ᐅ Buying a Prefabricated House / Building a Home – Trust, Distrust, Attention to Detail?
Created on: 11 Nov 2019 11:43
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PinkiponkP
Pinkiponk11 Nov 2019 11:43... as a prefab home buyer or home builder, which personal traits do you think have helped you— from your subjective point of view— as non-experts with limited resources regarding prefab home purchase/building? Trust, mistrust, attention to detail, a “it’ll turn out fine” attitude, having enough money anyway, carelessness, deadline monitoring, supervision, and so on?
My experience with craftsmen, employed under social security, master tradespeople: Whether in rental apartments or in my own house, if no one is supervising, they do what they want or what requires the least work for them, but not what was agreed upon. That’s why I am somewhat mistrustful when it comes to an entire new house.
If you have been successful, I will simply adopt your success strategy.
My experience with craftsmen, employed under social security, master tradespeople: Whether in rental apartments or in my own house, if no one is supervising, they do what they want or what requires the least work for them, but not what was agreed upon. That’s why I am somewhat mistrustful when it comes to an entire new house.
If you have been successful, I will simply adopt your success strategy.
I believe it was explained well somewhere: if you opt for a low-cost segment, some level of inspection is advisable.
In the mid-range and high-end segments, reputation is at stake. This is also the difference between regional companies and family businesses compared to online purchases or makeshift companies from abroad.
We personally visited the company, arranged an appointment, and had a conversation. We decided to trust them.
For the subcontractors, our approach was: personal introduction and offering refreshments, because you don’t easily cheat friends the way you might strangers.
Otherwise, the rule applies:
Trust is good, but verification is better—hire an expert inspector as well.
In the mid-range and high-end segments, reputation is at stake. This is also the difference between regional companies and family businesses compared to online purchases or makeshift companies from abroad.
We personally visited the company, arranged an appointment, and had a conversation. We decided to trust them.
For the subcontractors, our approach was: personal introduction and offering refreshments, because you don’t easily cheat friends the way you might strangers.
Otherwise, the rule applies:
Trust is good, but verification is better—hire an expert inspector as well.
H
hampshire11 Nov 2019 12:15Our experience (self-managed contracting, planning to approval with an architect):
You talk about "lack of resources."
You will need time as a resource. Being present on the construction site is a key factor for successful completion. It involves more than just supervision (see second to last point).
You will need money as a resource. Money is better spent when you do not negotiate the "lowest price" for "a lot," but rather pay a "reasonable price" for "a bit less."
- We only hired owner-managed companies where both my wife and I had a good gut feeling and found them likeable.
- We only chose firms where we felt the employees enjoyed working there.
- Contact persons who showed no interest in us or our project or could not identify with it had no chance of getting the contract.
- After making the selection, we did not negotiate any prices further – we either accepted or rejected a position. The deal: we pay in full and receive full quality.
- We made sure that everyone on our construction site felt well and enjoyed coming to work. Respect, gratitude, provision of drinks, interest, presence.
- When problems arose, we did not ask how they happened but how we would solve them.
You talk about "lack of resources."
You will need time as a resource. Being present on the construction site is a key factor for successful completion. It involves more than just supervision (see second to last point).
You will need money as a resource. Money is better spent when you do not negotiate the "lowest price" for "a lot," but rather pay a "reasonable price" for "a bit less."
1. Find a building partner that matches your requirements. The more wishes or must-haves are included as standard, the more cost-effective and less prone to errors the process will be.
2. The chemistry has to be right. I dislike sales clichés, but others might feel comfortable and understood with them.
3. How and where will selections be made? Are the 10 flooring options in the showroom enough for you, or do you want to choose the brand yourself?
4. It requires the right balance between trust and control, presence and absence.
At first, the range of offers and information can be overwhelming. Once you know what you want, you can filter out what’s unnecessary. It’s a process. With every conversation—whether with a sales consultant, craftsmen (yes, I asked a trusted plumber based on recommendations and a friend who is an electrician), or other homeowners—our requirements became clearer.
We really found our partner by a lot of luck and coincidence.
Passive house = standard
Individuality = standard since there is no catalog
Local craftsmen who are well known, offering greater flexibility
Very transparent
Good reputation
He understood us and implemented our wishes without forcing us into a predefined template.
Take it step by step. Let it develop naturally.
Otherwise, I can only agree with @hampshire.
Fairness and respect are based on mutuality.
2. The chemistry has to be right. I dislike sales clichés, but others might feel comfortable and understood with them.
3. How and where will selections be made? Are the 10 flooring options in the showroom enough for you, or do you want to choose the brand yourself?
4. It requires the right balance between trust and control, presence and absence.
At first, the range of offers and information can be overwhelming. Once you know what you want, you can filter out what’s unnecessary. It’s a process. With every conversation—whether with a sales consultant, craftsmen (yes, I asked a trusted plumber based on recommendations and a friend who is an electrician), or other homeowners—our requirements became clearer.
We really found our partner by a lot of luck and coincidence.
Passive house = standard
Individuality = standard since there is no catalog
Local craftsmen who are well known, offering greater flexibility
Very transparent
Good reputation
He understood us and implemented our wishes without forcing us into a predefined template.
Take it step by step. Let it develop naturally.
Otherwise, I can only agree with @hampshire.
Fairness and respect are based on mutuality.
hampshire schrieb:
where both my wife and I had a good gut feelingThis is also a nice form of two-factor authentication: when he and she both have a good gut feeling about a provider – especially valuable in mixed marriages (one spouse a Blue personality type, the other a Red type, or similar).https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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