Can we afford to build a house?

Hello construction expert,

thank you very much for your answer!

In the meantime, I am already one step further. At the moment, I am calculating with a house of 120-130 sqm (completely sufficient) & a granny flat of about 50 sqm. I am currently estimating a total price of 450,000€.

I want to have the nice gentleman create a "Bauleistungsbeschreibung" for me (turnkey) with the exact cost breakdown, then I will remove what we can do ourselves, run to the hardware store for 2-3 days and write down everything we need (bathtub, showers, tiles, laminate, seals, finishing strips, electrical, sockets, switches, lamps..........). After that, I will recalculate the costs for the house. Would that be a sensible way? That would be the next step with the assumption that we get the green light from the financial advisor...

can you install everything yourself? Because many craftsmen refuse to use hardware store materials or double the labor cost. At least that has been our experience so far. Maybe it's also because the good craftsmen have their order books full until next year. Also, you have to be careful that if you remove certain trades from the contract, the developer often withdraws from the warranty and you lose the guarantee. For example, if we want to remove sinks, we have to do the whole bathroom ourselves, otherwise you lose the warranty in case of water damage.

You also have to be lucky to get the exact cost breakdown, with 3 out of 3 providers we did not get it, only piece by piece upon specific request. Construction service description yes, prices no.

I know it’s all negative again, but ignore it if you think it doesn’t apply. I can only report based on my experiences.

can you install everything yourself? Because many craftsmen refuse to use DIY store materials or double the labor cost. At least that has been our experience so far. Maybe that’s also because

Good morning,

no, well, I want to do everything ourselves that we can manage. We have people in our circle of friends who are experienced in all aspects of house construction, so I get good support there. My father owns a house with 5 apartments and he has always done everything himself, he will also stand by me until the end of the construction project. The warranty thing is tricky, I have thought about that too. But for example, water damage – wouldn’t household insurance or something similar cover that? I still need to look into that more thoroughly; I really only want to do what is realistically possible myself. Of course, I will coordinate with my acquaintances beforehand about what is possible and what it’s better to leave alone.

According to the statement of the friendly gentleman, there would be an exact cost breakdown, and then you could cross out what you want to do yourself. They don’t have the famous “expansion stages,” you can customize that individually. That only makes sense if you know exactly what you save. So far, I haven’t been able to find anything bad about the company on the vast www. He also said they have never been involved in a lawsuit in the last 40 years. I always find that quite reassuring (even if it's no guarantee for a smooth process), but I will still have the construction service description checked by a professional BEFORE I sign anything. There are things in there that I can’t know as a layman, starting with some kind of vapor barriers and heating...

No, come on, please don’t misunderstand me. These are exactly the kinds of help/information that made me sign up for this forum. As I said, I just don’t like it when someone talks everything down or says something is “impossible” just because it’s not easy. But now you have only stated facts – and for that many thanks & best regards!!!

Hello Dast,

I’ve completely stayed out of financial matters here as well by now. It’s too silly for me, everyone has to decide that for themselves.
About doing the electrical work yourself? I hardly believe you can save anything there. It’s not just about the switches and sockets after all. You also need Wago connectors. Go buy them at the hardware store. All the savings are gone! You have to buy them somewhere else!
And 120m² for 2 kids without a basement?! It’ll get very tight. Please don’t compare that to a 70m² rental apartment where you don’t have a stairwell and technical room. Probably even a basement and possibly a laundry basement!

I won’t say anything about the [Einliegerwohnung] either ;)

Hello,

In the meantime, I am already one step further. So at the moment I am calculating with a house of 120-130 sqm (completely sufficient) & a granny flat around 50 sqm. Currently, I am calculating with a total price of €450,000.

How much is the land portion of this budget?

I want to have the "construction service specification" (turnkey) created by the nice gentleman with the exact cost breakdown... So according to the statement of the nice gentleman, there would be an exact cost breakdown and you could then remove what you want to do yourself. The famous "expansion stages" do not exist with them, that can be individually adjusted. That only makes sense if you know exactly what you save.

Yes, through my "side job" – I also prepare valuations – I have already become familiar with such service specifications. The price details that I regularly find there will probably not make you happy; I often ask myself – aside from the fact that for several items there could be a central procurement – how these price details come about. Realistic for the most part, they are not. Which translates to, there is an internal shifting within the cost estimate, because the margin has to be accommodated somewhere.

then remove what we can do ourselves, run to the hardware store for 2-3 days and write down everything we need (bathtub, showers, tiles, laminate, seals, finishing strips, electrical, sockets, switches, lamps..........). Then I recalculate the costs for the house.

You write in another answer that you have family help. I can hardly imagine – at least not if what you want to build is to last long-term – that hardware store goods are the right choice here. Go for fun once to a hardware store, look for example for a Grohe® fitting and weigh it, then go to a specialized building store and weigh the seemingly same fitting – you would certainly be surprised. The obvious aspect – and thus the cheapest – should not be decisive, but the quality!

is that a sensible way? That would be the next step provided we get the green light from the financial advisor...

I always assume financing security!

Whether this path is sensible for you, only you can answer. Apart from that, I hardly believe that the "nice" gentleman will allow you to intervene at every point of the calculation/trades; I, for example, would only do it under the condition that you remove the entire trade and here it would still decisively depend on which trade it is. I have been in this job too long not to know what kind of "rattail" can probably follow well-meant/organized own work. I have also taken too long to find really good and reliable craftsmen to expose them to fuss over warranty issues.

Furthermore, you should consider that you also have to have the corresponding time to carry out the own work; not infrequently relatives/friends do not keep their initially boastfully declared promises to perform this or that at the construction – they also have obligations, so it is not always bad intention. In addition, for example, in the electrical and sanitary trades a master is needed who has to approve the work; many find it difficult to accept work whose creation they have not accompanied. No wonder, in the worst case they take the blame.

Kind regards

@perlenmann:
At least laying the cables & connecting them at the fuse box in a wooden house while the walls are still open shouldn’t be rocket science, right?!
I can already say about myself that I’m pretty good technically (at least because of my job)... Or am I underestimating something? And about the Waco clamps – they cost 13 cents on Amazon with free shipping?! Of course, in total that does add up, but I think it should be manageable?!

@ Bauexperte:
Generally (no matter what) I never buy cheap "junk". I live by the motto, whoever buys cheap, buys twice...
But to sum up, I understand your statement as saying that one should rather forego personal contribution and buy turnkey?! Or did I misunderstand that? Or would that statement be too general? From your experience, have you ever created a list where you could say "it makes sense / no sense" to contribute yourself?!

Oh yes – the dear plot of land: First, the nice gentleman should give me a binding turnkey offer and if that were then checked by a professional I could set the budget for the plot considering the incidental costs. That will also decide the direction where I ultimately want to build. Or is there a better way?

Thanks in advance!