ᐅ Single-family house for 4-5 people in Saxony

Hello everyone,

after quietly following this forum for some time and with the crucial phase approaching, it’s time to open a new topic and involve the collective expertise here in the planning.

First, some background information to outline the starting situation:

We (my wife and I, 26 and 28 years old) plan to build a house next year. We are both working (she part-time, I full-time, combined net income around 5500 euros). We are planning a single-family house in the Swedish style (no wooden facade due to local building regulations) on a plot of approximately 650 square meters (7000 square feet), which is fully serviced and will cost about 95,000 euros including road construction costs, financed from our own capital.

The house is intended to be a 1.5-story prefabricated home built to KfW 70 energy standard without a basement and possibly constructed on an insulated slab. Since we definitely plan to have one child and might consider another in the future, the total living area should be around 160-170 square meters (1700-1830 square feet). The quality level should be above average (between medium and high). For heating, I am currently considering an air-to-water heat pump.

For the entire project, I have budgeted the following amounts:

Land including taxes and notary fees: 100,000 euros
House construction: 240,000–250,000 euros
Additional construction costs: 30,000 euros
Painting and flooring work: 20,000 euros
Outdoor landscaping + garage: 10,000 euros
Extras: 10,000 euros

We have 180,000 euros in equity available, which means we would need to take out a loan of approximately 250,000 euros. Based on my calculations, with an effective interest rate of around 1.6 percent (including a KfW loan at 1%) fixed for 15 years and a repayment rate of 3 percent, this would result in monthly payments of about 950 euros. The repayment is intentionally kept low to maintain affordable fixed costs. Instead, I plan to make annual special repayments of approximately 7,500 euros, which would fully repay the loan by the end of the fixed interest period.

Here are my questions:

1. Do the planned costs seem realistic for building a house for the stated amount in Saxony?
2. Which prefabricated house companies would you recommend? A friend suggested trivselhus, but there is not much information available. Are there good experiences with them from forum members?
3. What do you think about the financing approach? Does my plan make sense, or should I consider other options?
4. We are considering a photovoltaic system on one side of the roof instead of tiles. Are there potential savings that could offset the costs of the system?
5. Are there any other tips to consider or questions I should be asking in relation to this planning?

I appreciate any advice! This weekend, there will be the HAUS exhibition near us in Dresden, which we will attend. I would be happy to go there well-prepared with a lot of input from this forum.

House costs may seem somewhat low if the insulated slab is included (if not, it is missing as an item; be careful, in prefab houses the foundation slab is often included in the price).

For outdoor landscaping and a prefabricated garage, I would estimate around 10,000 each instead of a total amount.

Building-integrated photovoltaic panels save roofing tiles but are about the same price as roof-mounted systems because they cost roughly the price of the tiles they replace.

Hello Nathi, thanks for the feedback.
I had also planned 20,000 for the outdoor area and prefabricated garage, but I’m not sure why I wrote 10,000 here. Unfortunately, I can’t change it anymore.
In your opinion, how much should be added to the price, including the foundation slab, to reach reasonable figures?

That’s difficult to say because it depends on the ground conditions and what you mean by a slab-on-grade foundation. I estimate that 15,000–20,000 euros won’t be far off.

Hello,
also consider the interior fittings such as the kitchen and furniture, costs for the mortgage registration, and a substantial buffer for unexpected expenses (especially if the fittings are meant to be upscale).

Since we are currently living in a smaller rented house and only bought a new kitchen two years ago, which will move with us, the furniture is basically complete and won’t represent a major expense.

Regarding extras, I have initially budgeted around 10,000 euros, which I would prefer not to exceed. Since we do not plan to build with companies like Massa Haus and others, the basic standard should already meet a certain level of quality, which could then be slightly upgraded in a few areas (doors, fixtures, and staircases).

Does anyone have recommendations for homebuilders who specialize in Scandinavian-style houses and have good references so far?