Hello dear home builders.
Over the past few weeks, we have gathered numerous quotes from construction companies and are now facing the question: Whom should we choose?
What criteria would you base your decision on, and what would you pay special attention to when deciding who you want to build with?
We would appreciate your suggestions.
Brief overview of the building project:
- Two-story urban villa or single-family house with knee wall of 1.80m (5 feet 11 inches), starting from 130sqm (1,400 sqft)
- No plot of land yet, as they are scarce in Erfurt and the surrounding area. So we are still searching. (Some construction companies offer assistance with this)
Over the past few weeks, we have gathered numerous quotes from construction companies and are now facing the question: Whom should we choose?
What criteria would you base your decision on, and what would you pay special attention to when deciding who you want to build with?
We would appreciate your suggestions.
Brief overview of the building project:
- Two-story urban villa or single-family house with knee wall of 1.80m (5 feet 11 inches), starting from 130sqm (1,400 sqft)
- No plot of land yet, as they are scarce in Erfurt and the surrounding area. So we are still searching. (Some construction companies offer assistance with this)
erfurter110287 schrieb:
Strangely, some construction companies then claimed that "they" still had some available.I believe that was a lie. During our search, I also saw many listings from construction companies. Upon closer investigation, it turned out that these plots of land didn’t actually exist.B
BackSteinGotik13 Sep 2020 09:14You now have >>all<< the offers available. The question naturally is: for what exactly – a generic, standard 110m² (1,184 sq ft) house? You don’t have a plot of land, and you have no building permit / planning permission. That means you are missing a crucial piece for making a goal-oriented decision.
You can now spend your time studying the scope of work and calculating details precisely. Pick a few options that fit within your budget. Consider what extras you would like. Possibly review references and the responsiveness of the providers. Nothing else matters if you don’t have a plot.
You say that there is nothing available in your area. The consequence is that building there is not feasible for you.
Or you can take the “the provider surely has land” route, which in Erfurt is naturally completely different compared to the rest of the country, where residential areas and old buildings are known to be offered almost for nothing everywhere else.
You can now spend your time studying the scope of work and calculating details precisely. Pick a few options that fit within your budget. Consider what extras you would like. Possibly review references and the responsiveness of the providers. Nothing else matters if you don’t have a plot.
You say that there is nothing available in your area. The consequence is that building there is not feasible for you.
Or you can take the “the provider surely has land” route, which in Erfurt is naturally completely different compared to the rest of the country, where residential areas and old buildings are known to be offered almost for nothing everywhere else.
T
T_im_Norden13 Sep 2020 09:15- Does the company have a good reputation?
- How long has it been in business?
- Do they pressure you to sign the contract?
- Are there statements like "We can definitely manage this"?
- Do you receive a detailed scope of work before signing?
- Are there references available?
- Do they say "We’ll sort that out when the time comes"?
- How does the company respond to building inspectors or construction experts?
- How is the contract structured, and can you review it in advance?
- What is the payment schedule?
- Is the property offered without a specific location mentioned?
- Do they say "The purchase price for the land and the house will be separate"?
Use common sense: if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Never let yourself be pressured; a company that rushes you is usually not reliable.
- How long has it been in business?
- Do they pressure you to sign the contract?
- Are there statements like "We can definitely manage this"?
- Do you receive a detailed scope of work before signing?
- Are there references available?
- Do they say "We’ll sort that out when the time comes"?
- How does the company respond to building inspectors or construction experts?
- How is the contract structured, and can you review it in advance?
- What is the payment schedule?
- Is the property offered without a specific location mentioned?
- Do they say "The purchase price for the land and the house will be separate"?
Use common sense: if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Never let yourself be pressured; a company that rushes you is usually not reliable.
T
T_im_Norden13 Sep 2020 09:26I don't know what or where exactly you are looking, but when I search within a radius of 30 km (18.6 miles) around Erfurt, I find various plots of land. Among others, from the Thuringian State Development Corporation.
We chose our construction company mainly because of its good reputation in our area. We knew three other families who built with the same company in the same town, and all three are still satisfied. I also appreciated that the planner provided us with a detailed list of additional costs, which are often not mentioned, without us having to ask – this was "forgotten to mention" by the other companies.
T_im_Norden schrieb:
I don’t know what or where you are searching, but when I look within a radius of 30 km (19 miles) around Erfurt, I find several plots of land.
Among others, from the Thuringian State Development Corporation. If it's anything like the Lower Saxony Land Corporation (i.e., publicly owned), I can highly recommend them.
We are currently building on a plot from the NLG. They offer great prices, are reliable, and we obtained a fantastic, fully serviced plot without any realtor fees or inflated prices.