Initial cost estimate

Hello everyone,

I am the new guy here :-)

I hope you can help me a bit.

The following plan or starting situation:

Construction site: Aschaffenburg (Rhine-Main area)
Plot available (no additional costs)

Combined income: approx. €4000 net / additional equity: €50,000

Wish:

Single-family house with basement, granny flat approx. 45m², garage with shed
Living space without granny flat: approx. 130m²

We could do the following work ourselves, or friends of ours could:

- Basement excavation
- Complete masonry
- Electrical work (I will do myself)
- Tiling / floor coverings
- Complete heating
- Installation of doors/windows

Now your opinion:

Is the whole thing feasible under these circumstances with €200,000?
We would still have €50,000 equity as additional...

Thanks to you all in advance!!!

Greetings from the other end of Bavaria, if I understand you correctly now you only need an architect and you will do the rest yourselves? Well, I want to work on my construction site myself with mates, friends, and relatives, you really need people you trust for that, and let's be honest, they don't do it for free either. But to be honest, especially with the basement and the brickwork, I would be very careful regarding warranty! You need the material anyway, and then at least you have someone on hand if something was botched. Greetings from the Regensburg area

Hello also from Bavaria, we did it exactly the same way. Our framework conditions were as follows, possibly as a reference: Single-family house without dormer/bay window or frills, very simple rectangular shape, the only highlight is a large floor-to-ceiling glass front, 170 sqm living space, fully basemented, gable roof, house is HRB KFW 55 with ground source heat pump and water-based fireplace, high standard equipment (parquet, tiles at €50/sqm etc.), the house was completely self-built by us (carpenter with several years of experience in HRB), floor slab poured by ourselves, basement poured by ourselves, etc. other trades like electrical, heating, roofing, etc. were all relatives/acquaintances. Construction time is nearing the end after 1.5 extremely tough years... Until the last bills are paid, we will end up at about €250,000 without land and exterior facilities. Tired and exhausted but happy and with a bank account not too red, we hopefully will soon move into our dream house. Conclusion: I would do it again that way, but only because I know exactly that I am neither sensitive/whiny nor easily unsettled and my relationship can withstand the stress and lack of free time when you have common goals. -> For all critics of self-performance: We really have extremely good conditions and I consider myself a special case. Under normal circumstances with standard self-performance, the house would have cost €400,000 (corresponding offer available). Regards MeisterBob

Thanks to you all in advance for the quick answers.

We are even lucky to have an architect at hand (a coworker of my father) who is planning the house for us and also occasionally inspects the construction.

The basement would be completely done by my girlfriend’s grandfather... he has been working in a construction company for over 40 years, so we already have relatively little worry that something will go wrong here.

: Thank you for your detailed report. I think it will be similar for us. We are aware that this whole thing will be a really tough time for both of us. I’m not really the whiny type, I think I would trust myself to handle it. Your breakdown definitely gives me real courage... then I could really manage with a loan of 200,000€.

In terms of the building design, we will also keep everything as simple as possible. I’m not a fan of a lot of frills either. As for the equipment, we have no special wishes, it will also be within a normal range, so it won’t be luxury.

I don’t think it would be feasible for us at all without these conditions we have.
Still, I don’t want to drive myself into ruin just because I want to build a house – that makes little sense.
Therefore, we have set the framework for the loan at 200,000€, that is manageable for us and, if necessary, also payable with one income.

I might need to add something. The high-end fittings come about because we organized an extreme amount ourselves. For all the building materials, which we also procured ourselves, I always had at least 3 quotes. We ordered sanitary items on the internet in consultation with our heating engineer after prior discussion (not everyone would agree to that). The electrician passed on his equity + 2% to us, staff discounts on windows, doors, etc. etc. as a result, we mostly decided on higher-end fittings that ended up costing us as much as standard. If we had chosen standard, we would have been even cheaper. Certain things, like a mirror cabinet for the bathroom, we have made by the carpenter. 2-3 thousand euros for a cabinet with two mirrored doors is definitely not worth it. The carpenter wants 500 € and I can place my shelves however I want. Again: It is definitely doable, but you really have to be aware that it is one single rush, phone calls, writing, calculating, and organizing. After building now, I say: You cannot even begin to imagine what awaits you. Thinking about and imagining it will be a tough time has nothing to do with reality; it will be three times tougher. Regards, MeisterBob