2 offers for a single-family house in MV, large difference, is the offer plausible?

Hi, that's exactly what one should do even if it costs a bit of money. When buying a house, as a layperson you can't be careful enough; once problems arise, it can get so expensive that many builders go bankrupt. Even I had my documents checked because there are plenty of lawsuits when it comes to building houses. You shouldn't save money over a few €uro.

Actually, everything has been said except for the part about cracks and painting. I wouldn't wallpaper at the beginning, especially not expensive patterned wallpapers. Cracks in them would be very annoying. But painting and filling in cracks is fine. If a crack appears later, you can fill it again, and if necessary, repaint. You keep a little bit of every paint color for that purpose. Stored cool, it lasts a year without going bad. From experience, I tell you, trust your gut feeling. If the builder seems serious and decent to you, then he is your builder. If the chemistry doesn't fit... leave it. I had one who builds a lot here, he's inexpensive, but I didn't like him, his demeanor, his huge SUV, all that, a show-off jerk. I couldn't build with him. The other one, polite, transparent, the construction scope description not complete, but honest in information and advice when asked, he was the one. Would another have been cheaper? I don't care. Karsten

Hi, I read everything through, my advice is to get some more offers, maybe also from a big prefab house company just for comparison. I got exactly 8 offers because of something like that. Bien-Zenker were the best in my case. My house with 176 sqm cost 278,000 turnkey with a base slab. I also liked Bien-Zenker. With upscale fittings and a fireplace, I would only have to move in the furniture. I also had a solid house supplier that I almost took; the other companies were up to 170,000€ more expensive so better compare again. I gave up on collectors on the roof and the salesman admitted that those things, if at all, only pay off after 25 years. I have had a gas bill of 30-35€ per month for 5 years. Take the trouble and compare again, ask bigger companies. One of my neighbors paid almost 130,000€ more for about the same house size but has no special equipment. I also had my service description and contract checked by a construction expert. It was worth the few euros. Good luck with building your house.

Hi, regarding the expansion joints, the construction service description states that the client is responsible, which is unusual; during the 5-year warranty period, the developer is responsible. I have another neighbor who has a massive brick house with 36.5 cm and 168 sqm turnkey and also very nice fittings, paid 253,000; he had obtained 11 offers, he was also aware of the brutal price jumps, he also built with a larger company and they delivered great work. The very small companies had most of the drawbacks for both of us and could provide hardly any or few references.

Excluding normal hairline cracks is standard practice. Otherwise, 150k is no small matter. It's worth hiring a professional to have everything checked. Have you driven around new development areas and asked the builders how satisfied they are with A and B? Just please don’t name anyone, approach them yourself.

Ok, I will get quotes from larger providers again.

Could someone perhaps also address my other questions in the initial post?