Hello everyone,
We’re starting to feel quite desperate and don’t know how to move forward. Here is the initial situation:
My husband and I want to build a new house on my parents’ property, where their house already stands. At the beginning of the year, we met with a local construction company. They referred us to an architect they work with. After he took two months to submit a preliminary building inquiry to the building authority (he simply forgot us twice!), we no longer want to work with him. The preliminary inquiry was just to get approval to extend the building envelope, so we could even build a second house on the property. We told the construction company that we didn’t want to continue with that architect, but they don’t seem very interested in working with us anymore, as they haven’t offered any next steps or suggested another architect. I suspect the construction company will only get involved if we come to them with a finished plan plus a building permit / planning permission.
Since we weren’t making progress, we turned to a large German builder specializing in solid construction, and we have already had several discussions with them. In the meantime, we received positive feedback on the preliminary inquiry, allowing us to build a one-and-a-half-story house with a pitched roof. So far, so good. The builder now wants to submit the building permit / planning application, but nothing is really finalized yet. We have a quote for a standard house from their catalog for €240,000. The sales advisor said we should first submit some basic details (external dimensions, position on the property, roof pitch, etc.), and the interior layout can be changed later. But if I realize the room layout doesn’t work inside, I’d have to change the external dimensions again, and that’s not so easy if it has already been approved differently, right? He also wants us to sign the construction contract before submitting the building permit application because the authorities need all details finalized. But I don’t want to sign a contract when the basic floor plan isn’t even clear, and the contract even lists individual electrical outlets!
I understand that they have already invested time and want to get paid eventually, but we feel a bit uneasy here. The advisor said they will include clauses in the contract so that if the permit is rejected or costs “explode” (which is subjective), we would not be bound by the contract.
I wanted to know if this is the “normal” procedure? Somehow I have the feeling we are on the completely wrong track... We already have a floor plan we like, which just needs to be refined, thus determining the external dimensions and so forth. But I get the impression the builder doesn’t want to deal with that because it’s too much work without knowing if they will actually get the contract. Or would it be better to look for an architect on our own, develop a concrete plan, and then approach building companies with that? We’re overwhelmed and already very frustrated because we’re not getting anywhere :-( We hoped to have a building permit by the end of the year with regard to the homebuyer subsidy, but somehow it looks like that’s slipping away...
Many thanks to everyone who read this, and maybe you have a tip on how we can move forward quickly and sensibly?
We’re starting to feel quite desperate and don’t know how to move forward. Here is the initial situation:
My husband and I want to build a new house on my parents’ property, where their house already stands. At the beginning of the year, we met with a local construction company. They referred us to an architect they work with. After he took two months to submit a preliminary building inquiry to the building authority (he simply forgot us twice!), we no longer want to work with him. The preliminary inquiry was just to get approval to extend the building envelope, so we could even build a second house on the property. We told the construction company that we didn’t want to continue with that architect, but they don’t seem very interested in working with us anymore, as they haven’t offered any next steps or suggested another architect. I suspect the construction company will only get involved if we come to them with a finished plan plus a building permit / planning permission.
Since we weren’t making progress, we turned to a large German builder specializing in solid construction, and we have already had several discussions with them. In the meantime, we received positive feedback on the preliminary inquiry, allowing us to build a one-and-a-half-story house with a pitched roof. So far, so good. The builder now wants to submit the building permit / planning application, but nothing is really finalized yet. We have a quote for a standard house from their catalog for €240,000. The sales advisor said we should first submit some basic details (external dimensions, position on the property, roof pitch, etc.), and the interior layout can be changed later. But if I realize the room layout doesn’t work inside, I’d have to change the external dimensions again, and that’s not so easy if it has already been approved differently, right? He also wants us to sign the construction contract before submitting the building permit application because the authorities need all details finalized. But I don’t want to sign a contract when the basic floor plan isn’t even clear, and the contract even lists individual electrical outlets!
I understand that they have already invested time and want to get paid eventually, but we feel a bit uneasy here. The advisor said they will include clauses in the contract so that if the permit is rejected or costs “explode” (which is subjective), we would not be bound by the contract.
I wanted to know if this is the “normal” procedure? Somehow I have the feeling we are on the completely wrong track... We already have a floor plan we like, which just needs to be refined, thus determining the external dimensions and so forth. But I get the impression the builder doesn’t want to deal with that because it’s too much work without knowing if they will actually get the contract. Or would it be better to look for an architect on our own, develop a concrete plan, and then approach building companies with that? We’re overwhelmed and already very frustrated because we’re not getting anywhere :-( We hoped to have a building permit by the end of the year with regard to the homebuyer subsidy, but somehow it looks like that’s slipping away...
Many thanks to everyone who read this, and maybe you have a tip on how we can move forward quickly and sensibly?
11ant schrieb:
Unfortunately, also for receiving. You can meet up with me there; in the blue CatContent portal, which I won’t name here, I have a group called 11ant House Construction.I’ve also applied to join there once.
On the topic:
We chose a rather unconventional approach. We didn’t compare many construction companies or prices; we basically decided based on reputation and gut feeling. We had friends who built with them several years ago and said, “We would do it again anytime.” Then more acquaintances and even neighbors also spoke highly of the company. Everywhere we heard only good things about them.
There seem to be a few homebuilders online who had or have issues with them and have filed complaints. But in our personal circle, we only heard positive feedback. Everyone said, “There were a few minor issues here and there, but overall excellent.”
Accordingly, we selected a house from their catalog as a basis for our build. In the initial meetings, we discussed our preferences regarding the features and also asked for some prices related to customization options. We signed the contract earlier to avoid a price increase, but with a financing contingency. At that time, we had already finalized the floor plan with the company to the extent that we knew which rooms we wanted on which floor. We still moved interior walls afterward and even managed to add a pantry.
A building permit / planning permission was not required in our area, but I think that’s where the pressure comes from: companies want to start construction because that’s when they get paid. However, permits can take ages to be approved. Our house was prioritized by the builder in the schedule because permits were still pending for other projects. All changes in floor plans and so forth are costs for them since they have to invest upfront without knowing whether you will actually sign the contract in the end. That’s why they tend to hold back on this.
Still, if you feel pressured or uncomfortable, I would recommend continuing your search.
Our construction company is (I believe) not one of the cheapest. However, they offer a quite comprehensive and good scope of work, and so far they have been very accommodating. I find it especially difficult in house building to directly compare services and costs. Quality is such a hard-to-measure factor.
We chose a rather unconventional approach. We didn’t compare many construction companies or prices; we basically decided based on reputation and gut feeling. We had friends who built with them several years ago and said, “We would do it again anytime.” Then more acquaintances and even neighbors also spoke highly of the company. Everywhere we heard only good things about them.
There seem to be a few homebuilders online who had or have issues with them and have filed complaints. But in our personal circle, we only heard positive feedback. Everyone said, “There were a few minor issues here and there, but overall excellent.”
Accordingly, we selected a house from their catalog as a basis for our build. In the initial meetings, we discussed our preferences regarding the features and also asked for some prices related to customization options. We signed the contract earlier to avoid a price increase, but with a financing contingency. At that time, we had already finalized the floor plan with the company to the extent that we knew which rooms we wanted on which floor. We still moved interior walls afterward and even managed to add a pantry.
A building permit / planning permission was not required in our area, but I think that’s where the pressure comes from: companies want to start construction because that’s when they get paid. However, permits can take ages to be approved. Our house was prioritized by the builder in the schedule because permits were still pending for other projects. All changes in floor plans and so forth are costs for them since they have to invest upfront without knowing whether you will actually sign the contract in the end. That’s why they tend to hold back on this.
Still, if you feel pressured or uncomfortable, I would recommend continuing your search.
Our construction company is (I believe) not one of the cheapest. However, they offer a quite comprehensive and good scope of work, and so far they have been very accommodating. I find it especially difficult in house building to directly compare services and costs. Quality is such a hard-to-measure factor.
kati1337 schrieb:
Regarding the topic:
We took a somewhat unconventional approach. We didn’t extensively compare construction companies and prices; rather, we chose one based mainly on reputation and gut feeling. We had friends who built with them several years ago and said, "We would do it again anytime." Then more acquaintances and neighbors also recommended them. Everywhere we heard only good things about the company.
Online, there are apparently a few clients who had or have issues with them and are even taking legal action. But within our personal circle, we only heard positives. Everyone said, "There were a few minor issues here and there, but overall, excellent."
Accordingly, we found a house plan in their catalog that we wanted to build from. In the initial meetings, we discussed our preferences regarding fittings and already requested some pricing for customization options. We signed the contract early to avoid a price increase, but with a financing contingency. At that time, we had clarified the floor plan with the builder enough to know which rooms we wanted on which floor. We still shifted interior walls afterward and even squeezed in a pantry.
A building permit / planning permission was not required in our area, but I think that’s where the pressure comes from: companies want to start construction, only then can they receive payment. However, permits can sometimes take forever. Our house was scheduled earlier by the builder because other projects were waiting for permits. Changes to the floor plans and so on all cost them, as they have to advance the expenses without knowing if you will ultimately sign the contract. That’s why they prefer to hold back on that.
Still, if you feel pressured or uneasy, I would suggest continuing to look for other options.
Our builder is (I believe) not one of the cheapest. However, they have a very comprehensive and detailed scope of work, and so far, they have been very accommodating. I think with homebuilding, it’s especially difficult to precisely compare services and costs. Quality is such a hard factor to measure. Thanks for sharing your experience. It really helped me!
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