Estimate of construction costs for a single-family house in the Tübingen area

The splash guard around the house can also be made by any reasonably strong person themselves.
Garden landscaping as well.

We understood that although we wish for a lot, we simply cannot afford it with the current interest rates and construction costs.

So, this now reads as if you think you are one of those who cannot afford a house.
That is not the case. You are one of many who can afford a house, but just not, so to speak, golden taps. Nothing “has to” be done, it should “be possible.”
Let’s see if quotation marks are still allowed here or if they will be removed as well.

I also have trouble with some fluctuating amounts and numbers that change from post to post.
However, the mentioned €80,000 can very well be sufficient. I don’t see ancillary construction costs as being that high either, and later on you see what remains. That should be enough for a terrace and parking space. You don’t need a construction fence, and instead of a fence, a flowering shrub plant will replace many other plants. A garden shed can also be had for €3,000, driveway gravel. And if more remains, you have more.
I would estimate €450,000 for a nice house and not look in the expensive range. Then show the construction specification here or the expert who supports you.
And we can also help with floor plans by modifying a standard house.

Excavation will presumably be included in the house price, as long as the basement remains omitted and there are no surprises in the soil report.

It is almost always specified with 20 or 30 cm, which is not sufficient for a frost-free foundation.

I'm confused. So what is correct now?
You are buying the plot from the city, right? That means for me, all utilities are connected. Development only goes up to the house. Also, it is flat and at first glance unproblematic. Is that correct?
If yes, you can spend 80K on the outdoor facilities, but that would be quite exaggerated, I think. Most builders first only build one parking space. For lawn mowers and such, a small shed that you build yourself is enough.
I would plan for connections, terrace, house entrance, eaves strip, and paths. The latter can, if necessary, first just be gravel paths. Excavation will presumably be included in the house price, as long as the basement is omitted and there are no surprises in the soil report.
For this plot size, 40 to 50k should be enough, provided they don’t go completely crazy in Tübingen.

That leaves 460k for the house, which corresponds to about 150 sqm. Some dreams might have to be removed from the wishlist, but that is a very nice house size. You can also live great in 130 sqm if the buffer is supposed to be a bit bigger.

I hope not. Now it’s really starting. Or am I wrong and we will soon see each other at the financing or floor plan discussion?

Alright, gladly, I just didn’t want to bother you anymore with the confusion and will specify the numbers down to every single item in my work list:

Maximum possible total volume €680,000



+ Plot €191,000
= €310,000 (without buffer, my hope is that the numbers are well chosen and no item was forgotten. The basis was guidelines / estimates / googling, no concrete offers). We will move all furniture as it is in very good condition and can continue to be used through good planning.

680,000 - 310,000 = 370,000 (house + garage or carport)

If I calculate with a garage of €15,000 there remain 355,000 / 3000 = 118.333 sqm living area
With a carport of €8,000 there remain 362,000 / 3000 = 120.667 sqm living area

Adjustment levers €/sqm prices, we want good building fabric that can also be used by the next generation ... as said, the premise is massive construction.

Fire away

Alright, gladly, I just didn’t want to bother you anymore with the confusion and will specify the numbers down to every single item in my work list:

Maximum possible total volume 680,000

We had to adjust our total volume in recent days, which is why less remains for the house now, hence the confusion.

Apart from the fact that some items do not exist or will not exist when building with a general contractor, and also partly the amounts are somehow not comprehensible. Apart from the fact that the order of the positions is also chosen incorrectly (garden later, ancillary building costs at the beginning, because it has to be)

= 310,000 €

But I definitely don't come to 310,000€ by rough calculation. 102,000 plus 18,000 are 12,0000 There remain 65,0000 (680,000 minus 30,000 buffer) minus 120,000 530,000€

Apart from the fact that some items do not exist or will not exist when building with a general contractor, but also partly the amounts are somehow not comprehensible.
Apart from the fact that the order of the positions is also chosen incorrectly (garden later, ancillary construction costs at the beginning, because it has to be)

But I definitely do not come to €310,000 when roughly calculating.
102,000 plus 18,000 are 120,000
Remaining from 650,000 (680,000 minus 30,000 buffer) minus 120,000
€530,000

€310,000 including land – as I said, I am not an expert and simply searched through the internet and wrote down everything I picked up. €680,000 is the possible volume.

So, this now reads as if you think you are one of those who cannot afford a house.

Yes, I think so or I am calculating wrong, see last post

I think that there is still a lot of "radicalism" behind this at the moment. Of course, there are points where you have to come to a no, but a house project is too significant in life to decide too quickly in one direction or the other. It is already very helpful that you openly share your thoughts here because that's what the forum is for, and now you also present your numbers. This way, you gain even more clarity from the collective knowledge, which can only be positive for the decision-making process. In fact, I would intentionally distance myself from what people around me show me and convey as (the only possible) reality. Of course, you (perhaps) will end up with a house just like your acquaintances, but the path there, the decisive parameters on the way, and also the result can differ from theirs, and you will have reached the goal in your own way. Situations usually cannot be compared with each other because different financial conditions exist, different levels of willingness (ability to endure), different expectations of later family life, etc., even though everything looks almost the same when standing in front of the individual houses.

Alright, gladly, I just didn't want to bother you any further with the confusion and specify the numbers down to every single item in my working list:

Why should you bother anyone with that? On the contrary, it shows that you have already sensibly taken the topic seriously and conscientiously; the fact that not everything fits, some things are forgotten, or there is too much is no problem. I have had several projects in life and could not do it as well off the cuff as this one. Regarding some points, I would say that you probably got them from a brochure or the internet, but many of these things can certainly also be done sufficiently differently or considerably cheaper; for some, it is also enough to do them later, even if you stand out here from the exemplary neighbor downwards.
Cistern: Do you need this? If yes, the question is what it is supposed to do, because there are also cheaper options here.
Internet: Cost us €700 for Telekom, for which there was a simultaneous credit of about €700.
Outdoor area: Why do you need a fence, an expensive access path? I have a lot of space here and had some really nice gravel laid for €500, spread over one day, and that’s it. You can make a fence yourself gradually if it really has to be one; otherwise, cheap plants work as well. Do you need this "chain-link/grid fence"? Have you ever seen a stake fence? That costs almost "nothing," and you only have to set a post occasionally. You can do that alone, and if something is slightly crooked, you just straighten it again.
At the first house, my then-wife and I built a terrace ourselves without any prior knowledge; you can have it shown to you or find it online. When digging, ask the excavator driver if he has already prepared something, then you can fill the foundations yourself later, put wooden beams on top, screw on rough boards from the timber trade, and the special terrace is ready for little money. It’s similar at the entrance: the access path with gravel and maybe a few larger slabs simply laid in and a small concrete platform in front of the house again poured on your own — that is no rocket science and practically possible without machines, or you can build a wooden platform in the same way, which can even be supported with railway sleepers or pallets. I wouldn’t let a house project fail on something like that if it were really important to me. You have to find out what you yourselves can handle best and also what is easiest and cheapest to obtain with you, and then it will be that way. That’s what is called sustainable nowadays!
We once had sandstone rocks in abundance, cheap or even free, collected from the farmer in the field. From this, we then made borders and smaller walls and not from the catalog of the hardware store.
Kitchen: Why should my house project fail because of kitchen costs? In our first house, we bought a used kitchen; today, such things are much easier with classifieds. With imagination (and not money), you buy parts as modules or something nice and then design/add other things. In the end, you have an individual, functioning kitchen, and if you ever have the money, you buy that thing that people think you have to have.
Moving: I have moved very often, but at your age, it shouldn’t cost €2,000. Rent a van for one day and find 6-8 people, prepare everything, and the move is done in the evening for €300.
As I said, maybe in the end it really doesn’t make sense for you, but before I would end up there, I would consider how to maybe fight my way there without going under immediately and remove myself a big piece from the rather boring, widespread, and expensive standard that has partly become established there.