Can I afford to build a house?

Hello, I just came across the forum. My wife and I have wanted our own little house (small but nice) for a long time. Our situation is as follows: We own a 100sqm apartment built in 1972, completely renovated in 2008 and paid off. Since all the equity was used for the renovation, the current equity is about €20,000. At the moment, I am the sole earner because we have a 10-month-old daughter. (If we were to have another child, we simply lack a room!!) A building plot in our community costs about €95/sqm. So a building plot of about 500 - 600 sqm would come into question. I would estimate the house construction alone at about €210,000 - 230,000. So in total about €280,000!! Now my question is, given the above conditions, is building a house feasible? Or would it be better to leave everything as it is? Professionally, I am an employee (nurse), so not an above-average income. Thank you

Rothdach Anton - Hoch- u. Tiefbau GmbH & Co. KG - News

The house "JUNGE FAMILIE" would be roughly according to our idea!!

(Image contains special requests)

turnkey from €164,900.00
120 m² living space as a brick house
with basement Efficiency House 70
without painting, flooring, earthworks, and basement exterior insulation
construction start by arrangement

Statements like these make my blood boil. It’s already a crime that something like this is even allowed. They put up a picture with the note that it contains special requests. Then the "from xxxx€" price. That is outrageously low for a KfW 70 house. Then it says turnkey, but in the description again ... without painting, flooring... What’s still missing? Bathrooms, windows? Only one socket per room? .... I would be very cautious about their construction service description and have the contracts checked carefully.

I don’t know the company, but a positive first impression is something else.

Regarding your numbers. Let’s assume you buy a 500 sqm plot for €50,000. If a realtor is to earn a commission, the notary to get their chunk, and you have paid 5% property transfer tax, you end up at €60,000. Let’s assume you get the house just as you imagine it for just under €190,000. Less is hardly realistic. Then there will definitely be €20,000 incidental construction costs, if things go a bit wrong maybe even €40,000. Do you need/have to build a garage? +€10,000 Pave the driveway, build a terrace +€10,000 Kitchen? +€10,000 New furniture? Mailbox, wood stove? Lawn turf? And so on—the list can be infinitely extended.

But I think you will definitely need to finance a minimum of €300,000. I would keep the €20,000 equity in reserve to cover possible additional costs. After construction, you can certainly put it toward the first special repayment.

I don’t know if you can shoulder this with your profession. Do you want to sell the apartment then, or what is it worth?

Thank you for the response,
so the apartment is worth between €100,000 and €120,000, admittedly on the first floor, but with a balcony, garden share, 3 garages, attic and cellar usage.
Would then rent it out and use the amount for the monthly repayment.

Hello,

Yes, these are honest words,
you must not focus exactly on this manufacturer now.
We would simply like the type of house. We do not have any further concrete offers from other manufacturers yet.
But of course, everything stated in the last paragraph is true. Outdoor facilities and garage, etc., are of course missing at this price.

Put differently, it must be possible to build this "TYPE of house" with a basement and land for under 300,000€??
Or is it then a "better shoebox"??

I will give you our costs for a prefabricated house in timber frame construction.

Living area 140 sqm base price without floors and wallpapers 190,000
Mechanical ventilation, small bay window, floor plan changes, wood stove + 35,000
Budget for floors and textured wallpaper + 10,000
Additional construction costs + 43,000
Kitchen + 12,000
Garage 3x9m + 12,000

You can see that without a basement and without outdoor facilities, the 300,000 is already reached.
A house with only 110 sqm would be about 20,000 less.