ᐅ Prefabricated house – yes or no?

Created on: 20 Jan 2017 13:04
K
keough
Hello everyone,

I’m new here and have quite a few questions.
I’ve already looked through many threads in this forum (maybe too many :confused 🙂.

My wife and I are considering buying a single-family house due to a growing family and because of my wife’s parents. My requirements are:
  • House of at least 120m² (1300 sq ft),
  • at least 4 rooms,
  • low energy consumption,
  • with a basement,
  • (including the plot of land???),
  • budget: 250,000–300,000

Unfortunately, there is no suitable existing property on the various real estate portals.
That’s why I came across several companies that build prefabricated houses.

My initial questions are:
  • Is this budget realistic and sufficient for building a house?
  • What is the difference between conventional houses and prefabricated houses?
  • Are prefabricated houses significantly lower in quality compared to conventional houses?

I have also read some topics concerning certain prefabricated house manufacturers like Scanhaus Marlow, Allkauf, and others. There are always both negative and positive reviews.
  • Can the negative reviews be trusted? Can the positive ones?
  • Should I be prepared to rely on luck regarding which site manager I get?
  • Are there any prefabricated house manufacturers that are completely trustworthy?
  • What should I definitely keep in mind when contacting a prefabricated house manufacturer?

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,
Keough
Patchwork1 Feb 2017 11:25
Answer to your original question: NO – why would I? So far, I haven't found a single advantage to a prefabricated house.
P
Peanuts74
10 Feb 2017 12:12
Since our building insurance is due soon, I started comparing prices. For our house, an insurable value of just over €370,000 (about $400,000) was calculated, and the insurance including coverage for natural hazards costs €334 (about $360) according to the recommendation (which I would also choose).

For a prefabricated house, an insurable value of just under €340,000 (about $370,000) is shown, but the insurance is supposed to cost the same.

In this case, the best fire-resistant construction type was selected.

If you choose fire-retardant cladding and a solid foundation, which will probably apply in most cases, the value remains just under €340,000, but the insurance costs nearly €380 (about $410).

For me, this is clearly a disadvantage when I have to pay a higher premium but would receive a lower payout in the event of a claim.
T
Traumfaenger
10 Feb 2017 22:54
You might consider switching your insurance company. Ours, upon explicit inquiry (!), makes no distinction between the two types of construction.
P
Peanuts74
11 Feb 2017 10:13
Why, I wasn’t complaining about my insurance, but was comparing offers on a price comparison site. And there, the insurance companies I was interested in showed differences. It may be that other insurers do not differentiate, but then they might generally be more expensive.
The same, as I said, I often notice with loan refinancing or used home buying and selling.
Whether this is justified or not doesn’t matter; it’s common practice, and that’s what I wanted to point out...
N
Nordlys
11 Feb 2017 10:28
Ultimately, the topic is like the question: Opel or VW? Those who live in a solidly built house and are satisfied see no disadvantages, and those who live in a prefabricated house and are satisfied see none either. For those who are dissatisfied because of poor workmanship during construction or ongoing defects, this applies equally to both solid construction and prefabricated houses. We have observed that no building method is clearly cheaper than the other.
P
Peanuts74
11 Feb 2017 11:04
I never said that prefabricated houses are generally bad and that only solidly built houses are good.
This was about the pros and cons, and the point about assessing them after a certain time is definitely a disadvantage. Especially since high-quality prefabricated houses are often even more expensive than solidly built houses.
Otherwise, when we were looking at existing properties before building, we also visited four prefabricated houses, ranging from 30 years old (a disaster) to 5 years old (quite acceptable).
And among them were various brands, from Massa Haus to Weberhaus. That’s why I said there are good and less high-quality houses here and there.