Evaluation offer townhouse approx. 167m²

I have informed myself as much as possible about Team Massivhaus and formed an opinion.
The very low prices are in my opinion due to the following reasons:

1. The basic equipment of the houses is rather very simple:
e.g. standard tiles max. 30x30 and max 25€ per m2; with other providers, e.g. 30x60 and 40€ are standard.
This leads to later high additional costs during the sample selection if you do not stick to the standard and can quickly amount to 8-10K.
Another example: roof tiles. With TMH only concrete roof tiles, others offer engobed clay tiles as standard, which cost over 5000€ extra at TMH.
Conclusion: Either stick to the (not so great) standard or have a larger budget ready for the upgrades.

2. As I have read more often, you have to take care of many things yourself that are at least partially handled by other companies. For example, support with site setup and communication with suppliers and disposal companies.

3. Earthworks / additional costs for foundation:
Here it presumably works as partly described, that normally costs only become binding when the excavation contractor arrives on site.
Beforehand, rather estimated numbers are used. The procedure also seems to be that you have to take care of the excavation contractors' offers yourself. You get the partner companies named, contact them and receive offers for the (additional) costs. So again you have to take care of it yourself (see point 2).

4. Change orders:
Change orders (which probably almost always occur) are apparently very expensive... well, once I have signed, they have me by the balls... what else can I do then? Above all, it states in some places in the construction service description from the start that you coordinate certain things with the executing companies on site, which of course can quickly get expensive if company XY does not treat customers fairly.

I think I have identified the most important cost drivers. Please feel free to add if I have forgotten something!

My conclusion for TMH: They are (still) not out for us, but it is possibly much more important here than with other companies to agree on prices as firmly as possible and to avoid change orders at all costs. If you can live with the standard in some areas or commission certain trades yourself, you can certainly save something. In addition, you have to be aware that you will have to take care of organizational matters more than with other companies.

I think I have identified the most important cost drivers.

That was already clear to us, it was also told to you (I’m missing a post, was it deleted?) or you were told that you need to know the construction performance description, what is stated there, in order to define the usually required upgrades. But you didn’t get that across, did you? However, many homebuilding companies have the items you mentioned, yet they are correspondingly more expensive, and so I stick to the advice to read construction diaries, where numerous homeowners comment that the material still mentioned is no longer available after construction begins. You simply can’t build without upgrades. For me, the company borders on incredibility there. I will keep that in mind for other homebuilder questions and no longer consider them reliable.

For example, standard tiles max. 30x30 and max 25€ per m2, while other providers for example set 30x60 and 40€ in the standard.

I accept floor tiles capped at 25 euros per sqm as a limitation. The 30x30 format, however, is practical and appropriate for a non-explicitly premium provider. Many prospective builders with Pinterest fancies simply do not consider what larger formats demand: having the screed installed by watchmakers costs money. And the average construction worker has never seen a hundredth of a millimeter. Therefore, I advise to make sample selections only on the quality level and leave the dimension level untouched. Otherwise, you quickly move from adding up to exponentiating.

This leads to later high additional costs during the selection process if you don't stick to the standard and can quickly amount to 8-10K.

Earning money from special requests and consciously defining a “standard” as “technically unproblematic, but almost certainly causing fashion-conscious customers to request special options” is something you will encounter with more or less ALL providers – the only “scandal” in this is that premium providers do not really make an exception. I find or would find this acceptable as a peculiarity of economy providers. The affordability has to come from somewhere; none of the house providers is a non-profit organization.

Only concrete roof tiles, others offer engobed clay tiles in the standard,

“Engobed” sounds fancy but simply means that these tiles are only superficially colored. Concrete roof tiles are not qualitatively worse. And honestly: how often do you climb onto your roof just to revel in having spent a little more money here?

3. Earthworks / Additional foundation costs:

I know this paragraph from your post word-for-word from several threads concerning Heinz von Heiden (but also others).

Change orders (which probably almost always come) are apparently very expensive

With thorough planning, change orders simply do not occur at all. Like botched jobs, they are a stigma of sloppy workmanship. You yourself have given an example for change orders: namely the nonchalantly too rough estimation of foundation efforts.

You are actually textbook the most typical client for independent advice, so I really don’t understand why you don’t invest wisely in such. I have expressly emphasized several times that there are several independent building consultants — in case you don’t want advice from me alone. Or is it some kind of “men’s thing” not to accept help?

However, many house building companies that are still accordingly more expensive have these items you mentioned, and thus I stick to the advice to read construction diaries where many home builders comment that the materials still mentioned are no longer available after construction starts. You simply can’t build without an upgrade there.
In my case, the company borders on incredibility. I will remember this for other home builder questions and will no longer consider them good.

That means were there concrete products mentioned that their manufacturers discontinued without replacement, and the house provider allegedly found no alternative options of comparable quality?

That means, were there concrete products mentioned that were completely removed from the range by their manufacturers, and the in-house provider allegedly found no alternatives of comparable quality?

Definitely, it was the clinker bricks. Instead of the 5,6 or 7000 all at once … wait, I'll quote myself

…when I google my own experiences, I come across construction diaries where price explosions are talked about more than once, because somehow everything is no longer available and replacements are very expensive. Especially the clinker bricks then cost a surcharge of 10-15000€ instead of 6000€, etc.
If you then consider that they have a long construction start, i.e. a long waiting time, you have to assume that no price remains stable or that the desired product is no longer produced.
I would say: this explains why Team Massivhaus offers cheaper (there can be no talk of skill then)

I had that once before
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/team-massivhaus-preisgefuege-fuer-bestimmte-zusatzleistung.45459/page-2

That was clear to us, you were also told (I miss a post, was it deleted?) or you were told that you need to know the construction performance description, what it says, in order to define the usually required upgrades. But you did not come across that, did you?

No, I did not, because I am not sure if I am allowed to publish that.

However, many house building companies have the items you mentioned, which are nevertheless correspondingly more expensive, and so I stick to the advice to read construction diaries, where many builders comment that the material still mentioned no longer exists after construction begins. You simply cannot build without upgrades.

Yes, I have read the construction diaries I found. There was also the case described that you presumably refer to. It is true that they certainly cannot guarantee that all items are still available. But at least it should be possible to deliver "something" in the standard. But as already mentioned, it may well be that you have to spend more money on something more appealing.

"Engobiert" sounds noble, but it means nothing more than that these bricks are only superficially colored. In terms of quality, concrete roof tiles are not worse. And honestly: how often does someone climb onto their roof just to indulge in having spent a bit more money here?

In my observation, real bricks do not develop growth as quickly.
It's not about the engobing.

Additional charges simply do not occur with thorough planning at all. They are, like botched jobs, a stigma of sloppy work. You yourself have already indicated an example of additional charges: namely the nonchalantly too rough estimation of foundation efforts.

There are certainly more frequent cases where builders develop new wishes after signing because they saw something elsewhere or for other reasons... these additional charges have nothing to do with sloppiness but simply arise later.

You are actually such a textbook example of the typical customer for independent advice that I really do not understand why you do not wisely invest in such advice. I have expressly emphasized several times that there are several independent building consultants – in case you just don’t want advice from me. Or is it one of those male things, not wanting to accept help?

I do not want to fundamentally exclude that we can talk about this.