House construction: Prefabricated house or solid house? Experiences Price range

Subdivision according to the owner, as he has divided his property and now wants to sell these 830 sqm. The connections are up to the street. I have a condominium, built in 2016. I still have to pay off a bit, but it's <50k... I would just rent it out to finance the house... I think that should be possible. There are two people who together have a net income of 4500 euros per month (not married) but as I said, we actually just wanted a rough estimate of whether something like this is even possible with our budget or not, then theoretically we could first buy the plot and wait. So the question is whether one can really name TOTAL COSTS here, where all costs are listed, so that one can then orient oneself to have an idea of what the price range would be.

Subdivision according to the owner, as he has divided his property and now wants to sell this 830 sqm. The connections are up to the street. I have a condominium, built in 2016. I still have to pay off a bit, but that's <50k .. I would then just rent it out and finance the house with that.. I think that should work. There are two people who together have a net income of 4500 euros per month (not married) but as I said, we actually just wanted a rough estimate of whether something like this is even possible with our budget or not, then theoretically you could first buy the land and wait. That's why the question is whether you can name real TOTAL COSTS here, where all costs are listed, so that one can orient oneself to have an idea of what the price range would be.

If we assume 600,000 € and then 3% interest, with a simple calculation you have 1,500 € interest alone per month. That means you would have to at least be able to afford a rate of 2,500 € over a long period. 4,500 € is unfortunately not much nowadays, especially if there is a desire to have children.

Now comes the house, we tend more towards a prefabricated house since an architect-designed house does require a lot of work, right?

Once again or back to the original question: Everyone needs an architect for the building application. The first distinction is between a catalog house, that is, an off-the-shelf house, which is called a type house, or a freely planned one. The former is often offered by a general contractor (GU). But also by regional small companies. In addition, by the large prefabricated house manufacturers. All except the regional ones appear when you google: Heinz von Heiden, Kampa, Viebrockhaus, Town & Country, Scanhaus Marlow, Danwood, Schwörer, Weberhaus, Okal Haus, etc. Most of those named are now prefabricated house manufacturers; Heinz von Heiden, Viebrockhaus, Town & Country, for example, are solid construction builders. In terms of price, they don’t differ much anymore between energy classes 55 and 40. In the past, prefabricated house manufacturers (timber frame) were somewhat more expensive than solid construction but better in the energetic aspect. This has now relativized. However, the prefabricated house manufacturers (where the house is pre-built in the factory) have a long lead time of roughly about 2 years. And you usually have to decide now where a light switch should go. Regionally, there are still niches to build a nice house with some extras and especially also more individually designed and still cost-effective. Meanwhile, most solid builders also have a distance surcharge if it is more than e.g. 150 km away. Prefabricated house manufacturers always have a transport fee. Besides the catalog price, there are also the construction slab, transport, and architect’s fee on top. And for all houses, everything that does not concern the house itself but the plot and individual permits comes on top. An architect-designed house is calculated completely differently. I don’t want to go into that here because it would be too confusing. The construction service description was already mentioned above: the construction service description that every GU and prefabricated house manufacturer has. The services are listed there. So, if only 30 sockets are included, you would have to order additional ones. The same usually applies to a non-standard tile format, better bathroom fittings, floor coverings, painting work, etc. The latter is often done by own work to offset the additional costs in the end.

here is a price from another league: Town & Country’s “Lichthaus 152” for the 49074 postal code area is listed just under €265,000. It’s always a question. Now there will be an outcry again because this and that is not included and is the responsibility of the builder. Information is everything. With others, you don't get anything for free just because it’s already included; then the house itself is simply more expensive. I was surprised in the list from that structural engineer costs were extra. I don’t know who they built with, but with me that was included in the fixed price. Clearly, with free contracting/architects, such costs come on top. I built with Heinz von Heiden mentioned here, and in 2018 €163,000 was listed for 100 sqm.

we just actually wanted a rough estimate of whether something like that is even possible with our budget

Which budget? I already mentioned:

You have to reconcile both things. What am I willing to pay, what can/will I afford, and what does what I would like cost.

Now comes the house, we tend more towards a prefabricated house, since a custom architect house does require a lot of work, right?

You are basically mixing up a few points here. You can also get architect houses from prefabricated house providers and ready-planned standard houses as solid construction. Whether you build solid or as a timber frame does not have a decisive influence on the price. What matters are the providers (what is included, what costs extra?) and your wishes. It is important in the decision phase that you find a provider whose standard is relatively close to your desired standard. You can basically always upgrade, but money is made from that and it becomes significantly more expensive with mass upgrading than just choosing the more expensive builder with a better standard in the first place. Also, keep in mind that an elaborate sales system with model homes and commission-based representatives costs money that you have to pay again. Here, the local builder from Hintertupfingen who works by word of mouth simply has a certain advantage. If you already live near the construction site, that’s something worth considering. The same applies to the topic of work. You have effort with all variants, naturally a bit more with the architect house since you have to say what you want instead of simply accepting the builder’s standard (and then afterwards wondering if you maybe wanted X or didn’t want Y). There tend to be two reasons to choose an architect house: 1. you have special requirements or wishes that fit poorly into a standard 2. you do not want the construction management to have a conflict of interest. If your architect manages the construction, he only represents your interests. If the construction manager is an employee of the construction company, he would have to represent both your interests and those of his boss at the same time. That can be a problem, but it doesn't have to be.

still have to pay off a bit but that’s <50k .. I would then just rent it out and finance the house with that .. I think that should work. There are two people who together have a net income of 4500 euros per month (not married) but as I said, we actually only wanted a rough estimate of whether something like that is even possible with our budget or not, then theoretically you could just buy the plot first and wait. That’s why the question is whether one can name real TOTAL COSTS here, where all costs are listed, so you can orient yourself and get an idea of what the price range would be

My projected total costs are approx. 475k without the land (70k plus a bit more for ancillary purchase costs) but including kitchen, outdoor facilities, etc. However, this information won’t help you because we are not building the same house, not in the same area, and construction prices have risen in the meantime. Besides, we both finance at completely different interest rates and may have a different lifestyle. With 4500€ net (how will that develop for the future, children planned?) I would not go significantly over 2000€ for housing costs. From that, you can subtract a few hundred euros for additional costs, so a payment might be in the range of 1600-1700€. If you live thriftily maybe a bit more, otherwise less. Roughly estimated, you could manage a loan of about 350-400k at 3%. Do you actually have a construction obligation on the plot? Many are only sold with a corresponding clause, e.g. "shell construction within 2 years". In that case, waiting is rather difficult.