Hello everyone,
It’s been a while, and fortunately, I’ve learned a lot since then, also thanks to many justified skeptical opinions.
Since we didn’t get the plot last year, our application for a new 555 m² (approximately 6,000 sq ft) plot under the local resident allocation model is currently with our local market. The decision on whether we will be allocated one this time will be made in September, but things look promising!
As land prices here have increased by more than €50 per m² (approximately $5 per sq ft) since last year, our budget has naturally been expanded. Our current target and maximum spending limit is €400,000 (including equity), preferably less, but that’s where we stand at the moment.
A basement is not feasible from a cost perspective, so we have decided on a single-family house with around 140–160 m² (approximately 1,500–1,700 sq ft) and a double garage with an adjoining annex at the back for garden furniture and such. Of course, it’s possible the double garage will become a single garage with a carport, but that will become clearer during detailed planning as we look for some savings to invest money better elsewhere.
Currently, we are considering between Danwood (a prefabricated house KfW70 standard) — with which two of our friends have had good experiences — and an Austrian Passive House with even greater energy efficiency due to new and special insulation.
Here is roughly my cost breakdown, now much more realistic than it was a year ago. Maybe some of you might find something that stands out.
Land: €122,100
Notary: €2,500
Property transfer tax: €1,500
Water connection: €500
Water meter connection/end device: €702
Electricity: €1,500
Telecom: €500
Multi-utility connection: €1,500
Building survey: €2,000
Building permit/planning permission application: €4,000
Grounding/earthing: €1,000
Official fees: €1,000
Multi-utility connection: €1,000
Construction electricity / water: €500
Site toilet: €250
Debris container: €900
Earthworks: €8,000
Double garage with side room and foundation slab: €20,000
Landscaping / exterior work: €8,000
Prefabricated house Danwood: €205,000 after material selection, including foundation slab
Best regards,
Dirk
It’s been a while, and fortunately, I’ve learned a lot since then, also thanks to many justified skeptical opinions.
Since we didn’t get the plot last year, our application for a new 555 m² (approximately 6,000 sq ft) plot under the local resident allocation model is currently with our local market. The decision on whether we will be allocated one this time will be made in September, but things look promising!
As land prices here have increased by more than €50 per m² (approximately $5 per sq ft) since last year, our budget has naturally been expanded. Our current target and maximum spending limit is €400,000 (including equity), preferably less, but that’s where we stand at the moment.
A basement is not feasible from a cost perspective, so we have decided on a single-family house with around 140–160 m² (approximately 1,500–1,700 sq ft) and a double garage with an adjoining annex at the back for garden furniture and such. Of course, it’s possible the double garage will become a single garage with a carport, but that will become clearer during detailed planning as we look for some savings to invest money better elsewhere.
Currently, we are considering between Danwood (a prefabricated house KfW70 standard) — with which two of our friends have had good experiences — and an Austrian Passive House with even greater energy efficiency due to new and special insulation.
Here is roughly my cost breakdown, now much more realistic than it was a year ago. Maybe some of you might find something that stands out.
Land: €122,100
Notary: €2,500
Property transfer tax: €1,500
Water connection: €500
Water meter connection/end device: €702
Electricity: €1,500
Telecom: €500
Multi-utility connection: €1,500
Building survey: €2,000
Building permit/planning permission application: €4,000
Grounding/earthing: €1,000
Official fees: €1,000
Multi-utility connection: €1,000
Construction electricity / water: €500
Site toilet: €250
Debris container: €900
Earthworks: €8,000
Double garage with side room and foundation slab: €20,000
Landscaping / exterior work: €8,000
Prefabricated house Danwood: €205,000 after material selection, including foundation slab
Best regards,
Dirk
I’m completely losing track with the calculations.
The foundation slab costs five figures, and mentioning it together with additional building costs distorts the overview and causes confusion when making comparisons.
The 40,000, that is, the inheritance—when will you actually have it? It can easily take two years or more...
I also once wanted a Danwood house. The scope of work description isn’t very clear: 2 pages plus a colorful price upgrade catalog.
The foundation slab costs five figures, and mentioning it together with additional building costs distorts the overview and causes confusion when making comparisons.
The 40,000, that is, the inheritance—when will you actually have it? It can easily take two years or more...
I also once wanted a Danwood house. The scope of work description isn’t very clear: 2 pages plus a colorful price upgrade catalog.
B
Bauexperte21 Sep 2015 12:56Hello,
If such amounts—for upgrades to create the dream home—are accepted so casually, then I must be doing something wrong. I offer from the start a portion of the house at a fixed price based on the desired specifications. Additional costs of €30,000-40,000 occur very, very rarely; if they do, it is often related to later upgrades for KNX systems and/or switching to a masonry garage.
For comparison: your offer of €205,000 (even with a €20,000 buffer!) and €225,000 as the regular price for a masonry single-family house (KfW 70 standard) of similar size, including the foundation slab and turnkey delivery (excluding painting and floor coverings). One might suspect, given this difference, especially careful savings on building or finishing materials. It also fits with the assumption that €40,000 will cover incidental construction costs and a self-built garage.
Regards, Bauexperte
DDre schrieb:
The base price of the house is €157,000, which already includes a sufficient buffer for selections. On average, most people spend an additional €30,000-40,000 when choosing options for prefab houses...
If such amounts—for upgrades to create the dream home—are accepted so casually, then I must be doing something wrong. I offer from the start a portion of the house at a fixed price based on the desired specifications. Additional costs of €30,000-40,000 occur very, very rarely; if they do, it is often related to later upgrades for KNX systems and/or switching to a masonry garage.
For comparison: your offer of €205,000 (even with a €20,000 buffer!) and €225,000 as the regular price for a masonry single-family house (KfW 70 standard) of similar size, including the foundation slab and turnkey delivery (excluding painting and floor coverings). One might suspect, given this difference, especially careful savings on building or finishing materials. It also fits with the assumption that €40,000 will cover incidental construction costs and a self-built garage.
Regards, Bauexperte
ypg schrieb:
I’m completely lost with the calculation here.
The foundation slab costs a five-figure amount, but calling it incidental construction costs in the same breath distorts the overview and causes confusion when making comparisons.
The 40,000, meaning the inheritance – when will you actually have that available? You could easily have to wait two years or more...
I also wanted a Danwood house once. The construction service description isn’t exactly detailed: 2 pages plus a colorful extra cost catalog.Yes, I know some costs are not yet categorized correctly, that will follow when I have time and, as I said, when we have our actual offer from Danwood. For that, we have to wait for our market to find out which plot will really be allocated to us, which is also a factor.
Bauexperte schrieb:
If such large sums – for upgrades towards the dream house – are accepted so easily, I am definitely doing something wrong. I offer from the start a part of a house with the desired features at a fixed price. Additional costs of 30,000 to 40,000 euros are very, very rare; if they do occur, it is usually related to subsequent upgrades for KNX automation and/or switching to a masonry garage.
For comparison: Your offer of 205,000 euros (even with a 20,000 euro buffer!) and 225,000 euros as the regular price for a masonry single-family home (KfW 70 standard) of comparable size including foundation slab and turnkey handover (excluding painting and flooring). One could suspect that this difference is due to a very frugal use of construction and finishing materials. This also fits with the assumption that 40,000 euros for incidental construction costs and a self-built garage will be enough.I am not accepting anything at all; as I said, that was a rough estimate from our sales team. I can give more precise information once we have actually finalized the selections; then exact numbers will follow. It’s quite possible we might change direction again. For now, let’s wait and see—Danwood is currently our favorite.
In my opinion, a fundamental discussion about whether a solid (masonry) or prefabricated house is better is pointless here. The fact is, we do not want to do any work ourselves due to limited private time, and turnkey solutions for solid construction would be significantly more expensive.
B
Bauexperte21 Sep 2015 14:28DDre schrieb:
In my opinion, a fundamental debate about whether to choose a solid (masonry) or prefabricated house doesn’t help here. The fact is that we don’t want to do any work ourselves due to the limited private time we have, and a turnkey solid house would be significantly more expensive.I’m not debating prefabricated versus solid construction; both have their merits ... and comparable prices as well.Regards, Bauexperte
DDre schrieb:
A fundamental debate about whether to choose a solid (massive) or a prefabricated house doesn’t make much sense here in my opinion. The fact is that we don’t want to do any personal work ourselves due to the limited private time we have, and a turnkey solid house would be significantly more expensive.So far, I haven’t seen a comparison that honestly contrasts timber frame construction and solid building methods in a way that could be considered factual.
That would be really interesting!
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