Commitment to the property and what comes next

We once had two appointments at a model home park (Wuppertal). The whole day was pure time wasting for us. In our experience, the MH park is exclusively about quick deals. You won’t get truly detailed and well-founded advice there. However, you can orient yourself well in the MH park... What do you like, what don’t you. Collect ideas and maybe deepen them later at home via the internet. Pick floor plans you like and try your hand at customizing them yourself...

When model homes are no longer up to date, they usually aren’t demolished but rented out. Providers without their own model homes gladly make use of this – so you must not assume that the quality seen there is a testament to what you’ll get from the company selling there. Furthermore, most providers work with commission agents: on the one hand, their professional knowledge is above that of a complete layman, but below that of a prospect who has already been through several "consultation" talks; on the other hand, they are not authorized to make binding statements (and anyway, any word not signed is in doubt a lie). Putting pressure on to close the deal is pretty much the only thing these guys are good at. Definitely learn how to read the framework conditions of the development plan first (and get financing discussions out of the way) before you get charged up by dream house pictures in exhibitions or internet photo collections!

In any case, it’s better just to stroll through the park to gather ideas and then make appointments for concrete consultation talks afterwards. Then the urge to close a deal doesn’t seem quite as strong.

Uh, yes, I completely forgot that above: if you’re not very close to the model home, the salesperson "on duty" there is rarely the one responsible for your place of residence and therefore has to forge the iron when it’s hot in acute contact – that too "explains" a bit of the consultation "quality."

a rough orientation (maybe it helps) from our building experience:

- first (not yet completely serious) thoughts about building a house were in January 2019
- visited model house park in Poing for ideas and contacted developers for information material. (at that time we knew: timber frame and probably "Swedish house") and inquired at banks about the amount and whether it was even possible
- signed the building contract and pushed financing in March 2019
- received building permit in August 2019 (financing was finished end of July - the building society was difficult, but with the bank itself it went great)
- foundation slab in December 2019 (unfortunately there were delays)
- house construction started in January 2020
- move-in in June 2020 (it could have been earlier, but we didn’t quite keep up with the work we wanted to do ourselves)

So you can definitely get something up and running quickly, but my partner and I agreed on EVERYTHING and no one had to make compromises at the expense of the other.

... I am new here. ... We have a first appointment on Friday at the prefabricated house world in Erlangen. ...

It may sound trivial and it is not really an answer to your question. But it is an important concern for me: Please do not sign anything on Friday, not even any kind of preliminary contract with uniquely favorable conditions just for you with an alleged right of withdrawal. If the house sellers know that you already have a plot of land, they will, to put it exaggeratedly, move heaven and earth to get a signature from you. In house sales, things often do not go entirely fair and transparent. You might also be offered "gifts" if you sign immediately or soon. Please be cautious and rather ask here in the forum once more too many times than once too few.

Hello everyone,

sorry that I’m only getting back to you now. Yesterday, I looked at various websites with budget calculators and financing offers.

The plot was developed commission-free at 40 euros per sqm, including all "fees" that would be around 25,500 euros. We could, if necessary, pay that from equity, which would then be used up by two-thirds.

We set a budget between 220,000 and 260,000. According to Dr. Klein, about 234,000 would probably be possible for our circumstances. Although with the hillside location, it might be tight. As for the style and size, we roughly assumed the Living Haus Sunshine 165 or the Fingerhaus Neo 100. We simply like this Living Haus.

I’m curious to hear what we’ll be told tomorrow.

Regards

The plot was developed commission-free at 40/Euro per sqm including all "fees," that would be around 25,500,- Euro.

So about 600 m² plot? Fully developed? Ready to go for 40 EUR/m²? In which region do you want to build?

We have set a budget between 220,000 and 260,000. According to Dr. Klein, about 234,000 would probably be possible for our circumstances.

234 TEUR total cost budget or just for the house?

Let's assume total cost budget:

234 TEUR minus 25.5 TEUR for the plot minus 60 TEUR additional construction costs (slope location) = 148.5 TEUR for a single-family house with a basement (due to slope location).

Sorry, that won't work.

Do you have a building obligation?