After having approached the topic the wrong way in the last thread, here is another attempt. First, our requirements:
Overall Requirements
The entire project must be completed within a budget of 280,000 euros. The finished product must be a move-in ready house including driveway, carport, lawn, and a hedge around the property.
Requirements for All Rooms
Every room must have a window.
Requirements for Children’s Rooms
The children’s rooms must be at least 10 m² (108 sq ft) in size.
The children’s rooms should preferably be square-shaped.
There must be three children’s rooms included.
Preferably, there should be four children’s rooms included.
Requirements for Kitchen, Dining, and Living Rooms
The kitchen must have at least one wall without a door measuring 230 cm (7 ft 7 in) and an adjacent wall without a door measuring 310 cm (10 ft 2 in).
The floor plan should include an open-plan kitchen-living area.
The kitchen and dining room can be in direct view of each other.
The living room should not be visible from the kitchen but should be visible from the dining room.
(An ideal solution would be an L-shape layout with the kitchen at one end and the living room at the other.)
Requirements for the (Master) Bedroom
The bedroom must be able to accommodate a wardrobe 200 cm (6 ft 7 in) wide and a bed 180 cm (6 ft) wide.
The bedroom may have space for a nightstand on each side of the bed.
Requirements for Bathrooms
There must be two bathrooms, both equipped with toilets.
One bathroom must include a bathtub.
Pantry / Storage Room
The home must provide at least 4 m² (43 sq ft) of storage space.
Utility Room
The utility room must have space for a washing machine and a dryer.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size
Approximately 300 m² (0.07 acres)
Slope
No
Floor area ratio (FAR)
0.4
Gross floor area ratio
0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundaries
Edge development
Number of parking spaces
Two
Roof shape
Architectural style
Orientation
15° roof direction
Maximum heights / limits
FH 11.5 m (37 ft 9 in); TH 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in)
Other specifications
Homeowner requirements
Building type
Solid construction house, bungalow
Basement, storeys
Only one ground floor level
Number of occupants, age
Two adults and one preschool child, with tendency to increase
Space requirements on ground and upper floors
Office: family use or home office?
Family use or not necessary
Number of overnight guests per year
About 40
Open or closed architecture
Conservative or modern building style
Open kitchen, kitchen island
Open-plan kitchen-living area
Number of dining seats
3+
Fireplace
Yes, mine
Music / stereo wall
No, but a 5+1 surround sound system with a 280 x 158 cm (110 x 62 in) screen should be planned.
Balcony, roof terrace
No
Garage, carport
Carport and bicycle shed
Utility garden, greenhouse
No
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also with reasons
If possible, barrier-free design so the house can serve as a residence for old age
General House Design
Who designed it
Planner from a construction company
Personal price limit for house, including fittings
280,000 €
Preferred heating technology
Gas heating
Specific House Designs
Design number 1 - Park 140 W
What do you particularly like? Why?
Central living area where family life happens. Kitchen, dining, and living rooms are ideally arranged in an L-shape.
Windows in every room for good ventilation and natural light.
Five equally sized rooms that can be used flexibly.
What do you not like? Why?
Quite a few doors on the left side of the plan, making that area feel busy.
Estimated cost according to architect/planner
163,400 €
Which details / expansions can you do without?
Which details / expansions are absolutely necessary?
Why does the design look the way it does now?
Standard design from the planner
Specific House Designs
Design number 2 - Bungalow 123
What do you particularly like? Why?
Central living area where family life happens. Kitchen, dining, and living rooms are ideally arranged in an L-shape.
Windows in every room for good ventilation and daylight.
Guest toilet is easily accessible from the center.
Two showers.
What do you not like? Why?
The large bathroom is only accessible through the master bedroom.
Only three children’s rooms.
The children’s rooms vary in size.
Estimated cost according to architect/planner
xxx €
Which details / expansions can you do without?
The master bedroom is too large.
Which details / expansions are absolutely necessary?
Why does the design look the way it does now?
Standard design from the planner
Specific House Designs
Design number 3 - Bungalow 119
What do you particularly like? Why?
Central living area where family life happens. Kitchen, dining, and living rooms are ideally arranged in an L-shape.
Windows in every room for good ventilation and natural light.
Five equally sized rooms that can be used flexibly.
Guest toilet is easily accessible.
Two showers.
A terrace in the bottom right of the plan has abundant sunlight during the day.
What do you not like? Why?
The large bathroom is only accessible through the master bedroom.
Only three children’s rooms.
The children’s rooms vary in size.
Estimated cost according to architect/planner
xxx €
Which details / expansions can you do without?
The master bedroom is too large.
Which details / expansions are absolutely necessary?
Why does the design look the way it does now?
Standard design from the planner
Overall Requirements
The entire project must be completed within a budget of 280,000 euros. The finished product must be a move-in ready house including driveway, carport, lawn, and a hedge around the property.
Requirements for All Rooms
Every room must have a window.
Requirements for Children’s Rooms
The children’s rooms must be at least 10 m² (108 sq ft) in size.
The children’s rooms should preferably be square-shaped.
There must be three children’s rooms included.
Preferably, there should be four children’s rooms included.
Requirements for Kitchen, Dining, and Living Rooms
The kitchen must have at least one wall without a door measuring 230 cm (7 ft 7 in) and an adjacent wall without a door measuring 310 cm (10 ft 2 in).
The floor plan should include an open-plan kitchen-living area.
The kitchen and dining room can be in direct view of each other.
The living room should not be visible from the kitchen but should be visible from the dining room.
(An ideal solution would be an L-shape layout with the kitchen at one end and the living room at the other.)
Requirements for the (Master) Bedroom
The bedroom must be able to accommodate a wardrobe 200 cm (6 ft 7 in) wide and a bed 180 cm (6 ft) wide.
The bedroom may have space for a nightstand on each side of the bed.
Requirements for Bathrooms
There must be two bathrooms, both equipped with toilets.
One bathroom must include a bathtub.
Pantry / Storage Room
The home must provide at least 4 m² (43 sq ft) of storage space.
Utility Room
The utility room must have space for a washing machine and a dryer.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size
Approximately 300 m² (0.07 acres)
Slope
No
Floor area ratio (FAR)
0.4
Gross floor area ratio
0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundaries
Edge development
Number of parking spaces
Two
Roof shape
Architectural style
Orientation
15° roof direction
Maximum heights / limits
FH 11.5 m (37 ft 9 in); TH 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in)
Other specifications
Homeowner requirements
Building type
Solid construction house, bungalow
Basement, storeys
Only one ground floor level
Number of occupants, age
Two adults and one preschool child, with tendency to increase
Space requirements on ground and upper floors
Office: family use or home office?
Family use or not necessary
Number of overnight guests per year
About 40
Open or closed architecture
Conservative or modern building style
Open kitchen, kitchen island
Open-plan kitchen-living area
Number of dining seats
3+
Fireplace
Yes, mine
Music / stereo wall
No, but a 5+1 surround sound system with a 280 x 158 cm (110 x 62 in) screen should be planned.
Balcony, roof terrace
No
Garage, carport
Carport and bicycle shed
Utility garden, greenhouse
No
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also with reasons
If possible, barrier-free design so the house can serve as a residence for old age
General House Design
Who designed it
Planner from a construction company
Personal price limit for house, including fittings
280,000 €
Preferred heating technology
Gas heating
Specific House Designs
Design number 1 - Park 140 W
What do you particularly like? Why?
Central living area where family life happens. Kitchen, dining, and living rooms are ideally arranged in an L-shape.
Windows in every room for good ventilation and natural light.
Five equally sized rooms that can be used flexibly.
What do you not like? Why?
Quite a few doors on the left side of the plan, making that area feel busy.
Estimated cost according to architect/planner
163,400 €
Which details / expansions can you do without?
Which details / expansions are absolutely necessary?
Why does the design look the way it does now?
Standard design from the planner
Specific House Designs
Design number 2 - Bungalow 123
What do you particularly like? Why?
Central living area where family life happens. Kitchen, dining, and living rooms are ideally arranged in an L-shape.
Windows in every room for good ventilation and daylight.
Guest toilet is easily accessible from the center.
Two showers.
What do you not like? Why?
The large bathroom is only accessible through the master bedroom.
Only three children’s rooms.
The children’s rooms vary in size.
Estimated cost according to architect/planner
xxx €
Which details / expansions can you do without?
The master bedroom is too large.
Which details / expansions are absolutely necessary?
Why does the design look the way it does now?
Standard design from the planner
Specific House Designs
Design number 3 - Bungalow 119
What do you particularly like? Why?
Central living area where family life happens. Kitchen, dining, and living rooms are ideally arranged in an L-shape.
Windows in every room for good ventilation and natural light.
Five equally sized rooms that can be used flexibly.
Guest toilet is easily accessible.
Two showers.
A terrace in the bottom right of the plan has abundant sunlight during the day.
What do you not like? Why?
The large bathroom is only accessible through the master bedroom.
Only three children’s rooms.
The children’s rooms vary in size.
Estimated cost according to architect/planner
xxx €
Which details / expansions can you do without?
The master bedroom is too large.
Which details / expansions are absolutely necessary?
Why does the design look the way it does now?
Standard design from the planner
Evolith schrieb:
(unless you are such a Wi-Fi enthusiast). I am an advocate for copper.
Evolith schrieb:
Do you already have children? Our little one insists on watching Sandmännchen and Yakari afterwards For us, it’s Fireman Sam or Conny on YouTube.
kbt09 schrieb:
In general, I would consider underfloor heating not only for the bathroom, even if it might be more expensive at first. Overall, the heating system can be operated at a lower flow temperature. Additionally, valuable floor space can be gained in the relatively small planned rooms Those are interesting points. However, we currently have underfloor heating and don't really like having to wait 3 hours before the rooms warm up. Maybe we just need to be better organized, but oh well.
So, I am currently seriously considering whether we should continue renting or build a house. First of all, I read an interesting article that defines the following criterion:
Divide the offered purchase price by the annual rent excluding utilities for the property. As a rule of thumb: up to a factor of 20, purchase prices are relatively cheap compared to rent; from 25 onwards, they are considered relatively expensive.
Here, a new house from the local provider AMR with 107 m² (1,152 sq ft) is offered for 292,400 euros. A rental house in the same neighborhood with 105 m² (1,130 sq ft) costs 900 euros per month, which is 10,800 euros annual rent excluding utilities. The resulting factor is 27. According to the article on Finanztip, this corresponds to an expensive price and thus a relatively low return.
What do you think about this factor? I will also read more here in the forum about building versus renting.
Divide the offered purchase price by the annual rent excluding utilities for the property. As a rule of thumb: up to a factor of 20, purchase prices are relatively cheap compared to rent; from 25 onwards, they are considered relatively expensive.
Here, a new house from the local provider AMR with 107 m² (1,152 sq ft) is offered for 292,400 euros. A rental house in the same neighborhood with 105 m² (1,130 sq ft) costs 900 euros per month, which is 10,800 euros annual rent excluding utilities. The resulting factor is 27. According to the article on Finanztip, this corresponds to an expensive price and thus a relatively low return.
What do you think about this factor? I will also read more here in the forum about building versus renting.
A nearly new house with 120 m² (1292 sq ft) is currently being offered here for 1,065 euros. There are other houses with a similar floor area and base rent. The rent corresponds to an annual base rent of 12,780 euros. When I divide our estimated house price of 250,000 euros by this amount, I get a factor of 19.5. This, in turn, suggests that it could be potentially worthwhile.
Do your homework: what costs what and how much?
What are the needs of your realistic family?
What is the difference between the catalogue price and the final amount you actually have to pay?
What is included in the additional construction costs?
And a final tip: Keep your hands off the floor heating control knob—once it’s set, it should stay that way. No adjustments mean no issues. That’s what comfort means.
And stay away from that construction company.
What are the needs of your realistic family?
What is the difference between the catalogue price and the final amount you actually have to pay?
What is included in the additional construction costs?
And a final tip: Keep your hands off the floor heating control knob—once it’s set, it should stay that way. No adjustments mean no issues. That’s what comfort means.
And stay away from that construction company.
Regarding underfloor heating, I can only agree with Yvonne. Comfortable temperature for each room, and then leave it alone. Since moving from an apartment with radiators to my current home with underfloor heating, my heating costs have dropped to about 75% of what they were before. Because I handle the utility bills for both the previous rental building and the current one, I can see the same effect with my neighbor, who moved in a similar way. Both buildings are heated with relatively similarly aged gas condensing boilers.
C
chand19867 Dec 2017 19:24Regarding building a house: it is only possible to generate any kind of return under very specific conditions.
Since you mentioned the word return: single-family homes are not intended for that. They are a luxury, not an investment.
If you want that luxury, fine. But if you expect any kind of return, you will end up disappointed.
You only "save" on rent if you combine being debt-free with no backlog of maintenance on the house. If you take 20 or 30 years to pay off the mortgage, you go straight from the loan into having to cover the first repairs and touch-ups out of pocket.
Also, always keep in mind that owning and financing a single-family home works well if you are sure you will not have to or want to change your job (and possibly your location).
Once you give up that flexibility and then need it, you will be stuck, especially if the house is not in high demand.
I consider these factors fairly important. Houses that can be paid off quickly tend to compare better to rent, though they are usually smaller than desired...
Since you mentioned the word return: single-family homes are not intended for that. They are a luxury, not an investment.
If you want that luxury, fine. But if you expect any kind of return, you will end up disappointed.
You only "save" on rent if you combine being debt-free with no backlog of maintenance on the house. If you take 20 or 30 years to pay off the mortgage, you go straight from the loan into having to cover the first repairs and touch-ups out of pocket.
Also, always keep in mind that owning and financing a single-family home works well if you are sure you will not have to or want to change your job (and possibly your location).
Once you give up that flexibility and then need it, you will be stuck, especially if the house is not in high demand.
I consider these factors fairly important. Houses that can be paid off quickly tend to compare better to rent, though they are usually smaller than desired...
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