possible. Since we don’t want any sloping ceilings, we are considering a bungalow. We are thinking about about 130–140m² (1,400–1,500 sq ft) with 5 rooms (1 child planned) and possibly moving in a parent at some point.
Buying an existing house is also an option, but it will be difficult to find something that really matches our expectations, of course within the overall budget but cheaper and probably less stressful.
In short:
1. Should we consider buying an existing house or building new, and is it realistic for us?
2. Is it advisable to buy the land outright if we decide to build?
3. Can you build a decent house on 20m width?
I hope you can help us move our considerations forward or give good tips on how we should approach this.
Best regards,
Tom
We will only start once we actually have the funds and can make proper use of them.
I am planning financing of €200,000 (around $220,000) just for the house, likely even less. We will be able to do a lot of the work ourselves through contacts.
We only know him through former professional connections with his wife, so there is no personal relationship with the individual. This should not cause any issues. The appointment is mainly to determine whether something is theoretically feasible on the plot that meets our expectations. After that, everything will be put on hold until we have the money.
If construction does proceed, multiple offers will definitely be obtained and compared. This would be at the earliest after the cars are paid off. However, it doesn’t hurt to start looking into it early.
I am planning financing of €200,000 (around $220,000) just for the house, likely even less. We will be able to do a lot of the work ourselves through contacts.
We only know him through former professional connections with his wife, so there is no personal relationship with the individual. This should not cause any issues. The appointment is mainly to determine whether something is theoretically feasible on the plot that meets our expectations. After that, everything will be put on hold until we have the money.
If construction does proceed, multiple offers will definitely be obtained and compared. This would be at the earliest after the cars are paid off. However, it doesn’t hurt to start looking into it early.
To keep the topic somewhat up to date:
On Friday, we had an appointment with the construction company. Simply rotating the bungalow on the plot would definitely make it feasible to place a bungalow there. A rough cost estimate showed that with the purchase of the land and additional fees, house construction including extra costs, and a double garage, we would be looking at around €260,000 (about $283,000). An earthen embankment could be removed during the soil replacement.
If we buy the land outright, we would therefore need to take out a loan of approximately €200,000 (about $217,000). Based on the initial figures from the first post, is this a realistic amount to manage? Or do you consider it too high and risky?
We will also be looking at existing houses for sale. These are usually in the range of 120 to 200 m² (about 1,290 to 2,150 sq ft) and priced around €160,000 to €170,000 (about $174,000 to $185,000). However, it’s unclear how much renovation would still be needed, and the plots are significantly smaller, around 400 m² (about 4,300 sq ft) or less.
After visiting these properties in August, we will decide whether to buy or build ourselves. I’m personally in favor of building, but my fiancée is still hesitant because of all the stress and additional costs involved. Any good arguments to help convince her? 😉
On Friday, we had an appointment with the construction company. Simply rotating the bungalow on the plot would definitely make it feasible to place a bungalow there. A rough cost estimate showed that with the purchase of the land and additional fees, house construction including extra costs, and a double garage, we would be looking at around €260,000 (about $283,000). An earthen embankment could be removed during the soil replacement.
If we buy the land outright, we would therefore need to take out a loan of approximately €200,000 (about $217,000). Based on the initial figures from the first post, is this a realistic amount to manage? Or do you consider it too high and risky?
We will also be looking at existing houses for sale. These are usually in the range of 120 to 200 m² (about 1,290 to 2,150 sq ft) and priced around €160,000 to €170,000 (about $174,000 to $185,000). However, it’s unclear how much renovation would still be needed, and the plots are significantly smaller, around 400 m² (about 4,300 sq ft) or less.
After visiting these properties in August, we will decide whether to buy or build ourselves. I’m personally in favor of building, but my fiancée is still hesitant because of all the stress and additional costs involved. Any good arguments to help convince her? 😉
Curly schrieb:
I’m really surprised how affordable house construction is for you, with a house including additional costs, land including additional costs, and a double garage all for 260,000 euros.
Best regards,
SabineI agree with that, which is why I’m considering building something of my own according to my preferences, rather than moving into a finished house and making minor renovations—especially if the costs end up being about the same.
For me, moving into an existing house would mainly be about convenience and avoiding stress. Unless the house already meets all my requirements, which is rather unlikely.
The construction company will also raise prices by 3% next year, so the costs will increase slightly.
TR188 schrieb:
Any good arguments to convince her? 😉 Men! They have no idea what makes women happy. 🙄
How do you lure the partner into building a house? Gather features she would love that you won’t find in any finished home. If one isn’t enough, take two, and so on... 🙂
For example:
- A new kitchen with an island that she’s always wanted?
- Extra pantry?
- Walk-in closet with built-in shoe racks?
- Extra-large children’s room?
- Balcony?
- Conservatory?
- Favorite tiles?
- Window shutters?
- Sauna?
- And so on.
Stress during a new build is often the stress you put on yourself.
We didn’t do any DIY work, had a building surveyor... I didn’t sleep any better or worse during the 7 months (about 0.6 years) than usual. Even two years later, we haven’t found any defects in the house so far.
We didn’t do any DIY work, had a building surveyor... I didn’t sleep any better or worse during the 7 months (about 0.6 years) than usual. Even two years later, we haven’t found any defects in the house so far.