ᐅ Process: Land Purchase, Bank Financing, General Contractor Agreement – Does This Sound Right?

MachsSelbst schrieb:

What is the problem with a general contractor (GC) if you like a standard floor plan that has been built, tested, and optimized hundreds of times? I saw the floor plan, liked it, and signed. It fits.

If you prefer a building proposal that has been built, tested, and optimized multiple times by the exact GC of your choice, in my opinion, that is a fortunate situation to appreciate. The proposal doesn’t have to be “standard,” just repeatedly constructed by that GC. Of course, this only applies to GCs who manage the shell construction with a dedicated team—not so-called “mailbox GCs” who hire a different subcontractor for each project or rely on day laborers. Even a model frequently built from a catalog but constructed by a different builder would then, naturally, be a new case without the advantages of series production.

The original poster here, however, has not given any indication that they want to implement a catalog model of their preferred GC (or even work with that GC). Therefore, there is a concern that they might try to develop a custom design with the GC’s draftsman. I would advise against that, as well as against using a catalog model merely as a loose inspiration. In my view, a “catalog model (except for possibly shifted non-load-bearing walls unchanged)” represents the gold standard in terms of “quality assurance through volume and continuous series refinement,” followed by “catalog model with adjusted wheelbase—but not track width—scaled up.” Sometimes a two-story catalog model with the upper floor removed can also result in a good bungalow. For anything beyond the scope of a catalog model, I strongly recommend an independent architect.

It is also perfectly fine to choose a catalog model with a gable roof instead of a hip roof, or, as @Nordlys suggested, to cut off a corner of a catalog model and increase the roof pitch slightly.

---

https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

Could you gentlemen please just answer the question from the OP and nothing else?! You are adults, yet you get tangled up with other issues – as almost always. I can completely understand why the OPs don’t respond anymore given the confusion created.

All good :-) … I’m grateful for any suggestions

Well, this is unexpected! Grandma suddenly being conciliatory without grandchildren around? What happened? Withdrawal? Glad to hear it.

He says, and I quote:
"Now to the question: Sign the construction contract (the offer suits us) and then we should be able to get started."

I interpret this, based on my own experience, to mean that he has a solid floor plan that he wants to build as is, and that four of his acquaintances have already built the same or very similar houses.
This really is an absolute paradise on earth. A general contractor (GC) with whom acquaintances have recently built and were apparently satisfied.
No architect with a "good reputation" in the area, where the people behind that reputation are unknown. No tradespeople who built the shell well 10 years ago. No GC who delivered quality work 7 (seventy?) years ago.

What more could you ask for? Well, except for nitpicking, of course.

We have looked at countless floor plans. We will choose a bungalow from our general contractor and extend one of the exterior walls by 1 meter (3 feet 3 inches).... It sounds simple but fits our needs quite well.