House for just about 1300 € per sqm???

Hello, my name is Martin and since my girlfriend and I want to build a house, we have already been to a manufacturer of prefabricated houses (I don’t know if advertising is allowed here, so I’ll leave out the name for now) and got some advice there.

Since we both have relatively little experience with house construction and the current prices, I registered here in the forum and hope to get some advice from you.

After the first consultation appointments, where as usual a lot of sweet talk was used, we decided on a prefabricated house with 148 sqm. The base price for the house was just under 114,000 euros according to the brochure. After we selected some extras like a conservatory, KFW55 standard, and underfloor heating, the calculation was presented at the next meeting.
I would like to list this briefly:

- House price 180,000 €, including:
- Flat fee for plan changes (we can change the floor plan)
- All architectural services (building application meeting, approval planning, surveying service, statutory construction supervision)
- Exterior plaster
- Gutters and downpipes in titanium zinc
- Roof covering with concrete roof tiles, Finkenberger tile
- Front door in white plastic
- All windows/terrace/balcony doors with triple glazing
- Solid wood staircase (made of core beech, finger-jointed)
- Floor slab according to KFW55 standard
- Heating (standard gas condensing boiler), controlled supply and exhaust ventilation system with heat recovery
- Underfloor heating
- Conservatory
- Solar system flat collectors (300-liter water storage)
- Material for drywall construction, electrical installation material, heating system, building technology, piping
- Materials sanitary objects, tiles and window sills, interior doors, floor coverings (laminate), wallpaper and paint
- Labor: laying floor slab, screed, electrical, sanitary rough installation, ventilation and heating system, conservatory
- Tools for self-construction

As our own contribution, we want to do the drywall construction, lay laminate/tiles, install interior doors, paint/wallpaper, receive materials and install the sanitary objects.
We will leave the plot (including acquisition tax) out of consideration because the price depends too much on the location. The following additional construction costs were forecasted:

- Fees such as notary, construction power, etc. 6000 EURO
- House connections 6000 EURO
- Gravel bed (groundwork) 6000 EURO
- Surveyor is included in the house price

This results in a final price including additional construction costs of 198,000 EURO.

Now I always read in the forum that a house costs at least 1600€/sqm... we would be at 1216 € with this price, and including the additional construction costs at 1337 €. So I wonder where the catch is?! Of course, we are still planning about 10,000 euros as a buffer for a somewhat nicer interior finish, but basically, there shouldn’t be any significantly higher costs on top of that, right??? Can you help me with that?

Many thanks in advance

If a tight house is built... from personal experience: it doesn't stop there. Names help here, I believe, to possibly address the business practices of some providers...

What about interior plaster/spackling? What about setting up the house? What about debris, toilet, wastewater (which is missing), extra electrical...

Moreover, €1600 is for a house and not for the shell with material on pallets next to it...

Well, you want to carry out several months of own work, so a saving on the craftsman services should be credited to the final price. Besides, it is a budget house and not an average house, something will have to be replaced with higher quality, either now during construction or later, then you just pay for it later. Also, the additional construction costs should be doubled, 3x6000 is nonsense. You can find the necessary information on the corresponding questions by browsing the forum. By the way: you are not allowed to advertise, but you may name the house provider, many already know him anyway because of the low offer and the shell construction house.

You have to: buy and lay tiles, plaster and paint walls, install sanitary fixtures, complete electrical installation, fit door frames and interior doors, plaster window sills, grout joints, plaster and paint ceilings.

Just the tiles took us 2 weeks, painting and plastering as well... all specialist companies that do nothing else all day.
Will you carry the bathtub upstairs then?

I would be skeptical... it also sounds a bit like you don’t have a lot of routine in construction.

So we don't have to buy the tiles anymore. The electrical installation is done by the company and is included in the price. The rest has to be done and for that we have friends who will help us. It shouldn't be terribly difficult, but you have to get stuck in and we are preparing for that. The acquaintance, as mentioned, is very experienced in this regard and would also take 4 days off.

Don't underestimate it.. you can install door frames and install them, it's similar with tiles. If this is going to be your way, screw the buffer up to triple (!) and dare to do it But also expect that your friends will get sick and maybe also want to be invited on a bigger trip in the end - otherwise they were long-time friends.