ᐅ No groundbreaking yet, but already problems with the construction company
Created on: 4 Oct 2016 09:59
J
Jazz089
Hello dear forum community,
I just need to vent a little. As mentioned in the headline, we haven't even broken ground yet, but I'm already frustrated with the construction company. We are building with Town & Country and originally didn’t want to build with them, but because of the plot of land, we were tied to this company. Maybe this is all normal, but I just feel like I’m being taken for a ride...
We’re all probably aware that building a house is expensive. We also know that Town & Country doesn’t represent the luxury segment of homebuilding (and they’re not exactly cheap either). So why am I upset right now? First of all, we have absolutely no cost transparency. We want a decentralized ventilation system instead of a central one. During the sales meeting, they said that a decentralized system is not an option for our house type or that they had bad experiences with it. Since this was very important to us, the salesperson said he would call the heating contractor again to see if there might be another possibility. Well, we then received an email stating that we would have to pay an additional 3,000€ (about 3,300 USD) and would get a decentralized ventilation system. After the planning meeting with the managing director, this statement was revoked and he said he would send us an offer. Well, that 3,000€ then turned into 10,000€. We complained, and then suddenly it was 6,000€ plus 2,000€ for the basement. What am I even supposed to believe at this point?
Then there was the issue with ordering extra windows. During the sales meeting, I wanted to include all additional windows we planned to have. But I was told to sort that out with the architect later, and that the surcharge for windows would only be the material cost… Now we are being asked to pay 950€ (about 1,050 USD) for upgrading from standard to floor-to-ceiling windows and 1,750€ (about 1,940 USD) for an additional floor-to-ceiling window. The prices seem extremely expensive to me, and I’m just not willing to be taken advantage of like this. In the construction contract, we already included 4 additional windows, but these were never accounted for in the pricing… I’m just so frustrated and we haven’t even properly started yet.
How do you see the window costs? Are these normal prices? Maybe I’m not yet fully in the building mindset and haven’t gotten used to additional costs, but it just seems very expensive to me.
Thanks for listening.
I just need to vent a little. As mentioned in the headline, we haven't even broken ground yet, but I'm already frustrated with the construction company. We are building with Town & Country and originally didn’t want to build with them, but because of the plot of land, we were tied to this company. Maybe this is all normal, but I just feel like I’m being taken for a ride...
We’re all probably aware that building a house is expensive. We also know that Town & Country doesn’t represent the luxury segment of homebuilding (and they’re not exactly cheap either). So why am I upset right now? First of all, we have absolutely no cost transparency. We want a decentralized ventilation system instead of a central one. During the sales meeting, they said that a decentralized system is not an option for our house type or that they had bad experiences with it. Since this was very important to us, the salesperson said he would call the heating contractor again to see if there might be another possibility. Well, we then received an email stating that we would have to pay an additional 3,000€ (about 3,300 USD) and would get a decentralized ventilation system. After the planning meeting with the managing director, this statement was revoked and he said he would send us an offer. Well, that 3,000€ then turned into 10,000€. We complained, and then suddenly it was 6,000€ plus 2,000€ for the basement. What am I even supposed to believe at this point?
Then there was the issue with ordering extra windows. During the sales meeting, I wanted to include all additional windows we planned to have. But I was told to sort that out with the architect later, and that the surcharge for windows would only be the material cost… Now we are being asked to pay 950€ (about 1,050 USD) for upgrading from standard to floor-to-ceiling windows and 1,750€ (about 1,940 USD) for an additional floor-to-ceiling window. The prices seem extremely expensive to me, and I’m just not willing to be taken advantage of like this. In the construction contract, we already included 4 additional windows, but these were never accounted for in the pricing… I’m just so frustrated and we haven’t even properly started yet.
How do you see the window costs? Are these normal prices? Maybe I’m not yet fully in the building mindset and haven’t gotten used to additional costs, but it just seems very expensive to me.
Thanks for listening.
tomtom79 schrieb:
No final floor plan yet? But construction has already started? No selection of fixtures and finishes? Your buffer is getting smaller and smaller.Moreover, the construction company apparently sold the land together with the house, meaning that every upgrade also increases the amount payable in property transfer tax.
It seems like a take-it-or-leave-it situation, probably influenced by the region (Munich). If you want the plot, you have to accept the contract without being able to customize windows beforehand...
By the way, UBS maintains a ranking of global real estate bubbles in major cities, and Munich newly entered the 2016 ranking—directly at number 5.
mad74 schrieb:
We just paid 380 euros for changing from a standard double window to a 2-leaf patio door, 2 meters (6.6 feet).
Maybe this helps with your comparison. These are triple-glazed windows without external shutters (the RC-2 security rating was an extra cost).Thank you for sharing your additional costs.
Yesterday, we spoke with the house builder and expressed our dissatisfaction. Last night, someone called us again to apologize. Apparently, there was a mistake in calculating the surcharge for our windows (we already had 4 extra windows included in the contract, just not any floor-to-ceiling ones). However, we were reassured yesterday that the surcharge from a standard to a floor-to-ceiling window only covers the material cost. I’m curious to see the new offer. But this doesn’t exactly inspire confidence...
I will report back on the final outcome...
[btw. UBS publishes a ranking of worldwide real estate bubbles in major cities, and Munich entered this ranking for the first time in 2016 – directly at position 5.[/QUOTE]
We’ll see whether the bubble bursts or not. There are many different opinions on this. The population growth in Munich is so high that prices will continue to rise. I’m confident that I’ll be able to sell my house faster than anywhere at the ADW :-) But I don’t plan to sell my own home anyway. Haha, it’s not even built yet.
Curly schrieb:
We have now had two windows (not floor-to-ceiling) in our planned house reduced in size from 1.50m (5 feet) wide to 1m (3 feet) wide each, and we received a credit of 380 euros per window. Maybe that helps with your comparison.
Best regards,
SabineGreat, many thanks Sabine!!!
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