Good evening everyone,
we registered in the forum today and are just starting our house building plans. We live in Bremen and want to build in the surrounding area.
Today, we had an appointment with an independent financial advisor who also financed my brother’s house and previously my parents’ house. I have just finished my studies, and we now have a total net income of about 3650 € (approximately $3850). We are both 29 years old – I completed vocational training and gained work experience before my studies.
I was mainly there because I am, of course, aware of the unusual interest rate situation and wanted to ask whether we should save to build equity or rather take advantage of the low interest rates. The answer was clear in this case: with 20,000 € (about $21,000) in equity, we can easily get a construction loan for 220,000 € (around $231,000). The interest rate situation is exceptionally favorable. The portion from the KfW loan would be 100,000 € (about $105,000). The effective interest rate for both loans combined would be 2.79%. The KfW loan would be repaid at 4.35%, and the bank loan (120,000 € / $126,000) initially only at 1%. The fixed-rate period is 10 years at first.
The monthly payment would be 958.31 € (approximately $1005).
This seems manageable monthly and exceptionally affordable to me.
Of course, the conversation was just for information, as all further steps (house type, construction company, land plot, etc.) still have to be reviewed and clarified to determine the actual financing needs.
My question is simply whether we actually received a good (non-binding) offer and whether you also think it makes sense in our situation to start building sooner rather than later, despite the low equity share?
Thank you very much.
we registered in the forum today and are just starting our house building plans. We live in Bremen and want to build in the surrounding area.
Today, we had an appointment with an independent financial advisor who also financed my brother’s house and previously my parents’ house. I have just finished my studies, and we now have a total net income of about 3650 € (approximately $3850). We are both 29 years old – I completed vocational training and gained work experience before my studies.
I was mainly there because I am, of course, aware of the unusual interest rate situation and wanted to ask whether we should save to build equity or rather take advantage of the low interest rates. The answer was clear in this case: with 20,000 € (about $21,000) in equity, we can easily get a construction loan for 220,000 € (around $231,000). The interest rate situation is exceptionally favorable. The portion from the KfW loan would be 100,000 € (about $105,000). The effective interest rate for both loans combined would be 2.79%. The KfW loan would be repaid at 4.35%, and the bank loan (120,000 € / $126,000) initially only at 1%. The fixed-rate period is 10 years at first.
The monthly payment would be 958.31 € (approximately $1005).
This seems manageable monthly and exceptionally affordable to me.
Of course, the conversation was just for information, as all further steps (house type, construction company, land plot, etc.) still have to be reviewed and clarified to determine the actual financing needs.
My question is simply whether we actually received a good (non-binding) offer and whether you also think it makes sense in our situation to start building sooner rather than later, despite the low equity share?
Thank you very much.
I’m just throwing out a few questions without any judgment.
What are you planning to do with the space behind the shower?
Are you considering a walk-in shower? In that case, the drains would likely connect near the kitchen area. Generally, the wastewater pipes from the bathroom will probably run down somewhere in the kitchen.
Have you taken this into account during your kitchen design?
Separating the dressing area from the bedroom was probably your decision.
Have you thought about where shoes, jackets, etc. will go in the hallway? There is likely some space under the stairs and between the utility room and the living room door, but will that be enough for you?
Is the exterior door planned for the utility room, or should it rather lead under the carport? For the facade, an additional window might be needed in that case.
Where is the TV supposed to be placed? Could the small balcony door potentially limit your options?
If the dark spot is intended to be a wood stove, don’t underestimate the space requirements for one.
Also, take another look at the sizes of your furniture. I find a sofa with a seat depth of 60–70cm (24–28 inches) a bit too narrow.
Will you all be able to get ready in one bathroom in the morning, or would a second shower or guest WC be useful?
Do the views from the gable sides fit as expected?
I like the idea of a nice double-leaf front door. However, if the staircase starts immediately next to the fixed side of the entrance door, it gives the impression that space was limited. That’s just my personal opinion, though, since it’s quite common in many show homes.
What are you planning to do with the space behind the shower?
Are you considering a walk-in shower? In that case, the drains would likely connect near the kitchen area. Generally, the wastewater pipes from the bathroom will probably run down somewhere in the kitchen.
Have you taken this into account during your kitchen design?
Separating the dressing area from the bedroom was probably your decision.
Have you thought about where shoes, jackets, etc. will go in the hallway? There is likely some space under the stairs and between the utility room and the living room door, but will that be enough for you?
Is the exterior door planned for the utility room, or should it rather lead under the carport? For the facade, an additional window might be needed in that case.
Where is the TV supposed to be placed? Could the small balcony door potentially limit your options?
If the dark spot is intended to be a wood stove, don’t underestimate the space requirements for one.
Also, take another look at the sizes of your furniture. I find a sofa with a seat depth of 60–70cm (24–28 inches) a bit too narrow.
Will you all be able to get ready in one bathroom in the morning, or would a second shower or guest WC be useful?
Do the views from the gable sides fit as expected?
I like the idea of a nice double-leaf front door. However, if the staircase starts immediately next to the fixed side of the entrance door, it gives the impression that space was limited. That’s just my personal opinion, though, since it’s quite common in many show homes.
What are you planning to do with the space behind the shower?
Is a walk-in, floor-level shower planned? Then the drains would end up in the kitchen area. Generally, the wastewater pipes from the bathroom will probably run down somewhere in the kitchen.
Have you taken this into account when planning the kitchen?
What exactly do you mean by seeing the "pipes" in the kitchen? At least, the builder did not mention anything about that.
Separating the walk-in closet from the bedroom was certainly your wish.
However, that is not quite the final plan—you will have access from the bedroom.
Have you thought about where shoes, coats, etc., will be stored in the hallway? There is certainly some space under the stairs and between the utility room and the living room door, but is that enough for you?
Good point—we hope to move the shoes more toward the utility room, but the hallway is certainly not very generous in favor of the living/dining area.
Is an exterior door planned in the utility room, or should it rather be located under the carport? For the house’s facade, an additional window would then be necessary. That is the plan.
Where will the TV be placed? Does the small balcony door maybe take away space there? The TV should go on the wall—the question is whether it looks “right” to place a sofa in front of a floor-to-ceiling window (which is no longer intended as a patio door).
If the dark spot is a wood-burning stove, do not underestimate the space requirement of a stove.
Also, take another look at the sizes of the furniture. I find a sofa with 60–70cm (24–28 inches) seat depth a bit too shallow.
We will do that. I also have some doubts about whether a plasma TV near the stove might be “too much.”
Can you realistically manage to use the bathroom early enough so that everyone can get through, or would a second shower in a guest WC be useful?
We will probably manage that quite well, but that is certainly an important point.
Do the views from the gable sides look okay?
I think a nice double-leaf front door is beautiful. But if the stairs start immediately next to the fixed side of the front door, it looks like there wasn’t enough space. That’s just my personal opinion, as many show homes are designed that way.
Thanks again—the furniture, seating groups, etc., shown in the drawings were just added by the builder for illustration purposes.
Is a walk-in, floor-level shower planned? Then the drains would end up in the kitchen area. Generally, the wastewater pipes from the bathroom will probably run down somewhere in the kitchen.
Have you taken this into account when planning the kitchen?
What exactly do you mean by seeing the "pipes" in the kitchen? At least, the builder did not mention anything about that.
Separating the walk-in closet from the bedroom was certainly your wish.
However, that is not quite the final plan—you will have access from the bedroom.
Have you thought about where shoes, coats, etc., will be stored in the hallway? There is certainly some space under the stairs and between the utility room and the living room door, but is that enough for you?
Good point—we hope to move the shoes more toward the utility room, but the hallway is certainly not very generous in favor of the living/dining area.
Is an exterior door planned in the utility room, or should it rather be located under the carport? For the house’s facade, an additional window would then be necessary. That is the plan.
Where will the TV be placed? Does the small balcony door maybe take away space there? The TV should go on the wall—the question is whether it looks “right” to place a sofa in front of a floor-to-ceiling window (which is no longer intended as a patio door).
If the dark spot is a wood-burning stove, do not underestimate the space requirement of a stove.
Also, take another look at the sizes of the furniture. I find a sofa with 60–70cm (24–28 inches) seat depth a bit too shallow.
We will do that. I also have some doubts about whether a plasma TV near the stove might be “too much.”
Can you realistically manage to use the bathroom early enough so that everyone can get through, or would a second shower in a guest WC be useful?
We will probably manage that quite well, but that is certainly an important point.
Do the views from the gable sides look okay?
I think a nice double-leaf front door is beautiful. But if the stairs start immediately next to the fixed side of the front door, it looks like there wasn’t enough space. That’s just my personal opinion, as many show homes are designed that way.
Thanks again—the furniture, seating groups, etc., shown in the drawings were just added by the builder for illustration purposes.
Shower
According to our construction company and site manager, for a floor-level shower, the connections in the room below the shower emerge precisely where the shower is located. These would then need to be routed along the ceiling to the edge and from there downwards with the regular pipes. Such a boxed-in structure in the middle of the room looks unattractive. Lowering the entire ceiling or just a section—where, for example, recessed lights could be installed—is another option. In conventional showers, the drain already runs through the partition walls into the sewage shaft within the bathroom.
The question in your case would be where the shaft passes downward through the kitchen. As a layperson, I would assume that in the partition wall, the connections from the bathtub, toilet, and shower are grouped together and then routed behind the shower, through the kitchen, and downwards.
That is why this should be considered during kitchen planning.
Living Room
Personally, I don’t like floor-to-ceiling windows because you can’t place anything in front of them, or if you do, it looks awkward. We want to install wide double casement windows. That might be a good alternative. From an aesthetic point of view, this should, of course, also be done in the dining area.
I don’t know how large the plasma TV is or how big the fireplace will be, but I think around 4m (13 feet) of wall space should be sufficient.
Hallway / Utility Room
Maybe another idea regarding the coat area:
Add a room of the same size above the guest toilet as a cloakroom, with the passage to the utility room inside it. Alternatively, swap the locations of the coat area and guest toilet.
Drawn-in Furniture
In many brochures and sample floor plans, furniture is included. Often, however, the furniture is drawn smaller to make the space appear more spacious. In reality, you may have to sit on the bed to open the wardrobe doors in the bedroom, or you might need to buy wardrobes with sliding doors.
Regards, Musketier
According to our construction company and site manager, for a floor-level shower, the connections in the room below the shower emerge precisely where the shower is located. These would then need to be routed along the ceiling to the edge and from there downwards with the regular pipes. Such a boxed-in structure in the middle of the room looks unattractive. Lowering the entire ceiling or just a section—where, for example, recessed lights could be installed—is another option. In conventional showers, the drain already runs through the partition walls into the sewage shaft within the bathroom.
The question in your case would be where the shaft passes downward through the kitchen. As a layperson, I would assume that in the partition wall, the connections from the bathtub, toilet, and shower are grouped together and then routed behind the shower, through the kitchen, and downwards.
That is why this should be considered during kitchen planning.
Living Room
Personally, I don’t like floor-to-ceiling windows because you can’t place anything in front of them, or if you do, it looks awkward. We want to install wide double casement windows. That might be a good alternative. From an aesthetic point of view, this should, of course, also be done in the dining area.
I don’t know how large the plasma TV is or how big the fireplace will be, but I think around 4m (13 feet) of wall space should be sufficient.
Hallway / Utility Room
Maybe another idea regarding the coat area:
Add a room of the same size above the guest toilet as a cloakroom, with the passage to the utility room inside it. Alternatively, swap the locations of the coat area and guest toilet.
Drawn-in Furniture
In many brochures and sample floor plans, furniture is included. Often, however, the furniture is drawn smaller to make the space appear more spacious. In reality, you may have to sit on the bed to open the wardrobe doors in the bedroom, or you might need to buy wardrobes with sliding doors.
Regards, Musketier
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