Buying land for a house, please advise!

Hello everyone, how should I start?

I think a brief introduction about us is the best beginning. We, a married couple (49 and 46) with two children (9 and 13), live in the Ruhr area and have been unsuccessfully looking for a property to buy for 3-4 years. I am an employee and the sole breadwinner. Wife = hotel mom for the boys. Now we have finally found a plot of land that appeals to us and we want to throw ourselves into the house-building project. For this, we have some questions that I couldn't find answers to in the forum and I ask for help.

The plot of land we want to buy is being taken out of an existing parcel and is up for sale. Size approx. 500m², rectangular and sufficient for us. There are currently garages on the site which will be completely removed by the owner. At the same time, the driveway will also be removed. So we will get the plot at ground level. The surveying will also be done by the seller. So far, everything is in order.

Now I have the following questions that are on my mind:

1) There is no development plan! Is that problematic or is this applied for at the authority by the developer during house construction?
2) The house number. Sounds strange but it occupies me. Next to the plot is the house with number 1 and then continuing. How is the house numbering done by the authority then, 1 A??
3) Since we want to build with a basement and all houses around the plot have basements, do I still have to get a soil survey?
4) What else do we have to consider that we might have forgotten? The plot costs €124,500. I didn’t know the ground here is golden. I always thought there’s only coal here!! Additional costs like notary, real estate transfer tax etc. will also apply. But considering that we can’t move away because of the children and the seller has already cleared the plot, I can live with the price.

Regarding financing: Monthly income €3,200 net plus child benefits, equity €50,000 - 60,000 plus an annual bonus that I want to use for special repayments. Currently, we save about €1,000 monthly in addition to our warm rent of approx. €700. We don't need a fancy build and have set a limit of approx. €320,000 ± €20,000. All furniture is already present and we also have a kitchen if necessary. We want to build as soon as possible once we have found the house that suits us (we have been searching since yesterday and are going to a model house center this weekend). More on this later.

I would like to apologize in advance for the text being so long and ask for your understanding.
Thank you very much and best regards

1) There is no development plan! Is this problematic or is it submitted to the office by the developer during house construction?

If there is no development plan, usually the building style of the neighbors applies. Then you have to "fit in". But you can inquire at the office. It is not problematic.

2) The house number. Sounds weird but this concerns me. Next to the plot is the house with number 1 and so on consecutively. How is the house number assigned at the office then? 1 A??

1A is probably the most likely.

3) Since we want to build with a basement and all houses around the plot have basements, do I still need to get a soil report?

A soil report at the spot where the house will be built always makes sense. Especially when building with a basement. And your structural engineer has something reliable and does not have to make assumptions.

4) What else do we have to consider that we might have forgotten? The plot costs €124,500. I didn’t even know the soil here was so valuable. I always thought there was only coal here!! Additional costs like notary, property transfer tax etc. will still be added. But considering that we can’t move away here because of the children and the seller has already cleared the plot, I can live with the price.

Regarding the plot, nothing has been forgotten.

Regarding financing: Monthly income €3,200 net plus child benefit. Equity capital €50,000 - 60,000 plus an annual bonus which I want to use for special repayment. We are currently saving about €1,000 monthly besides our warm rent of about €700.

Is the €50,000 equity capital before or after the plot purchase?

We do not need a showpiece and have set a limit of around €320,000 plus or minus €20,000.

Is the €320,000 only for the building or including the plot?

.....

So how high is your total requirement? Subtract equity from that, which gives the financing requirement needed. This does not appear from your text.

Hello gool,

So we are also currently building. But I think your price assumptions are not correct. 340000€ - 125000€ land - 35000€ ancillary construction costs - 40000€ basement = 140000€ for the house roughly estimated 60000€ too little but construction experts can surely give you more precise information. You also haven’t said anything about the planned size yet.

If there is no development plan, the building style of the neighbors usually applies. Then you have to "fit in." But you can ask the office about that. It's not problematic.

Ah ok we already know that. 2 stories are allowed.

1A is probably the most likely.

Very nice, one less worry.

A soil survey at the spot where the house will be built always makes sense. Especially when building with a basement. And your structural engineer has something reliable and doesn’t have to make assumptions.

Then we will have that done when the time comes.

Regarding the plot, don’t forget anything.

And again one less worry. Thanks.

Is the 50,000€ equity before or after the land purchase?

Unfortunately before the land purchase. The remaining funds went into other projects.

Is the 320,000€ just for the construction or including the plot.

.....

So what is your total requirement. Subtract equity from that, that results in the required financing need. That is not clear from your text.

The 320,000€ is the total budget for house and plot. Although we haven’t obtained any prices yet for the house. Therefore I am already including 20,000€ as a reserve.

Our calculation looks as follows:
Land: 124,500 €
Notary, tax, broker: 12,500 €
House: 120,000 - 150,000€
Basement: 30,000€
Outdoor facilities: 15,000€ (10% of construction costs)
Additional construction costs: 31,000€ (18% of construction costs)

So lower limit 333,000€, upper limit 363,000€
But I like the 320,000€ much better.
I haven’t included a garage yet, I need to check on that first.

From that, the 50,000€ equity is then deducted. So at least 270,000€ must be financed.

Did I forget anything?

Thanks and regards

Hello gool,

So we are also currently building. But I think your price assumptions are not correct. 340,000€ - 125,000€ land - 35,000€ ancillary building costs - 40,000€ basement = 140,000€ roughly estimated for the house, about 60,000€ too little but building experts can certainly give you a more precise answer. You also haven't mentioned the planned size yet.

I also don't want to build a house for 200,000€. 120-130 m² of living space is enough for us. From me also a prefabricated house. But as I said, we haven't yet obtained or compared prices. It must be possible to get a house for 120 - 150K, right? Maybe I'm wrong.

Regards

You are mistaken here.

A prefabricated house is not cheaper than a solid one.

The calculation here is based on €1,500 per sqm of living space. KfW70 house, gable roof, "stone on stone".