ᐅ New Construction on a New Plot Without Children – How Should We Approach It?
Created on: 9 Sep 2015 09:05
B
Baujulchen
Hello,
first, a brief introduction.
We (my better half and main breadwinner^^, 52, and I, 44) are facing a new challenge.
Due to an expected job change (within the same company, so no new probation period, etc.), we expect to move again in about 3 years.
Our child will almost be finished with university by then and will be independent. He will probably stay in our region at first, as he studies in a practical training network and already has a job opportunity lined up.
We built once before in 1996/1997—a small prefabricated house at a fantastic price. There was a great offer for families with a major bank and a regional prefab manufacturer. We were able to buy the land quite cheaply from the municipality back then. Due to relatively high interest rates (compared to now^^), we are now close to paying off the mortgage.
We will be finished with the “new start” almost exactly by then.
The current house has a great layout, and with 107m2 (1150 sq ft) of living space, with little hallway and good room distribution, it was more than enough space for a family with one child.
There were few defects back then, and overall, we were very satisfied with the decision to build a prefab house. We were also a bit lucky because the company went bankrupt three years after we moved in.
About our plans now:
Plot prices in the region we expect to move to are around 40-45€/m2 (about $4.50-$5.00 per sq ft), fully serviced. We do NOT want a huge garden, as we see with our parents that, at a certain age, you just can’t maintain everything as you’d like. 600m2 (about 6500 sq ft), if the layout fits a bungalow on it, will be more than enough for our needs.
We plan about 110-115m2 (1180-1240 sq ft) of living space, all on one level (we’re not getting any younger ;-) ) with a partly covered terrace, possibly a garage or carport, and if the price works out, maybe a partial basement. A basement is not absolutely necessary—we don’t have one now and manage with a crawl space. You learn not to keep everything ;-)
We want a bedroom, possibly with a walk-in closet, a bathroom with bathtub AND shower, a guest room/office, and possibly an additional guest toilet with a shower. Depending on whether there is a basement or not, maybe the option for a sauna (sigh... I've always wanted one^^).
An open space plan (living room, dining room, kitchen) is under consideration.
Of course, I’ve started researching... and it was almost overwhelming... at our time, there were just a handful of well-known prefab companies, some of which actually still exist.
How should we best approach this? I have absolutely no idea about current energy standards, what is possible, what is necessary, and how that might affect related financing (we are calculating about 150,000€ (about $160,000) of own capital, partly from the sale of the current house, if all goes well).
KfW 40/55/70?? Passive house, geothermal energy... until last week, these were all completely new “words” for me, and now I’m starting to read up on them. But how deeply do I need to get into this?
The planned move would possibly be around mid-2018, so there is plenty of time to plan and gather information.
Many things that we added to the current house over time we would like to have again, for example, a large covered terrace with automatic sun protection, solar panels for hot water, a walk-in shower, electric roller shutters, possibly with sun sensors, etc.
Ideally, we would like everything from a single source, as we don’t have much time. Because we cannot be on site all the time (about 300km (190 miles) between current home and new location), we need someone we can 100% rely on (I know, that’s utopia ;-) ).
How would you approach this situation?
Thanks in advance—I’m hoping for one or two tips regarding planning and implementation.
dat Baujulchen :-)
first, a brief introduction.
We (my better half and main breadwinner^^, 52, and I, 44) are facing a new challenge.
Due to an expected job change (within the same company, so no new probation period, etc.), we expect to move again in about 3 years.
Our child will almost be finished with university by then and will be independent. He will probably stay in our region at first, as he studies in a practical training network and already has a job opportunity lined up.
We built once before in 1996/1997—a small prefabricated house at a fantastic price. There was a great offer for families with a major bank and a regional prefab manufacturer. We were able to buy the land quite cheaply from the municipality back then. Due to relatively high interest rates (compared to now^^), we are now close to paying off the mortgage.
We will be finished with the “new start” almost exactly by then.
The current house has a great layout, and with 107m2 (1150 sq ft) of living space, with little hallway and good room distribution, it was more than enough space for a family with one child.
There were few defects back then, and overall, we were very satisfied with the decision to build a prefab house. We were also a bit lucky because the company went bankrupt three years after we moved in.
About our plans now:
Plot prices in the region we expect to move to are around 40-45€/m2 (about $4.50-$5.00 per sq ft), fully serviced. We do NOT want a huge garden, as we see with our parents that, at a certain age, you just can’t maintain everything as you’d like. 600m2 (about 6500 sq ft), if the layout fits a bungalow on it, will be more than enough for our needs.
We plan about 110-115m2 (1180-1240 sq ft) of living space, all on one level (we’re not getting any younger ;-) ) with a partly covered terrace, possibly a garage or carport, and if the price works out, maybe a partial basement. A basement is not absolutely necessary—we don’t have one now and manage with a crawl space. You learn not to keep everything ;-)
We want a bedroom, possibly with a walk-in closet, a bathroom with bathtub AND shower, a guest room/office, and possibly an additional guest toilet with a shower. Depending on whether there is a basement or not, maybe the option for a sauna (sigh... I've always wanted one^^).
An open space plan (living room, dining room, kitchen) is under consideration.
Of course, I’ve started researching... and it was almost overwhelming... at our time, there were just a handful of well-known prefab companies, some of which actually still exist.
How should we best approach this? I have absolutely no idea about current energy standards, what is possible, what is necessary, and how that might affect related financing (we are calculating about 150,000€ (about $160,000) of own capital, partly from the sale of the current house, if all goes well).
KfW 40/55/70?? Passive house, geothermal energy... until last week, these were all completely new “words” for me, and now I’m starting to read up on them. But how deeply do I need to get into this?
The planned move would possibly be around mid-2018, so there is plenty of time to plan and gather information.
Many things that we added to the current house over time we would like to have again, for example, a large covered terrace with automatic sun protection, solar panels for hot water, a walk-in shower, electric roller shutters, possibly with sun sensors, etc.
Ideally, we would like everything from a single source, as we don’t have much time. Because we cannot be on site all the time (about 300km (190 miles) between current home and new location), we need someone we can 100% rely on (I know, that’s utopia ;-) ).
How would you approach this situation?
Thanks in advance—I’m hoping for one or two tips regarding planning and implementation.
dat Baujulchen :-)
Baujulchen schrieb:
Model homes in Braunschweig? I only know a few in Rüningen. Do you mean those?
In Hannover, I know the model home park in Langenhagen. I’ll also check again for the second one you mentioned.
Yes, the ones in Rüningen. Better than nothing ;-)
In Lehrte near Hannover, there is another park by Helma. There are about 10 houses there as well.
B
Baujulchen10 Sep 2015 09:21Thanks a lot
Rüningen was completely modern back in 1995/1996 ;-)
haven't been there since then :-)
Rüningen was completely modern back in 1995/1996 ;-)
haven't been there since then :-)
B
Baujulchen10 Sep 2015 11:03Bieber0815 schrieb:
2.) Find a plot of land that you like and where building a bungalow is allowed (based on the development plan or by looking at existing buildings). Ideally, it should be free from developers. Beforehand, you should roughly determine the space requirements and therefore know the permitted floor area ratio, so you understand the minimum size the plot must be.I was able to find out the floor area ratio for a development area that might be an option, but it is still in the planning stage...
It is 0.25.
So, with approximately 650m² (7000 ft²), we could build about 160m² (1700 ft²)... is that correct?
This week is actually the first time I have heard/read the term floor area ratio.
(It probably did exist back then too, since we needed a special permit to build two houses on one plot :-) — I probably just forgot about it or it had a different name? No idea.)
B
Baujulchen10 Sep 2015 12:01Thanks for the tip.
Could you specify that a bit more? Carport/garage, presumably? What else?
We want a maximum of 120m2 (1290 sq ft) of living space,
rather smaller...
Currently, with 3 people, we have 107m2 (1150 sq ft),
and it should now be just for 2 people.
Given the land prices, an extra 100m2 (1076 sq ft) wouldn’t be a big deal if necessary.
Could you specify that a bit more? Carport/garage, presumably? What else?
We want a maximum of 120m2 (1290 sq ft) of living space,
rather smaller...
Currently, with 3 people, we have 107m2 (1150 sq ft),
and it should now be just for 2 people.
Given the land prices, an extra 100m2 (1076 sq ft) wouldn’t be a big deal if necessary.
Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia
Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
The Floor Area Ratio (building coverage ratio, §19) indicates the proportion of a building plot that may be covered by structures; it is given with one or two decimal places, for example:
Calculation example: Building footprint area (140 m² (1507 ft²)) : Plot area (500 m² (5382 ft²)) = 0.28 (thus below the allowed FAR of 0.3)
When determining the FAR, the footprints of all structures, such as buildings, ancillary structures, and paved surfaces, are fully counted. The permitted footprint area of ancillary structures can generally be exceeded by up to 50% (but not exceeding an FAR of 0.8).
For the house, the roof area should count, as well as carport/garage/tool shed and, in my opinion, also parking space/terrace/driveway/paths. Permeable surfaces, however, do not count as far as I know. Perhaps someone else can confirm this.
A living area of 120 m² (1292 ft²) in a bungalow should probably correspond to almost 160 m² (1722 ft²) of roof area.
Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
The Floor Area Ratio (building coverage ratio, §19) indicates the proportion of a building plot that may be covered by structures; it is given with one or two decimal places, for example:
- Floor Area Ratio 0.3 = 30% of the plot area may be built upon
Calculation example: Building footprint area (140 m² (1507 ft²)) : Plot area (500 m² (5382 ft²)) = 0.28 (thus below the allowed FAR of 0.3)
When determining the FAR, the footprints of all structures, such as buildings, ancillary structures, and paved surfaces, are fully counted. The permitted footprint area of ancillary structures can generally be exceeded by up to 50% (but not exceeding an FAR of 0.8).
For the house, the roof area should count, as well as carport/garage/tool shed and, in my opinion, also parking space/terrace/driveway/paths. Permeable surfaces, however, do not count as far as I know. Perhaps someone else can confirm this.
A living area of 120 m² (1292 ft²) in a bungalow should probably correspond to almost 160 m² (1722 ft²) of roof area.
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