Preliminary note: After quite a bit of browsing—also here in the forum—I know this topic has been touched on before, theoretically discussed, and eventually dismissed with the argument that building a house is never 100% predictable.
I want to try again—and then I guess I have to give up and accept that there are simply things you cannot get for money and good words.
What do I actually want???
I want to plan and have built a single-family house of about 180 square meters (1937 square feet) on an existing, fully serviced plot in Zarrentin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
I want to plan absolutely everything known, everything that can be asked and explored IN ADVANCE, and then have it all done: the house in detail, with floor coverings, painting, kitchen, bathroom, landscaping, and so on—literally everything (except furniture) that belongs to a house. I want to plan and discuss ALL of this, AND THEN, once every detail has really been finalized, hand EVERYTHING over to competent hands (a construction company? a private site manager?? ???) and set off on a world trip.
I want to come back in 6 to 12 months and find the house exactly as planned (not better, but not worse either), receive the keys, pay 100% of all costs at that point (this is not necessarily mandatory; some payments will probably have to be made beforehand or during the build), and then book the moving truck!
That can’t be so impossible!!! Basically, I just want to pay the construction company, a site manager, or someone else for handling what thousands of other homeowners have already “lived through/done” themselves.
Is there really no company offering this?
Any tips or help are very welcome!!!
Thanks & greetings (still) from Hamburg – Carsten
I want to try again—and then I guess I have to give up and accept that there are simply things you cannot get for money and good words.
What do I actually want???
I want to plan and have built a single-family house of about 180 square meters (1937 square feet) on an existing, fully serviced plot in Zarrentin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
I want to plan absolutely everything known, everything that can be asked and explored IN ADVANCE, and then have it all done: the house in detail, with floor coverings, painting, kitchen, bathroom, landscaping, and so on—literally everything (except furniture) that belongs to a house. I want to plan and discuss ALL of this, AND THEN, once every detail has really been finalized, hand EVERYTHING over to competent hands (a construction company? a private site manager?? ???) and set off on a world trip.
I want to come back in 6 to 12 months and find the house exactly as planned (not better, but not worse either), receive the keys, pay 100% of all costs at that point (this is not necessarily mandatory; some payments will probably have to be made beforehand or during the build), and then book the moving truck!
That can’t be so impossible!!! Basically, I just want to pay the construction company, a site manager, or someone else for handling what thousands of other homeowners have already “lived through/done” themselves.
Is there really no company offering this?
Any tips or help are very welcome!!!
Thanks & greetings (still) from Hamburg – Carsten
DNL schrieb:
If your employer came to you and said, "You will work six months in advance, and then we will pay you in full." Would you do that? There are actually many big companies that handle it that way nowadays.
P
peilerwen3 Jun 2017 20:47Well, here they finally are—the more or less “dumb comment” remarks. No forum is complete without those kinds of people! BUT: 90% of the responses have been helpful to me – THANK YOU!
And apparently, ALMOST everything can go the way I want: Detailed planning with all parties involved during the planning phase and commissioning the surveys, assessments, etc. at the start, then handing over with powers of attorney and a fixed sum XXX to a team consisting of construction companies, the architect, the site manager, and my “Mr. X”; construction starts until the framing stage without me; one single visit to the construction site at that point; then only final inspection of the house and any payment at the end. However: Although kitchen, painting, flooring, tiling, and exterior work are monitored by the above team, payments are always made only when the company has delivered... And contact options by email and phone 1–2 times a week—if needed! This is a compromise I can live with. And the months between completing the planning and the start of construction, as well as the months between the framing stage and final inspection, I can then spend in “New Zealand.”
I will report back on whether everything worked out as planned....
And apparently, ALMOST everything can go the way I want: Detailed planning with all parties involved during the planning phase and commissioning the surveys, assessments, etc. at the start, then handing over with powers of attorney and a fixed sum XXX to a team consisting of construction companies, the architect, the site manager, and my “Mr. X”; construction starts until the framing stage without me; one single visit to the construction site at that point; then only final inspection of the house and any payment at the end. However: Although kitchen, painting, flooring, tiling, and exterior work are monitored by the above team, payments are always made only when the company has delivered... And contact options by email and phone 1–2 times a week—if needed! This is a compromise I can live with. And the months between completing the planning and the start of construction, as well as the months between the framing stage and final inspection, I can then spend in “New Zealand.”
I will report back on whether everything worked out as planned....
I’ve skimmed through your thread and couldn’t find any indication that anyone said your idea would work to your satisfaction.
Where does it say that? -> "...apparently ALMOST everything goes the way I want..."
Neither a general contractor nor an architect will provide or offer the service you want. And if they do, it will come with such markups that it will make your head spin.
At first, I thought of an architect because it sounded like that in the beginning, but then I read that you’re looking for someone to also plan and supervise the exterior landscaping, as well as handle the kitchen and final cleaning. That just makes me shake my head.
Who is supposed to go to the house twice a day to ventilate so the screed dries? And that for 3-4 weeks. Is the architect supposed to do that at an hourly rate of over 60€?
The architect alone will cost you about €45,000 (around $48,000) for phases 1 through 9 of services. If they are supposed to do the remaining work as well (basically acting as a construction supervisor), another €20,000 ($21,000) or more could be added.
Now, let’s be honest – do you really believe this idea will work so that you come back, find no construction defects, and are 100% satisfied?
Where does it say that? -> "...apparently ALMOST everything goes the way I want..."
Neither a general contractor nor an architect will provide or offer the service you want. And if they do, it will come with such markups that it will make your head spin.
At first, I thought of an architect because it sounded like that in the beginning, but then I read that you’re looking for someone to also plan and supervise the exterior landscaping, as well as handle the kitchen and final cleaning. That just makes me shake my head.
Who is supposed to go to the house twice a day to ventilate so the screed dries? And that for 3-4 weeks. Is the architect supposed to do that at an hourly rate of over 60€?
The architect alone will cost you about €45,000 (around $48,000) for phases 1 through 9 of services. If they are supposed to do the remaining work as well (basically acting as a construction supervisor), another €20,000 ($21,000) or more could be added.
Now, let’s be honest – do you really believe this idea will work so that you come back, find no construction defects, and are 100% satisfied?
peilerwen schrieb:
Well, here they finally are, the more or less "dumb comment quips." No forum without those kinds of people! BUT: 90% of the answers helped me – THANK YOU!
And apparently ALMOST everything goes as I want: detailed planning with everyone involved during the planning phase and commissioning surveys, measurements, etc. at the start, then handover with powers of attorney and a fixed sum XXX to a group consisting of construction companies, architect, site manager, and my "Mr. X"; construction starts until the frame is up without me; just one site visit for that; then only the final inspection of the house and payment roughly at the end. However: monitoring of kitchen, painting, flooring, tiling, and exterior work by the above team—but payment only when the company has delivered... And contact possibilities by email and phone once or twice a week—if necessary! That is a compromise I can live with. And the months between the end of planning and construction start and the months between frame completion and handover I can then spend in "New Zealand." I will report whether everything worked out as planned....
That’s not true that it’s not possible. Here in the neighboring town, EBK is currently building over 70 holiday homes, which are then sold turnkey to the owners. With kitchens, landscaping, everything included. You get the keys and rent the place out to Jupp and Karla from Bochum. Some are quite complex models with saunas, whirlpools, etc. So it is possible. But you have to see it as a holiday home. In Scandinavia, where EBK comes from, this is quite common—entire villa neighborhoods, as they call them there, are built and sold turnkey by such companies, especially in the Copenhagen area attracting newcomers from all over the world who buy these series homes remotely. You just get the keys, and that’s it. Including the grill. But individual choices, custom finishes, or, “Oh, can we change the wall a bit?”—no, that’s not part of it. Karsten
Nordlys schrieb:
It is not true that it is not possible. In the neighboring town, EBK is currently constructing over 70 holiday homes, which are then sold to the owners fully finished. With kitchens, landscaping, everything included. Here you get the keys,...EBK as a property developer
Regards, Yvonne
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