ᐅ Recommendation for a Construction Company for a Solidly Built City Villa in Erftstadt near Cologne

11ant schrieb:

The main advantage of hiring an architect yourself is not in designing the floor plan, even though clients often have an almost pathological obsession with this small part of the architect’s work.

Yes, I never really considered that. To me, an architect was someone you could tell what you want, who then turns it into something feasible, submits everything to the building authority, completes the paperwork, and then you take the building permit to a construction company that turns those preliminary plans into stone/wood 😀

Because of the anchoring effect of first impressions, it would have been wiser to get an overview from someone who doesn’t want to sell you any construction services. This means going first to a non-sales construction consultant (I consider an architect the “first choice” here). By the way, I keep missing any signs that you have looked beyond your own thread and read other threads by prospective builders—I've given you several keywords for forum searches. The answers to your most urgent questions have all been discussed repeatedly here in the last three months. If I were you, I would have called me by now—have you at least taken a look at the house building roadmap?

So I’m looking forward to the architect. And regarding the search terms you mentioned earlier—something must be wrong, no matter what I enter, I get hits where you gave those same terms to other naive home builders. Sorry.

You shouldn’t want to decide who will build your home just yet because significant basics are still missing. Before phase 6 of the service stages, it’s not even clear who might be suitable. I strongly recommend: “Replace impatience with competence!” There’s a saying about going to a general contractor (GC) without an architect: “Only the very dumbest lambs pick their own butchers.” Let go of the naive idea that building a house is a four-step program (floor plan – price – signature – move-in date)—that would be completely wrong!

Okay, I’ll stick to that and still don’t know who I want to build with 🙂

Where you should start is by entering the keywords I gave you again compactly in post #15 into the forum search. Then you’ll have reading material for the rest of the week, and after that, you’ll no longer be an easy target for construction companies but an informed potential client. And ideally, before the architect introduction meeting, you should have read at least two episodes of the house-building roadmap, namely the first (“A house-building roadmap, also for you: the HOAI phase model!”) and the latest (“House-building roadmap reloaded: a valuable active break”). Bringing up smart home systems with construction companies right away is like asking your wife in the first dance lesson what names she likes for your future children. Construction companies like it when someone goes in like Blücher, but that can also leave you broke. If you want, I can quickly explain by phone how a GC’s business works (or you can read the article due to be published in February—that’s still early enough). The ones you named are full-service GCs, and you should let them stay that way.

Since I’m having trouble with the forum search as mentioned above, I’ll just scroll through all the posts.

That’s going to be tough, given how you’ve been neglecting your homework so far. So get ready to let your ears ring fast ;-)

You’re giving me courage.

I expect that.

Thank you.

Tell me where your urgency to build comes from: Have you owned the plot for a long time with a building obligation and now have to start digging soon, or would you otherwise have to give it back? Someone who “finds a kindred spirit among fellow builders”—you can read about that many times here alone in the last ten weeks. Actually, I would say you only need to scroll back about four weeks at most.

So the urgency to build comes from knowing that in exactly two years and a few days—January 1, 2026—I will be working 160km (100 miles) away. Since commuting that distance isn’t possible, the urge is to “hopefully” live there before then.

So you’re calling the building authority before your architect appointment on Wednesday to check whether it’s really a Zone 34 area. Two-story buildings are only not a problem there if others already exist in the neighborhood.

Exactly my plan—I have already tried several times today to reach someone. Unfortunately, no one answered. I’ll just drive there tomorrow. I don’t really have anything better to do.

Do you mean I should call you, is that right—by phone? Do I have your number?

@All: Sorry for quoting like this (bold), I couldn’t get it to work any other way...

I'll start from the beginning:

koelner1983 schrieb:

So the urge to build comes from knowing that in exactly 2 years and a few days, on 01.01.2026, I will be working 160km (100 miles) away. Since commuting that distance is not an option, the urge is to "hopefully" live there before that day.

So you're in the unusual situation of already knowing today where you will be employed in just over two years, want to have your own home near that location, and currently live 160km (100 miles) away from the construction site (but you want to drop by occasionally because you can’t get the building authority on the phone—respect!).

koelner1983 schrieb:

Yes, I never had that on my mind. For me, an architect is someone you tell what you want/like. They turn it into something feasible, submit everything to the building authority, finalize it, and then with the building permit you proceed to a contractor who then turns those preparatory steps into stone/wood.

Going to a real architect, not just in name, but then having them copy your amateur plans and only clear approval obstacles like a draftsman—that shows there is definitely room for improvement in smartness. And ordering the house from a contractor as casually as ordering a beer—that’s not how it works. A competent architect thinks independently and prepares a professional tender. You can of course allow a general contractor (GC) to participate in that process, but limiting the bidders only to GCs would be less wise. At least you have grasped that the decision on construction method should not be made too early. How to make that decision at the right moment still needs some practice (or it has already been explained at the indicated points).

koelner1983 schrieb:

So I look forward to the architect. And about your previously mentioned search terms – I must be doing something wrong because no matter what I enter, I get results where you gave those same search terms to other naive house builders. Sorry.

Those "other naive house builders" stayed in dialogue with me as their threads progressed, often resulting in a more detailed explanation: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/lp-1-3-mit-architekt-und-pauschalangebot-irgendwie-nachteilig.43436/page-2#post-577016, https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/architekt-moechte-nur-leistungsphasen-1-4-planen.45505/#post-628872, or https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/anhaltspunkt-aktuelle-baupreise-jetzt-bauen-oder-abwarten.46264/page-2#post-643845 (and the mentioned consequences of my homebuilding roadmap as in post #18 you will have to look up externally with quotation marks).

koelner1983 schrieb:

Do you mean calling you, like really by phone? Do I even have your number?

Certainly, until 8 p.m. and not on Sundays. The number is on the page with the roadmap posts, at the very top and below the comment field.

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