House purchase and house construction - What can we afford

Last week I got the tip, to place a classified ad every 2 weeks in the village newsletter or community bulletin. The potential sellers over 80 don’t use the internet with Immoscout, but study their little paper very carefully

That really sounds like a very good tip, even if we are not yet sure about the location, individual ads shouldn’t cost that much to make a difference :-) Thanks!

So - on Friday a first conversation with Interhyp - a rate of €3000 is seen by them as completely uncritical, they would even go up to €3500. The total financing volume they would confidently give us would be €1.2 million, their pain threshold would be €1.4 million.

Then over the weekend we also had a few appointments with prefabricated house providers (show home park in Poing near Munich). We really didn't get any wiser; if we piece together a house as we want, we were at the most expensive provider including cellar at about €520k + about €400-450k all-inclusive for the land. Other providers were a little below that.

Now the question is how to proceed with this information? How do you compare prefabricated house providers, which ones are reputable, how can we assess (learn?) the prices well – the price range is quite significant (about a factor of 2).

(Of course, I am aware that at this point these are only ballpark estimates)

If the prices differ significantly, you are not comparing the same thing. I would also argue that with 520k including the basement, you have by far not been presented with the full costs. I do not have the entire thread and the planned size in mind right now, but if I deduct 100k for the basement and assume 3000€/sqm, it results in 140sqm of living space. Nowadays, it is quite easy to exceed 3000€/sqm.

As a layperson, you will be no happier comparing [Baubeschreibungen] than visiting a model home park. In the end, there are simply too many providers left that you absolutely cannot assess, neither in terms of the scope of services nor the costs for on-site construction services, which the representatives in the model homes generously overlook.

If the prices differ significantly, you are not comparing the same thing. I would also argue that with 520k including the basement, you have by far not been presented with the full costs. I don’t have the entire thread and the planned size in mind right now, but if I deduct 100k for the basement and assume 3000€/sqm, that results in 140sqm of living space. Nowadays, exceeding 3000€/sqm is quite easy.

Comparing building descriptions will make you just as unhappy as a layperson as visiting a model house park. In the end, there are simply too many providers left, whom you absolutely cannot assess, neither in terms of the scope of services nor the costs for construction-related services, which the representatives at the model house generously gloss over.

The offer with the 520k was specifically a Rensch-Haus ready-made house (the basement was about 90k€, with, I believe, just under 155m², but the basement would not be finished—only screed). Masa and other providers were significantly below that in a quick ballpark estimate. With Masa, one could have realized it in the simplest version (with basement) and (I think about 140m²) for around 3xxk€ (but that conversation was much shorter), and I am aware that these are really rough estimates and we will probably end up higher in the end.

But how do I get myself to a basis to compare the different offers? How do I identify a good prefab house provider? (Sure, I can read experience reports in this forum here).

We receive tons of information, but evaluating the information is now of course our job, which we are currently struggling with a bit—therefore this is the main topic in the current work phase.

For 3xx including basement, we are certainly not talking about a move-in ready house, and I would rather question whether the complete building services are included at all.

I would rather recommend that you first go to the architect and create a proper floor plan. With that, he (=the architect) will then do a tender and the companies will make offers based on your requirements. This is of course a bit difficult if you are absolutely set on a large prefabricated house manufacturer, as they do not necessarily participate. Carpenters and smaller prefabricated house providers are more likely to do so. And in solid construction, this is usual anyway. Maybe you would like to briefly explain again why it has to be a prefabricated house?

Masa and other providers were significantly below in a rough ballpark estimate.

Masa? Or Massa Haus? Massa Haus is a shell construction company and is found in the entry-level price segment.