Angular bungalow on 800m² plot - financially feasible?

Hello everyone,

although I have already read many threads here on the topic of feasibility, I would still like to join in and would appreciate one or two comments.

We have been facing the decision to build vs. buy for several weeks now. Since the market in our region currently does not offer any acceptable properties for purchase, the balance is shifting daily more towards building. Especially since we could buy a plot on which it would be nice to live.

Here are the rough project details:

Plot:
800m² (23x35m).
72 k€ without incidental costs.
Superficially no problem plot, perfectly accessible and flat as a pancake.

Desired house:
(Angular) bungalow.
110-120m² living space, without basement.
Turnkey, Kfw 70.
Attic not developed, but usable as storage space.
Tendency towards stone house, but others not excluded.

We have a total budget of MAXIMUM 300 k€ - including hedge, apple tree and firewood ;). Preferably 260-280 k€.

So:
280 k€ budget (with some room to move)
-72 k€ plot
-40 k€ construction incidental costs (with some room to move downwards :))
= 168 k€ for the house.

That would result in a turnkey price of 1400-1500 €/m².

The financing should be composed as follows:
- Equity capital - 110 k€.
- 100 k€ KFW 124+153
- about 80 k€ bank loan with 20-year fixed interest as full repayment (we are both in our mid-40s).

Results in a monthly burden of about 1000.00 €/month, which we can comfortably bear.

What do you think - is it doable?

Thanks and best regards,
Andreas

What you forgot are:
- Outdoor facilities with 10-15K€.
- possibly garage/carport?
- flooring/painting supplies
- possibly furnishings, like kitchen

How the prices for a bungalow compare to a 1.5- or 2-story house, I cannot assess, since although the stairs are omitted, more exterior wall, more roof area, and a larger base plate are needed.

1000€ for 180K€ loan should mean about 3.5% repayment and a term of 20 years.
So it should roughly fit with your age as well.

Hello Andreas,

Superficially, no problem plot, perfectly accessible and flat as a board.

Many builders have already badly misjudged this point; you will learn more details once you have the preliminary site plan from the surveyor as well as the soil report created => keyword "foundation additional costs".

Desired house:
(angled) bungalow.
110-120 sqm living space. without basement.
Turnkey, KfW 70.
Attic not developed, but usable as storage space.

Such an angled bungalow has its pitfalls and costs. I estimate you will have to reckon with about TEUR 190-200 for 120 sqm/living space. For a square WD bungalow about TEUR 180.

So:
280 k€ budget (with some leeway upwards)
-72 k€ plot
-40 k€ ancillary building costs (with some leeway downwards :))
= 168 k€ for the house.

Not quite ....

Budget: TEUR 300
Plot: TEUR 72
Ancillary building costs: TEUR 35
Reserve for foundation additional costs: TEUR 8-10
Painting/flooring: TEUR 15
Outdoor facilities: TEUR 10
Garage 3 x 9, incl. sectional door: TEUR 10

remain TEUR 148 for the bungalow. For that you get a square bungalow with a size of 100 sqm/living space.

Kind regards from on the road

At first glance, no problem plot, perfectly accessible and flat as a board.

Be careful, this very aspect almost cost us an extra 15,000. The top 50 cm had to be removed, and then the plot was flat, but lower than the sewer.

You then have 3 options. Lifting system, building up, or like we will do, pouring gravel and compacting. In total 350 m³ or 600 tons of gravel. Cost just for the material nearly €10,000. Added to that are labor, VAT, and disposal of the excavation + retaining wall.

Caution, this exact aspect cost us almost 15,000 extra.

Hmm, this should come up within the scope of the soil survey, right? Construction is already underway on the neighboring plot. And at least from my most brutally possible layman’s perspective, it doesn’t look like the foundation was problematic. But that doesn’t mean anything, because once the slab is laid, you can’t see what’s underneath. So it’s definitely a point to consider.

Otherwise, many thanks for the assessments so far. They roughly match our considerations (more or less! :-)). In any case, we will probably review a few more house offers and then piece together the information puzzle before making a final decision.

And now a general question:
On the one hand, there are the national providers – from Heinz von Heiden to Town & Country to Viebrockhaus and whatnot. And then there are regional builders who surely can also build fine houses. Can the regional builder at all compete with the prices of the big ones? Always assuming the seriousness of the company: are there any experiences indicating what one *usually* ends up better off with?

When I drive past construction sites here, I see a bit of everything :). So in the end, is it a mix of common sense, the right house, and gut feeling?

Regards,
Andreas

We only found out about the additional costs from the architect, so to speak. The soil survey was "normal" and the surveyor did his job. Unfortunately, we are laypeople and were not yet familiar with reading plans at the time. Only the architect said: Oh, we have to add quite a bit of fill, otherwise it will be a problem when it rains a lot :)

All in all, it's not so bad, at least now we know that the water will run away from the house and not stay around it, and we can meaningfully shape the terrain. That's definitely worth it :)