House hunting: It can't be that difficult...

... or? Hello everyone, my wife and I are looking for a stylish home that can meet our space needs in a design with one full floor. Unfortunately, it is proving to be much more difficult than expected. Our needs: In addition to the basic rooms kitchen, living/dining, sleeping, bathroom, we also want: 2 children's rooms 2 offices 1 guest room 1 additional shower toilet for the children in the attic 1 guest toilet 1 utility room We are fully aware that this number of rooms is not quite ordinary. However, we need these offices for work, and since our closest relatives also live 140 km away, a guest room is necessary. We have currently reserved a plot (1052m²). The budget is 400k€, minus the plot (40k€) leaves 350k€ for the home and garden, we would like to keep 10k€ as a reserve. Due to the expected high space requirements, we have favored a basement, where among other things, storage, utility, technical room and my office can be located. A prefab house company (solid construction) has now quoted us about 63,000€ for a basement (+4,000€ for two additional rooms in this floor plan). We knew that basements no longer "only" cost 30,000€, since they now have to be built to KfW 55 standard (in our case). However, that it is more than double was not expected. All in all, we are a bit shocked. We are currently waiting for the offer, but can already estimate that the leading digit is probably a 4 and thus far exceeds the budget. Included among luxury items besides the basement are: a floor-level shower (plus shower wall 1,500€ + costs for waterproofing under the tiles), a sauna connection (sauna itself not included in the price) and two additional Velux windows in the attic. We are certainly too naive in our approach to prices, but it cannot be that you cannot find a suitable home for 350k€. We have certainly studied 100 floor plans, but without a basement and/or major changes we never managed, and those also become very, very expensive even for prefab houses, as far as we know. Do you have any ideas, nice floor plans that we have overlooked so far or sensible suggestions? Currently, we have a first general inquiry with a prefab house provider but hardly any hope... Regards, Jake

Hello Jake,

We are fully aware that this number of rooms is not quite ordinary. However, we need these home offices for work, and since our closest relatives also live 140 km away, a guest room is also necessary.

Have you ever thought that one of the home offices could serve as a short-term guest room? When guests are in the house, people usually don’t work :-)

We currently have a plot reserved (1052 m²). The budget is €400k, minus the plot (€40k), leaving €350k for the house and garden, we would like to plan €10k as a reserve.

Where is the plot located and what do the building envelope and textual restrictions say about it?

By the way, you are mistaken regarding the remaining budget for the house. You have less than €300k left for the actual house structure.

Due to the expected high space requirement, we have favored a basement, where storage, utility, technical room, and my home office could be placed among other things. A prefabricated house company (solid construction) quoted us about €63,000 for a basement (+ €4,000 for two additional rooms on the floor plan). It was known that basements no longer cost “just” €30,000 since they now have to be built to KfW-55 standard (in our case). But we did not expect it to be more than double.

Building into the ground is the most expensive option you can choose. That’s why I initially asked about the building envelope.

Do you have any other ideas, nice floor plans that we might have missed so far, or useful suggestions? At the moment, we have an initial general query with a prefab house provider but hardly any hope left...

Given your budget combined with the room requirements, I would stay away from a prefabricated house provider and look around among solid construction providers. If possible, forego a basement and instead consider developing the attic. With the right roof pitch, two home offices fit there easily, and one of them can be designed to accommodate guests temporarily.

From a gut feeling, however, I would say that at this point you are out of place with classic providers; no standard plan will meet your room requirements. What you need, in my opinion, is a creative architect who — despite all creativity — keeps your budget in mind.

Rhenish greetings

Hello building expert, thank you very much for your response.
I will best approach this step by step:

Have you ever thought that one of the home offices could serve as a short-term guest room? When guests are at the house, usually no work is done :-)

Of course we have thought about that. But legally it is unfortunately not possible for us to use the office also as a guest room.

Where is the property located and what do the building envelope and textual regulations say about it?

The property is located in Lower Saxony, Diepholz district. The textual regulations state that we have 1 full floor, 0.3 is the allowable building area.

Building into the ground is the most expensive option you can choose. That’s why I initially asked about the building envelope.

If the building envelope is the buildable area (according to Wikipedia), then it is 0.3 of 1052m², so about 350m².

With an appropriate roof pitch, two home offices can easily fit in this space and one of them can be designed so that guests can be temporarily accommodated.

In principle, except for guest accommodation, yes, conceivable, but each office already houses several Billy bookcases, two desks each, etc. So it could be tight, couldn’t it? Not to mention the temperatures in summer.

Intuitively, I would say that at this point in time you are out of place with classic providers; no standard plan will represent your room wishes. What you need in my opinion is a creative architect who – despite all creativity – keeps an eye on your budget.

Rhenish regards

That is my fear. But whether that will work out with the budget is questionable. Not to mention the additional stress you bring into the house… We came to the providers because we cannot just take time off and keep an eye on the construction, and thus the “one-stop shop” appealed to us.

As I said, the big problem is that our home offices are necessary, they must be lockable and thus inaccessible to guests. In principle one larger one would also be necessary, but then the marriage would be over before the first loan ends ;)

Kind regards, Jake

If guests stay overnight 4 times a year, then the hotel costs are about 400/year. Over 10 years, 4000. Living space is more expensive. Just a small thought ;) Can't the additional work rooms be counted towards the house? Like somehow for tax purposes? And incorporated into the financing accordingly? Also just a thought - unfortunately, I'm a layman in these matters...

Hello ypg,
the next hotel is, I think, 15km away ;) That means in the evening, a cozy time with wine/whisky is only possible by taxi :(
And you can deduct the AZ from taxes afterward. But unfortunately, that doesn't really help in the financing game either.
Regards, Jake

Hello Jake,
I seem to have equated the home office with the self-employment status ;)

ypg