ᐅ Homeownership: Initial Considerations for Land, Construction Method, and Budget

Hello dear forum community,

I registered here because I am overwhelmed with information.

My partner and I are planning to realize our dream of building our own home. And that's where questions come up that you are probably very familiar with. I hope you can help me a little.

First of all, there is the plot of land. We live in Osnabrück. My partner works in a town 28 km (17 miles) away, I work in one about 15 km (9 miles) away. We are basically very attached to the city but know that it is unrealistic to find an affordable plot here (or in the immediate surroundings). Now we have the option to buy a plot in my hometown, where the price per square meter is an unbeatable €60 (around $64) only. In the city area of OS, the price per square meter is AT LEAST twice as much. The question is: smaller plot and closer to everything or in the middle of the countryside with a larger lot? Of course, I know I ultimately have to decide what I want, but how did you make this decision? The fuel costs, which for me would at least double if we move to the countryside, should not be ignored.

After that, the question of the building method arises. I have always dreamed of an individual wooden house. My partner and I are also quite standard, so it would be nice not to have an unusual floor plan or unusual bricks... which could be difficult due to some zoning plans that often exist. In principle, I can also imagine a solid (masonry) house or a prefab house. We have already obtained an offer from a local builder for about €188,000 (around $200,000), but honestly, it’s nothing special. Fundamental architectural changes are, of course, very expensive.

The following points should be considered, maybe someone has some guidance for us:

[bold]Skills:[/bold] Neither my partner nor I have any craftsmanship skills. We might be able to wallpaper walls, but anything beyond that would likely fail. HOWEVER, my dad is a trained bricklayer and built his single-family home almost by himself at the time. We could also get support from tilers, plumbers, and glaziers. Of course, they would only be able to help us during their regular working hours.

[bold]Time:[/bold] My partner works abroad on assignments 200 days a year. Time is very limited. I am also fully employed, so I can only help after work or on weekends. This naturally speaks for a prefab or wooden house, as the construction period is considerably shorter.

[bold]Money:[/bold] We have a solid financial standing but actually set a budget of €250,000 (around $265,000) all-inclusive. The more catalogs I go through and the more I research, the more I fear that we definitely won’t be able to cover everything with this budget.

[bold]Wishes:[/bold] at least 140 m² (1507 sq ft), two children’s rooms, fully open ground floor layout, a dormer would be nice, nothing standard, and no opaque pricing with hidden traps.

Does anyone have ideas on how we can best realize our wishes? Maybe we should hire an architect and outsource the rest? Or rather plan for a lot of “sweat equity” thanks to the family background? Is this even remotely realistic with our budget?

Sorry for the long text and the many questions...

Best regards

Hello glycerine,

There are many questions, and as you have already realized, most of them only you can answer yourself.

Whether to live in a village or a city is really a matter of personal preference. Would it be worth paying double the price to stay in the city, or could you imagine living again in your hometown, maybe close to family, with a larger plot of land? Where would you feel more comfortable?
We live in a small town, and I can tell you, I wouldn’t want to live either in a big city or in the countryside. Even if the price per m² in the village was half as much, I still wouldn’t feel comfortable there. But that’s just my personal feeling.

Also, whether to build a prefab house or a solid masonry house is ultimately a matter of taste. Take some time to read in this forum and online. It’s often not true that a prefab house is finished faster than a built masonry house.

Regarding personal contributions, I would rather disregard them in this case. Since you yourself say that the helpers could only assist during their regular working hours, I would probably avoid relying on that. Your family and friends can surely help enough anyway (with painting, possibly flooring, moving...). Being fully employed already leaves you quite busy.

Finally, about your budget: I also don’t think €250,000 is realistic. Let’s assume a plot of 500 m² (5,380 sq ft) and your €60 per m² (approx. $60 per 10.8 sq ft). That would be €30,000 (approx. $32,000) for the land plus additional costs—let’s say around €35,000 (approx. $37,000) for simplicity. Assuming an optimistic €30,000 (approx. $32,000) for ancillary building costs (check Bauexperte’s list in the forum), that leaves €185,000 (approx. $200,000) for the house—and that’s only based on these assumptions. Bauexperte can probably provide more input on that, but I think it won’t be enough for 140 m² (1,506 sq ft), let alone any dormers.
And of course, none of this includes any exterior work, carport/garage, paving, kitchen, furniture, and so on.

Do you have children? Then: Schools? Daycare? Secondary schools? A 60-minute bus ride is rather inconvenient, and the volunteer fire department as the only local service in the village might not be everyone’s preference (but it can be).
What kind of lifestyle do you have? Hobby farmers, or more like living room idealists?
If your fuel costs double and you drive 45 minutes every morning instead of 20, I would probably lean more toward the city.
In zoning plans (building plans), often only building height and similar specifications are defined – whether brick is required or not might be mentioned, but I think this is rare. A wooden house needs to be painted or you let it weather – but it has to suit your taste.
188,000 euros for what? That statement is pretty meaningless – what kind of features, materials, etc.?
A prefab house, if you commission it, is as time-consuming as a traditional masonry house... just hire a building inspector.
Including the plot? 140 m² (1,507 sq ft) of living space... ambitious, but possible – at least if the plot costs about 60 €/m².
Currently, the interest rate for 20 years is around 2.3% ±. If both of you earn well, consider investing a bit more and be prepared to pay it off over a longer period if necessary. Buying cheap sometimes means cheap quality – something to keep in mind (but not necessarily).
Hiring an architect is certainly an option – especially if you want something unusual. You can discuss budget limits with them, and they can honestly tell you where you can realistically make compromises and where you really should avoid cutting corners.

I am still a complete beginner in many things, so sorry if half the information is missing 😀
We are more the living room idealists. We would like to have enough land so that we could get a slightly larger dog at some point. Therefore, I think the plot should be at least 500m² (5,382 sq ft). When I calculate it with €60/m² (€6/m²), the price for the land seems quite fair. However, we currently have a plot of 892m² (9,603 sq ft) reserved. Of course, the purchase price would be higher for that. After a friendly discount, since everyone in the village knows each other, we could expect around €50,000.

No children yet, but planning to have some in the future. Daycare and other facilities are all available. Although, I’m not sure if I should feel good about my children attending the exact same institutions I did? No idea 😉.
My commute time would increase from about 20 minutes to roughly 35 minutes.

Regarding the company’s building specification, I don’t have it at hand right now. I can provide it later if needed.

As for income, we have a combined net of €4,300 (€4,300) without any deductions. Realistically, a repayment of €1,000 (€1,000) per month is easily manageable. We could probably afford more, but I’m cautious when it comes to finances. Especially since children will come eventually and my salary may not be fully available then.

If you can only save 1,000 € out of 4,300 € net income, you’re living quite luxuriously 😉 but well – lifestyles vary. Don’t forget that rent is no longer a cost. Secondary schools are the problem – primary schools are usually available almost everywhere.

Otherwise: you can modify houses, but you can’t change the plot – so don’t necessarily save too much there. This doesn’t mean the city is better for you, just that you shouldn’t take a developed plot next to the road in a rural area just because it’s 10,000 € cheaper.

It’s less about ability and more about willingness. What if one of us, as the earner, has to stop working at some point? Our net income is quite substantial, particularly due to the expense allowances of my partner. But hopefully, he won’t be working like that for the rest of his life. And as I said, who knows how long I would or would have to take maternity leave.

Of course, we are not married yet and don’t have children. Saving and building a house hasn’t been a priority for very long. 😉