ᐅ KfW40, Funding Program 300 "Low-Income Households"

11ant schrieb:

Well, with masonry, windows, and insulation, there have been deviations in materials and/or dimensions or other characteristics from what the contractor installs as the standard (i.e., with the most extensive production experience). The 11ant stone mantra recommends not deviating from this baseline at all in order to get the most reliable product in series production.

That also means this: controlled residential ventilation is otherwise not installed as standard—though how rarely (in proportion) exactly? The "ventilation concept" is quite often a significant part of the overall EH40 measures, especially for the stone builders.

Ok, I understand. Thank you very much for the explanations.

To be honest, I don’t know how to respond to this level of ignorance anymore.
There is an incomplete household budget, someone points it out, and the missing savings rate for new car purchases is explained by saying only one car is needed now.
Inspections, maintenance, and repairs are not included in the calculation either.

And even if food expenses of €500 (about $550) are still manageable now, by the time the child starts school and receives meal money, it won’t be enough.
Important items are also missing from the living expenses. But I won’t list them, as that’s homework for those making such naive calculations.
When a child is growing, €20 (about $22) per month barely covers shoes (rain boots, snow boots, indoor shoes, sneakers, sandals, etc.) just for the child. You can’t even argue “we buy very little.” I don’t buy that you’re darning holes in socks yourselves.

HausNummer 9 schrieb:

These are the costs we were given by the general contractor (GC)

The same applies to additional construction costs: calculate them yourself instead of blindly trusting the GC, then you’ll have a realistic overview. If the GC lists the actual high costs for this category, they’d only sell half as many houses or sign only about half as many contracts, because many would be confronted with the real costs of building a house before signing.

HausNummer 9 schrieb:

Additional construction costs (e.g., utility connections, soil surveyor, construction power, etc.) €5,000

If you have to run the drying heater for the screed for two weeks, that €5,000 (about $5,500) is almost gone.
Most people also roughly pay that much for surveying. Rainwater connection, cistern — you can roughly budget €5,000 for those as well.
No updates planned? Then 2-3 outlets in the home office are enough? You might do that, but nobody actually does.

HausNummer 9 schrieb:

The construction cost offer includes earthworks, foundation slab, soil survey, etc. Only remaining additional costs were power and water connections.

Then take a close look at the scope of work: 30cm (about 12 inches) maximum earthworks or topsoil removal?! You actually need 80cm (about 31.5 inches)! And that’s just the starting point — the soil still needs to be removed, distributed, or disposed of. If it’s only stored on the property, removal costs several thousand euros.
… And I hardly know anyone who hasn’t already spent their €20,000 to €30,000 buffer on these earthworks or reinforcing steel in the foundation slab.

And then:
€20,000 for 40 instead of 55
€12,000 for photovoltaic
€5,3xx for energy consultant

€40,000 for KfW40 standard... but supposedly that pays off through interest savings and subsidies. 😉 Let me put it this way: I also always buy the gourmet items at the supermarket because they advertise 20% off, but since I’ve been doing that, I haven’t had money left for staples.
Money doesn’t multiply just because additional costs are discounted or subsidized. Period.

HausNummer 9 schrieb:

Garage built by owner €17,500

… and since you’re apparently handed money on a silver platter, you also want an exclusive garage costing a whopping €17,500. Not bad. I promise you’ve probably already spent that money on necessary things right after the shell was completed.

HausNummer 9 schrieb:

Monthly KfW loan payment €469.03, ISB €758.33, total: €1,226.06

Golden numbers look different. With an additional loan to cover the now incomplete calculation, you’re at €1,400/€1,500 (about $1,550–$1,650)… Don’t forget to budget for house-related operating costs like waste disposal, sewage, building insurance, etc. That leaves no buffer for life—for example, repairs, replacements, or missing items like hobbies and children. That has to be covered by a side job. Or you simply work more. Mom will support that, of course.

HausNummer 9 schrieb:

To be honest? We’re building EH40 just to get the subsidy.

There’s no shame in doing it that way.
But the only thing I positively evaluate is the equity. Overall, it’s not enough to reach for the stars, but to keep your feet on the ground. However: those who don’t want to listen will have to learn the hard way.
Ten years ago, you needed about €4,000 net (about $4,400) for a modest single-family house; last year it was about €5,000 (about $5,500). OK, you have slightly less-than-average living space, but overall it still doesn’t add up.

You really should do your own calculation for both living expenses and housing costs.
Why haven’t you posted the scope of work here?

ypg schrieb:

To be honest, I don’t know how to respond to this kind of ignorance anymore.
There is an incomplete household budget, you point it out, and the missing savings rate for new car purchases is explained by saying they only need one car now.
Inspections, maintenance, and repairs are not included in the calculations either.

And even if spending €500 (about $540) on food is still manageable now, once the child starts school and receives lunch money, it won’t be enough anymore.
There are also important items missing in the living expenses. But I won’t list them because that’s homework for those who deceive themselves with unrealistic calculations.
If the child is still growing, €20 per month (about $22) barely covers the shoes (rain boots, snow boots, indoor sports shoes, sneakers, sandals, etc.) just for the child. You can’t argue “we buy very little” here. I don’t believe you’re darning your socks yourself.

The same applies to additional construction costs: calculate yourself instead of blindly trusting the general contractor (GC), and you will have a realistic overview. If the GC lists the real, daunting costs in this position, they will only sell half as many houses or sign half as many contracts because many would be confronted with the true house-building costs before signing.

If you have to run the construction dryer for two weeks for the screed, those €5000 (about $5400) are almost gone.
Most people already roughly pay that much just for the surveying. For rainwater connection and cistern, you can roughly estimate another €5000 (about $5400).
No electrical upgrades planned? Then will 2-3 power outlets in the home office be enough? You can do that, but you probably won’t.

Then take a close look at the detailed scope of work: maximum 30cm (about 12 inches) of earthworks or topsoil stripping?! But you need 80cm (about 31 inches)! And that doesn’t even include removing, redistributing, or disposing of the soil. It’s only temporarily stored on the property. Removal costs several thousand euros.
… And I hardly know anyone whose buffer of €20,000–30,000 (about $21,500–32,200) hasn’t already been eaten up by these earthworks or the reinforcement steel in the foundation slab.

And then:
€20,000 (about $21,500) for 40 instead of 55
€12,000 (about $12,900) for photovoltaic
€5,3xx (about $5,700) for the energy consultant

€40,000 (about $43,000) for KfW 40 standard… but that’s supposed to pay off with interest savings and subsidies 😉.
I’ll put it this way: I also always buy gourmet products at the supermarket because they advertise a 20% discount, but ever since I started doing that, I have no money left for basic groceries.
Money does not multiply just because extra costs are discounted or subsidized. Period.

… and since you’re practically getting the money handed to you, you also want an exclusive garage for a whopping €17,500 (about $18,800). Impressive. I’m telling you: you’ve most likely already spent that money on necessary things after the shell construction stage.

Golden figures look different. With an additional loan to cover the now incomplete calculations, you end up at €1400–1500 (about $1500–1600)… Then add utilities, waste disposal, sewage, building insurance, etc., to the ongoing costs.
Then there is hardly any buffer left for life—repairs, replacements, or missing positions like hobbies and children. That will have to be covered by a side job, or you simply work more. Mom will surely support that.

There’s no shame in doing it that way.
But the only positive thing I see here is the equity. Overall, it’s not enough for a bright star in the sky but rather for more grounded realism. But: those who won’t listen have to learn the hard way.
Ten years ago, you needed about €4000 (about $4300) net income for a solid single-family home; since last year, it’s around €5000 (about $5400). Sure, you have somewhat less living space than average, but overall it still doesn’t add up.

You should actually run a forecast yourself, considering both living expenses and housing costs.
Why haven’t you posted the detailed scope of work here yet?

I don’t see what this has to do with ignorance. I just wanted to outline our plan here for other interested parties. But that’s probably why "regular people" living simply with genuinely low expenses come here.

The connections and cistern are already included in the price. I didn’t upload the detailed scope of work because it’s over 20 pages.

Maybe we will take a hit. But what good does it do to write things like this here, Mr./Ms. ypg?

Hello,
I’m usually a silent reader, but maybe for the author’s comparison (offer from December 19, 2023). We are currently planning ourselves.
Construction electricity in our calculation (solid construction): 5,500 euros for construction power and 12,000 euros for utility connections (electricity/water/internet). (Of course, the cost depends on how far the connections need to be extended per meter). In Schleswig-Holstein, for example, some towns do not offer gas connections, which naturally reduces the costs somewhat. (Excluding additional costs for alternative heating systems).
The soil survey also already costs around 1,000 euros or was that included? (Sorry if I missed that).

I wouldn’t immediately suspect ignorance; rather, someone probably just trusted the general contractor or it is really described in detail in the draft purchase agreement?

Note: Of course, you shouldn’t blindly trust the "seller"... but that’s probably why the creator is here in the forum :-).

HausNummer 9 schrieb:

Meaning?
Oh, and the central ventilation system is also included in the 20,000.

The final bill will never turn out differently.