ᐅ Homeownership: Initial Considerations for Land, Construction Method, and Budget
Created on: 30 Oct 2014 14:18
G
glycerine
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
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
Then maybe what you don’t want to hear: wait and save. You could already buy the plot of land now (if there’s no deadline on it) and start paying it off. Depending on your situation, in 3 to 5 years, once the deadline has passed and you have a clearer picture of your stable monthly income, you can then begin building the house.
B
Bauherren201430 Oct 2014 15:48Actually, this wasn’t really about the financial situation. We know far too little about the original poster. We don’t know how much equity is available or how much is actually being saved each month. The original poster even admits to being cautious when it comes to financing. Saving 1000€ per month (about 1100 USD) is already a solid start.
It’s clear that the self-set budget probably won’t work out. So there are two options: either increase the budget, with all the financial consequences that entails—possibly including a higher monthly payment—and then weigh whether this is feasible, also considering family planning; or continue saving for a while longer and have the children first.
It’s clear that the self-set budget probably won’t work out. So there are two options: either increase the budget, with all the financial consequences that entails—possibly including a higher monthly payment—and then weigh whether this is feasible, also considering family planning; or continue saving for a while longer and have the children first.
B
Bauexperte31 Oct 2014 01:03glycerine schrieb:
We have already obtained a quote from a local construction company, which is around €188,000 (~USD 200,000), but to be honest, it’s nothing special. Basic architectural changes naturally cost a lot. EUR 188,000 (~USD 200,000) – what size/finish, etc.?
glycerine schrieb:
Requirements: at least 140m² (1,507 sq ft), two children’s bedrooms, fully open layout on the ground floor, a dormer would be nice, not a standard design, For Osnabrück, you should expect construction costs of about EUR 195,000 (~USD 208,000) for a single-family house of 140m² (1,507 sq ft), built to KfW 70 standard. Brickwork adds around EUR 13,000–18,000 (~USD 14,000–19,000) extra, depending on whether it is a one- or two-story building. In addition, there are land costs, incidental building expenses of about EUR 35,000–40,000 (~USD 37,000–43,000), approximately EUR 30,000 (~USD 32,000) for painting, flooring, and minimal landscaping, as well as a contingency fund of EUR 10,000 (~USD 11,000) for extras. Your desired budget is already exceeded by these figures “without” including the land cost.
glycerine schrieb:
No opaque price quotes with hidden traps. There are experts who can review contract arrangements, from lawyers and appraisers to consumer advice centers or private homebuilder associations.
My predecessors have already provided good information on the rest 😉
Regards, Bauexperte
G
glycerine31 Oct 2014 14:04Hello everyone 🙂
Thank you all very much for your input. Regarding finances, that is actually a secondary issue and should not be the main focus of the discussion, even though it is, of course, an important point. Naturally, we would like to be able to estimate exactly what to expect.
Bauherren2014, our equity is practically zero, standing at around 10,000€ (about 11,000 USD), so we are well aware that this is not much. All the various financing partners we have spoken to agree that a monthly payment of 1,300€ (about 1,430 USD) is definitely manageable. That is the situation NOW. This doesn’t change the fact that, as you nicely put it, I’m a bit of a scaredy-cat 😉 Surely, my partner’s and my income will increase exponentially, so it should be manageable. But you also have to weigh: invest more and get more house/land or make compromises and spend less. Ultimately, you also need to consider that a large plot and a big house require maintenance and upkeep.
Bauexperte, for 188,000€ (about 207,000 USD) we would get 133 m² (1,430 sq ft), triple-glazed windows, an air-to-water heat pump, a walk-in shower, double washbasin, closed staircase, and a suspended ceiling from the first floor to the attic so that the attic can still partially be used as living space.
This offer might become irrelevant, because, as luck would have it, we received a letter from the city of I. yesterday announcing the start of the application process for a new housing development. We will definitely try our luck. The price per m² (sq ft) is expected to be 92€ (about 101 USD), including all development costs and solar bonus. The preferred plot would therefore cost about 58,000€ (about 64,000 USD). The only drawback: single-story construction is mandatory, with roof pitch between 15° and 50°, and knee walls (dormer walls) allowed to be no higher than 1.50 m (5 feet). I am quite a novice, but if the knee walls can be up to 1.50 m high, doesn’t that make the house appear more like a two-story building, or am I completely off track? Because a bungalow is definitely not an option for us.
The idea of having our dream home custom designed by an architect is growing more appealing to us. Still, we would have to outsource almost everything through tenders, as we have, as mentioned, very limited skills ourselves.
And as a last resort, the scenario proposed on the previous page comes into play: wait and save 😉
Thank you all very much for your input. Regarding finances, that is actually a secondary issue and should not be the main focus of the discussion, even though it is, of course, an important point. Naturally, we would like to be able to estimate exactly what to expect.
Bauherren2014, our equity is practically zero, standing at around 10,000€ (about 11,000 USD), so we are well aware that this is not much. All the various financing partners we have spoken to agree that a monthly payment of 1,300€ (about 1,430 USD) is definitely manageable. That is the situation NOW. This doesn’t change the fact that, as you nicely put it, I’m a bit of a scaredy-cat 😉 Surely, my partner’s and my income will increase exponentially, so it should be manageable. But you also have to weigh: invest more and get more house/land or make compromises and spend less. Ultimately, you also need to consider that a large plot and a big house require maintenance and upkeep.
Bauexperte, for 188,000€ (about 207,000 USD) we would get 133 m² (1,430 sq ft), triple-glazed windows, an air-to-water heat pump, a walk-in shower, double washbasin, closed staircase, and a suspended ceiling from the first floor to the attic so that the attic can still partially be used as living space.
This offer might become irrelevant, because, as luck would have it, we received a letter from the city of I. yesterday announcing the start of the application process for a new housing development. We will definitely try our luck. The price per m² (sq ft) is expected to be 92€ (about 101 USD), including all development costs and solar bonus. The preferred plot would therefore cost about 58,000€ (about 64,000 USD). The only drawback: single-story construction is mandatory, with roof pitch between 15° and 50°, and knee walls (dormer walls) allowed to be no higher than 1.50 m (5 feet). I am quite a novice, but if the knee walls can be up to 1.50 m high, doesn’t that make the house appear more like a two-story building, or am I completely off track? Because a bungalow is definitely not an option for us.
The idea of having our dream home custom designed by an architect is growing more appealing to us. Still, we would have to outsource almost everything through tenders, as we have, as mentioned, very limited skills ourselves.
And as a last resort, the scenario proposed on the previous page comes into play: wait and save 😉
G
glycerine2 Nov 2014 17:38There is a building obligation within three years.