ᐅ Is it practical to build a prefabricated house using a solid construction floor plan?
Created on: 23 Sep 2024 22:50
S
Skya2020
Hello everyone,
We have just purchased a plot of land in NRW. The previous owners had already hired an architect to fully oversee the construction using traditional masonry methods and have already paid over €50,000 (about $54,000) for phases 1-6. There is already a building permit / planning permission, so construction could start almost immediately.
However, we are planning to build using prefabricated construction and are now wondering how to proceed best. The previous owners have offered to sell us their plans. Either way, we would still need to modify them (aside from the exterior dimensions) to fit our requirements.
The plot is on a slope, and there aren’t many options for building on it, so the design would likely be very similar either way.
Does it make sense to buy the plans from the previous owners and then work with the architect to incorporate changes before approaching prefab house manufacturers? Or are the floor plans not very useful due to the different construction method, making it more reasonable to hire a different architect for a new design?
And if you were to buy the plans—how much would you pay (they don’t really have a strong bargaining position)?
We are completely at the beginning of our home-building journey, so I apologize if this is a naïve question... We just don’t really know the best way to start.
We have just purchased a plot of land in NRW. The previous owners had already hired an architect to fully oversee the construction using traditional masonry methods and have already paid over €50,000 (about $54,000) for phases 1-6. There is already a building permit / planning permission, so construction could start almost immediately.
However, we are planning to build using prefabricated construction and are now wondering how to proceed best. The previous owners have offered to sell us their plans. Either way, we would still need to modify them (aside from the exterior dimensions) to fit our requirements.
The plot is on a slope, and there aren’t many options for building on it, so the design would likely be very similar either way.
Does it make sense to buy the plans from the previous owners and then work with the architect to incorporate changes before approaching prefab house manufacturers? Or are the floor plans not very useful due to the different construction method, making it more reasonable to hire a different architect for a new design?
And if you were to buy the plans—how much would you pay (they don’t really have a strong bargaining position)?
We are completely at the beginning of our home-building journey, so I apologize if this is a naïve question... We just don’t really know the best way to start.
11ant schrieb:
Curiosity makes 10,000 cents probably too much, but the relevance here is likely higher.
I think it’s a decent offer, but I wouldn’t agree to it as a purchase condition. It was not a purchase condition. The building permit / planning permission was indeed part of the sales contract, but the plans were basically offered to us as an additional option alongside the purchase.
After reading your blog post about the planning phases, I got a bit of FOMO. While the house suits us very well, what if a custom-designed house would fit us even better? On the other hand, what if a newly planned house ultimately ends up back where the seller’s planning already is?
H
hanghaus202324 Sep 2024 19:12Skya2020 schrieb:
We have already signed the notary contract. A soil survey exists and we also have it on hand.Including the design?
I also believe that you should design your house according to your own ideas and preferences.
H
hanghaus202324 Sep 2024 19:18Skya2020 schrieb:
What if a newly designed house ends up exactly where the seller’s original plan was?Show us the plan, then we can take a look to see if it’s worth 50k.
Skya2020 schrieb:
It was not a condition of purchase. Although the building permit/planning permission was part of the purchase agreement, the plans were basically offered to us as an additional option alongside the purchase. Would you consider an offer, or what are the sellers’ expectations?
As I said – I find your comments on the “suitability” quite positive – what remains to be clarified is whether the fee would be reasonable (it would be best to evaluate that together with the extension to include service phases 7 and 8).
Skya2020 schrieb:
After reading your blog post about the planning phases, I got a bit of FOMO (fear of missing out). Although the house fits us very well, what if a custom-designed house would suit us even better? On the other hand – what if a newly designed house ends up just where the sellers’ planning already is? Have you already read the entire schedule series? – FOMO is nonsense, also read the two posts about aging in place. I don’t see this house as your last one. Starting over again right at the finish line would cost a lot of time. September is just starting to cool down, and frost is still far away. Ask Schiller when the foundation slab could be built.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
... and 11ant says that this is nonsense in this case.He said you could start construction and then basically make such changes later through amendment requests. Nonsense?
11ant schrieb:
So, the acquaintances who have good personal experience with a (which one?) "prefabricated house" company are not the same as the example of the advertising partner (?)
By the way, I don’t know Reiner Calmund personally, but I also wouldn’t copy Alexander (whether Zverev or Bommes) in choosing where to buy their houses. The developer whose main shareholder is married to the former national coach is insolvent, by the way. No, from acquaintances we have generally heard positive things about prefab houses from various manufacturers. Whether that makes sense from a marketing perspective is another matter. But if construction companies want to associate themselves with well-known homebuilders and we could benefit from that, then initially that’s an advantage for us. Even if it only means the house manufacturer puts in more effort when they know that their experience will be presented to a wider audience.
11ant schrieb:
I would personally see even more potential sponsors with a traditionally built (wet construction) house. Sure, that’s probably possible as well. I just recently saw Karo Kauer and Loxone, for example.
11ant schrieb:
Regarding your price offer, or what are the seller's expectations?
As I said – I read your comments about the "suitability" positively – the only question is whether the fee would be reasonable (ideally this should be considered together with expanding to service phases 7 and 8). When we asked what they were expecting, he just told us what they had paid...
11ant schrieb:
Have you read the entire project schedule already? – FOMO, just kidding, also read the two posts about building for seniors. I don’t see this house as your last one. Starting over again now at the finish line would cost a lot of time. September is just starting to get cooler, and frost is still a long way off. Ask Schiller when the foundation slab could be done. No, I haven’t had that much time yet. It’s definitely not age-appropriate (I’ve even thought about a dumbwaiter because I already dread carrying the grocery bags up the stairs every day). But the house is actually meant more for now, at least until the kids have grown up. When we’re older, we might move back to downtown Cologne into an age-appropriate apartment or something like that.