Hello everyone,
My family and I (4 children, 2 adults) are currently considering buying a house.
At first, we thought about an older building, but since the prices for a new build are not much higher, we have probably decided on a new build.
For time reasons, this will mainly be a prefab house.
Finances:
According to an initial consultation with an independent financial advisor, we can expect the following amounts:
Approximately €180,000 financing (bank loan + KfW subsidies)
Approximately €40,000 own capital
+ WFA funding
Total: roughly between €250,000 and €300,000
We have chosen, for example, the Lichthaus type from Town & Country:
Costs: about €106,000 as a shell construction (I am an electrician, a friend is a plumber, another friend is a painter)
Additional building costs: about €35,000 (according to another post in this forum, thanks already!)
Land costs: around €80,000 (roughly estimated for 400m² (4,300 sq ft))
Costs for finishing work: about €30,000 (very roughly estimated)
Total would be: €261,000
The garden and garage can also be done later!
Are there any additional costs I might have overlooked so far?
Does anyone notice anything negative about the linked offer at first glance?
These are just initial thoughts we have made and would like experts to take a look at.
Is building a house roughly feasible like this?
Many thanks in advance—there will be many questions to come 🙄
Yours,
Dominic
My family and I (4 children, 2 adults) are currently considering buying a house.
At first, we thought about an older building, but since the prices for a new build are not much higher, we have probably decided on a new build.
For time reasons, this will mainly be a prefab house.
Finances:
According to an initial consultation with an independent financial advisor, we can expect the following amounts:
Approximately €180,000 financing (bank loan + KfW subsidies)
Approximately €40,000 own capital
+ WFA funding
Total: roughly between €250,000 and €300,000
We have chosen, for example, the Lichthaus type from Town & Country:
Costs: about €106,000 as a shell construction (I am an electrician, a friend is a plumber, another friend is a painter)
Additional building costs: about €35,000 (according to another post in this forum, thanks already!)
Land costs: around €80,000 (roughly estimated for 400m² (4,300 sq ft))
Costs for finishing work: about €30,000 (very roughly estimated)
Total would be: €261,000
The garden and garage can also be done later!
Are there any additional costs I might have overlooked so far?
Does anyone notice anything negative about the linked offer at first glance?
These are just initial thoughts we have made and would like experts to take a look at.
Is building a house roughly feasible like this?
Many thanks in advance—there will be many questions to come 🙄
Yours,
Dominic
P
perlenmann19 Apr 2012 08:08Does your friend have roughly a month of time to be there just for you? Or only occasionally? Then the construction will be delayed, and that also costs money!
Where will you put the 4 children in the daylight house? Each one their own room and you on the ground floor? If yes, where is your storage space?
I consider 30,000 for the interior finishing very low. Floors and walls alone easily cost well over 5,000 (if you use €4 click laminate).
Is the foundation slab included in the 106,000 already?
Often mentioned: a prefabricated house is not faster! But Town & Country is not a prefab house either, right?
Where will you put the 4 children in the daylight house? Each one their own room and you on the ground floor? If yes, where is your storage space?
I consider 30,000 for the interior finishing very low. Floors and walls alone easily cost well over 5,000 (if you use €4 click laminate).
Is the foundation slab included in the 106,000 already?
Often mentioned: a prefabricated house is not faster! But Town & Country is not a prefab house either, right?
106,000 for a shell house? That seems almost too cheap, doesn’t it?
30,000 for the interior finishing sounds unrealistic to me. You still have to buy all the cables, pipes, insulation material, and wall cladding. I agree with perlenmann—if you don’t want to replace everything within four years with four kids, you should invest a bit more in the flooring.
Shell house ... the big question you need to ask is: what exactly is included? Are the radiators already installed? Is the screed already laid? Are there enough windows? And so on...
30,000 for the interior finishing sounds unrealistic to me. You still have to buy all the cables, pipes, insulation material, and wall cladding. I agree with perlenmann—if you don’t want to replace everything within four years with four kids, you should invest a bit more in the flooring.
Shell house ... the big question you need to ask is: what exactly is included? Are the radiators already installed? Is the screed already laid? Are there enough windows? And so on...
So, let’s take it step by step 😉
My acquaintance (for example, the plumber) obviously wouldn’t have a whole month continuously available for us, but I feel confident handling the installation of the water pipes myself, at least following his instructions.
In this example, the children would move to the upper floor and we would have a bedroom on the ground floor.
For storage space, I was thinking of a garage with a basement. It wouldn’t need heating, and the insulation of the house would be simpler/cheaper (I think).
According to the advertisement, the concrete slab is already included with this house.
Hmm, a prefabricated house isn’t cheaper or built faster? So what are the advantages of a prefab house then? Just asking out of curiosity 😕
This house is a “prefabricated solid house.” I assume the walls are made of solid masonry but are already prefabricated and not built stone by stone on site.
A turnkey version of this house would cost about 170,000.
By “shell construction,” I imagine a structural shell including screed, boarded walls, installed windows, and exterior doors. Am I mistaken here?
Admittedly, the 30,000 € for the finishing work is a VERY rough estimate, but it should be noted that I can purchase all the materials at wholesale prices, which should make it significantly cheaper.
My acquaintance (for example, the plumber) obviously wouldn’t have a whole month continuously available for us, but I feel confident handling the installation of the water pipes myself, at least following his instructions.
In this example, the children would move to the upper floor and we would have a bedroom on the ground floor.
For storage space, I was thinking of a garage with a basement. It wouldn’t need heating, and the insulation of the house would be simpler/cheaper (I think).
According to the advertisement, the concrete slab is already included with this house.
Hmm, a prefabricated house isn’t cheaper or built faster? So what are the advantages of a prefab house then? Just asking out of curiosity 😕
This house is a “prefabricated solid house.” I assume the walls are made of solid masonry but are already prefabricated and not built stone by stone on site.
A turnkey version of this house would cost about 170,000.
By “shell construction,” I imagine a structural shell including screed, boarded walls, installed windows, and exterior doors. Am I mistaken here?
Admittedly, the 30,000 € for the finishing work is a VERY rough estimate, but it should be noted that I can purchase all the materials at wholesale prices, which should make it significantly cheaper.
€170,000 for a turnkey house? That would be just about €1,300 per square meter (approximately $140 per square foot) for 129 square meters (about 1,388 square feet) of net floor area... very unlikely, or only the cheapest materials are being used.
Have you already requested a specific quote? You mention advertising, which should always be approached with caution. The devil is in the details here. A colleague of mine had a Town & Country house built and experienced several issues during the construction phase. However, after some back and forth, everything was resolved. This is mainly because Town & Country does not build the houses themselves but works through licensees, meaning subcontractors. You can be lucky or unlucky in this situation.
In general, believing is not the same as knowing. Ask for the detailed construction specification. It should include everything that is part of the shell and core package. Then visit a Town & Country consultant and have them prepare an offer. That will give you a rough idea of the actual cost of the house. And it will almost certainly be more than advertised. Always ask for all promises to be confirmed in writing. Later on, no one remembers these details. I found this uncomfortable, as I tend to trust people, but my consultant wrote everything down and gave us copies proactively.
Regarding prefabricated houses in general: Of course, they are built faster and that is their main advantage. A short and manageable construction phase, usually all from one source, industrial manufacturing with factory-quality control. If the mason lays bricks crookedly, well, sometimes no one notices.
As for the price: There are different kinds of prefabricated houses. Some use high-quality wood, others use cardboard/drywall panels. You have to compare the construction specifications carefully. Floor plans all look similar, and they all make similar promises.
Have you already requested a specific quote? You mention advertising, which should always be approached with caution. The devil is in the details here. A colleague of mine had a Town & Country house built and experienced several issues during the construction phase. However, after some back and forth, everything was resolved. This is mainly because Town & Country does not build the houses themselves but works through licensees, meaning subcontractors. You can be lucky or unlucky in this situation.
In general, believing is not the same as knowing. Ask for the detailed construction specification. It should include everything that is part of the shell and core package. Then visit a Town & Country consultant and have them prepare an offer. That will give you a rough idea of the actual cost of the house. And it will almost certainly be more than advertised. Always ask for all promises to be confirmed in writing. Later on, no one remembers these details. I found this uncomfortable, as I tend to trust people, but my consultant wrote everything down and gave us copies proactively.
Regarding prefabricated houses in general: Of course, they are built faster and that is their main advantage. A short and manageable construction phase, usually all from one source, industrial manufacturing with factory-quality control. If the mason lays bricks crookedly, well, sometimes no one notices.
As for the price: There are different kinds of prefabricated houses. Some use high-quality wood, others use cardboard/drywall panels. You have to compare the construction specifications carefully. Floor plans all look similar, and they all make similar promises.
I already feared there would be a big difference between the advertising and reality.
Today, I scheduled a consultation appointment with Danwood (although they already seem too cheap to me).
I will also arrange a consultation with Town & Country soon.
I will look for a third option as well, let’s see which one it will be.
That way, we will have a comparison.
Today, I scheduled a consultation appointment with Danwood (although they already seem too cheap to me).
I will also arrange a consultation with Town & Country soon.
I will look for a third option as well, let’s see which one it will be.
That way, we will have a comparison.
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