Hello Karla,
Due to my job-related paranoia, I am unsure whether I can manage a new build with these conditions. Although my house bank would like to finance €250,000 for us, I am not sure whether this offer isn’t exaggerated due to commissions and my profession. Therefore, I would like to spend less and have settled on a total sum of around €200,000. We have already given up on our wishes because the quality of our home is more important to us than fashionable frills.
Due to my job-related paranoia :D I want to strongly recommend that you use
independent financial advice alongside your house bank. It will cost you about 2–3 hours of your time but in my experience is more effective and targeted than any bank meeting. Since you have indicated NRW in your profile, I can gladly provide you with a competent contact person – and no, I do not receive any commission :)
We want a house without frills (meaning: no bay windows, no unusual eaves, initially no carport/garage, also a cellar will not be possible within our budget), I am thinking of about 120–130 sqm, pitched roof (possibly without eaves to have a bit of modernity) on a rather small plot from 350 sqm. It would be nice to keep ancillary costs low through energy-efficient building since I could then put more into the repayment and possibly increase our budget.
For better understanding, I will use an example from my job: a small house, around 126 sqm with a pitched roof (PR) 45°, will cost you about €153,000 on a slab without painter & carpet flooring. Since you must build without a basement (BS) at your target budget, a steeper roof pitch (RP) is advisable because you then have enough storage space in the attic – Christmas ornaments and so on have to be stored somewhere :). You still have to add about €4,500 for decentralized ventilation (this is the cheapest option) to the stated price, then you are – combined with a gas condensing boiler - at KfW 70. This value can also be reached/increased by heat pump technology but that would go beyond this thread and your budget would be stretched even more than it will be anyway.
Assuming the above KfW 70 values, the following calculation results: house costs KfW 70 €157,500 + ancillary building costs €30,000 – then, with your targeted budget, the plot could still cost €12,500. There are indeed some places in NRW where there are still cheap plots (plot), but whether they will actually be that inexpensive, I doubt. With own labor (OL) you can of course reduce the house price – but you should not forget that you/your husband are probably absolute amateurs and have to manage this house project in your free time. If you calculate the “painter & carpet” part alone, for the painting work of the above example, the floor area times 3.5 already adds up, so – with assumed 68 sqm per floor – 238 sqm wall surface to paint or wallpaper + another approx. 105 sqm floor area (minus hallway and bathroom). Now you can calculate for yourself how much time every additional OL would cost you – apart from the fact that the saving through OL does not actually correspond to the credit stated on paper; you have to buy the materials one way or another.
How expensive can a good house be with our budget?
Realistically and excluding painter & carpet of the above value + reserve for the odd extra + ancillary costs + land costs.
In financing matters others will be able to give you good answers here.
Kind regards