Cost savings for demolition and new construction?

Our search is still ongoing... Currently, we have found a great plot of land (660 sqm, great location in Hamburg) built with a semi-detached house in need of complete renovation (from 1900, 100 sqm living space). The semi-detached house is in such poor condition that the plot is simply being offered as a plot with new building possibility without the house. Now we are wondering if it is worth it? Our key data:

Total budget: maximum €900,000
Cost of the plot: €275,000 including incidental purchase costs

That leaves €625,000 for demolition and new construction.
We would like to build 190 sqm of living space on 2 floors. According to the development plan, floor area ratio, etc., this is possible.
With the assumed construction costs of €3,000 per sqm, we already come to €570,000.
So €570,000 construction costs plus €275,000 for the plot makes €845,000.
But what about demolition and new building incidental costs and connection fees? Are the costs for these comparable to a new build? Or is it overall cheaper because the connections are already there?
We are unsure whether the remaining €55,000 is enough to cover demolition and incidental building costs. Maybe someone has experience with demolition and new construction and would like to share these experiences with us here?

We would like to build with a basement but fear that the budget is not sufficient for that. How many extra euros should we estimate for a basement in your opinion? The existing basement is about 30 sqm and to my knowledge does not have a slab. We would like to have a part of the house (about 60 sqm) underpinned with a basement.

Best regards from Hamburg!

The semi-detached house is in such bad condition that the plot is simply being offered as a plot with new construction possibility without a house. Now we are wondering if it’s worth it?

No, to be worth it, an uncleared plot must even be cheaper by the amount of demolition and disposal costs than "shell condition". Dilapidated houses usually also come with scruffy overgrowth of the "garden," which should not be underestimated either.

We would like to build with a basement but fear that the budget may not be sufficient for it. How many extra euros would you estimate we need for a basement? The existing basement is about 30 sqm and, to my knowledge, has no floor slab. We would like to have a part of the house (about 60 sqm) basemented.

Darling, we actually have the famous #goalkeeperthread here where you can read everything about what a co-basementer must consider, how to found deeper than your neighbor, and how sensitively to secure the neighbor’s half: – see also here: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/berliener-vorbau-zur-sicherung-der-baugrube.46103/

We did the demolition and new construction 2.5 years ago. The demolition cost us 20,000 euros, but we gutted it ourselves. Everything still usable was given away, everything unusable was taken to the landfill by ourselves. Only the masonry, the partial basement, and the floor slab were demolished. And the partial basement was refilled. I could have had it cheaper but wanted it done by our general contractor to avoid problems later in case it wasn’t properly filled and compacted, and one party blames the other.
The connection costs were cheaper than for the new construction because it was all just relocations, with temporary shutdowns in between.
We didn’t change the telephone and sewage at all, we could reconnect them right away (the telephone line is in the garage, which remained standing).

Our search is still ongoing... Currently, we have found a great plot (660sqm, excellent location in Hamburg) developed with a semi-detached house in need of a complete renovation (from 1900, 100sqm living space). The semi-detached house is in such bad condition that the plot is simply being offered as a plot with the possibility of new construction without the house. Now we are wondering if it is worth it? Our key data:

Total budget: maximum €900,000
So €570,000 construction costs plus €275,000 for the plot makes €845,000.

The calculation is formally correct. However, there are definitely still quite a few additional costs. This should not be underestimated. We are currently building as well. When building new, you generally calculate 10-15% of the house price for the so-called ancillary construction costs. What could these be:

[*
Construction electricity/construction water
[*]House connections (telecom, electricity, water)
[*]Crane parking space
[*]Municipal fees



The construction company will sell you that "everything" is already included in the standard (bathroom, electrical, etc.). These standards usually do not correspond to what one considers modern in 2024. So plan money for such things. I’ll list a few here:


[*]Sample costs for:
[LIST]
[*]Bathroom & sanitation (here I would plan €10,000 more)
[*]Electrical (+€5,000)
[*]Possibly stairs and stair treads
[*]Tiles and wooden floors
[*]Doors and windows

When you move into the house, you will surely want to buy a new kitchen as well as a garage. That all costs money. Think about that in advance. I believe some loans have already been broken over that.

And expect to have to pay for protective measures for the other half. This ranges from documentation to monitoring to containment measures and restoration of the garden, etc.

And especially when building with a basement, one should not save on that. Not every deep foundation contractor can handle a possibly necessary underpinning, and with an old house next door, it must first be clarified how it all holds together in the first place.