First calculation - realistic?

Okay, I had the same thought. I have to apologize, I just did some rough calculations without much background knowledge. I also looked at a few prefab house prices and probably got a bit misled. I understand that the catalog prices do not reflect reality, especially since many things are not included (for example, the base slab). Of course, renting makes the whole thing much riskier, but that is optional anyway. And yes, a large part of the equity comes from the parents, practically as an advance inheritance to realize the whole thing. Would it perhaps be more sensible to refrain from building and look for existing properties?

Okay, I thought so too. I have to apologize, I just did some rough calculations without much background knowledge. I also looked at a few prefab house prices and was probably a bit misled. I understand that the catalog prices do not reflect reality, especially since much is not included (for example, the foundation slab). Of course, renting makes the whole thing much riskier, but that is optional anyway. And yes, a large part of the equity comes from the parents, basically as an advance inheritance to make the whole thing possible. Would it maybe be more sensible to refrain from building and look for existing properties?

You can probably only answer that yourself. It mainly depends on the prices. For new construction, calculate about €2,500 / sqm living space. And preferably about 15% additional construction costs. Then look at land prices in the area. If there are any at all. You can then compare this with existing properties.

Would it perhaps be more sensible to refrain from building and look for existing properties?

It always depends on the area and your own standards. But if your parents want to give you the money, that’s good. Then you can afford a solid financing for your dream of owning a home.

I would also look out for a multi-family house. Only if you really got a plot through your employer would that probably only be suitable for single-family or semi-detached houses - then a semi-detached house or a single-family house with a large granny flat would probably be possible here. But without a concrete plot, you can only dream.

Alternative: buy two adjacent [RH] in a development: one for you, one for the parents.

I have skimmed through the land prices in the Cologne/Bonn area. So with 300-400€/sqm you won't get far. It's more like 500-xxxx€/sqm

House
We are actually quite undemanding, garden, garage, and peace and quiet, that is what we want. Everything else can be made nice somehow.
We don’t need anything representative, no study, no great tiles, special wallpapers, or expensive furniture.
We are very skilled ourselves, and also have plenty of tradespeople in the family (tile setters, master electricians, painters & varnishers, landscape gardeners, etc.), our time is more of a factor here.

I have just gone through the whole planning and offers from house providers including the final offer and can only give you one piece of advice: if you are very disciplined, it might work, but in most cases it won’t.

1) Costs will arise that you did not consider at the beginning and which only come up later in the planning. If you build a bathroom in the basement, you may need an electric backflow valve (= approx. 3,000 euros additional cost). What floor class does the property have, are there special expenses here? And so on.

2) You will definitely reach a point where a bit of comfort is something nice when building for the long term. Do I really want to manually crank up and down all the shutters in the house every day for the next 30+ years, or wouldn’t electronic ones be easier? The list here is long as well.

Please don’t make the mistake of planning with minimal requirements; it won’t work in the end. Allow yourself a generous buffer for special requests and a generous buffer for selection.

Questions
Is the calculation even realistic?
It will probably come down to building a prefab house, how do you find reputable providers here?
We might be able to get a plot through the city (employees are preferred). Are there other sources besides some well-known portals?
Did I forget anything?
Did I forget questions I should ask myself?

Maybe someone would like to have a look and perhaps even have tips on how we should proceed best and put the whole thing on a safe footing.

Thank you very much!

I would also rather rule out the rental option. You have higher construction costs, long-term maintenance effort, and you don’t know if you can rent it continuously. You are practically dependent on the rent to be able to service the higher loan. From my point of view, this can quickly become dangerous. I would only do that if I can survive for a while without rental income and it actually only serves to improve my household budget.

Why prefab house suppliers? If a classic brick-on-brick (masonry) is also an option, have several local providers give you a price trend. We obtained offers from several prefab house and solid house providers. At first glance, the prefab house providers were cheaper because often many cost blocks were not yet considered or the standard was low. As it became more concrete, the providers moved closer together and the price advantage was almost eliminated. We are now building solid.

Regarding the plot, there was recently a thread about that here. Most plots from communities today are allocated by a point system. And the points are almost always number of children + how long you have lived or worked in the town + social engagement. A public employment would not help or bring advantages. Therefore, please check the allocation procedure and conditions carefully. Of course, it can be different in your town. Sources include the websites of the communities (building plots, new development areas, etc.), gap filling portals of communities or counties, in some federal states also municipal plots via third-party portals (e.g., BaWü), then the known real estate portals. But everyone looks there and the competition is high. If you are searching in a certain district, I would try through contacts, local farmers, village festivals or similar events. Usually, someone has a plot that he does not actively market but would sell it – or at least knows someone who would. If you have time, I would also drive through building areas that are already a few years old, look for gaps, and then ask the neighbors.

Here are a few quick tips I can give you:

[*]Read, read, and read. There are many threads here in the forum about construction costs and what they include.
[*]Always compare offers identically. If something is missing at one provider, specifically ask the other about it. In most cases, one has thought of it and the other not, and it comes up later.
[*]Buffer, buffer, and buffer. Never plan on a tight margin and really include sufficient buffer. Things will come up that nobody thought of before and will then cost several thousand euros.
[*]Before you buy the plot, read and understand the development plan carefully. It may be that your desired house is not feasible later. Question everything you don’t understand. And even if exceptions might be possible later, first live with what is stated there. Everything else is initially not possible.

One more remark on land prices:
Those from the community are usually lower than on the free market, but even here in Baden-Württemberg, the communities are already asking for 600€/m² and up. Also here, plan sufficient buffer or a maximum and realistic upper limit. On the free market, you can expect significantly higher prices, especially in metropolitan areas. Here in BaWü, 1000€/m² on the free market is no rarity – and I’m talking about places without direct train connections or similar.