Initial floor plan on graph paper: slope, basement + 2 floors.

do you have an update for us?

Sure, gladly! :)

The two mentioned general contractors are currently preparing the offer. GU1 addresses practically everything, asks targeted questions about any issues, and has ideas that we hadn't thought of. The planning with GU2 is progressing more slowly and is somewhat behind schedule for various reasons. It enjoys a reputation in our region, at least among the builders we've spoken to, that is not cheap but of very high quality. GU3 is moving very sluggishly. At the beginning of January, we wanted to arrange an initial meeting. This was only promised to us in mid-February due to the lockdown. The appointment has now been postponed again to mid-March. Our request for a first phone meeting or even a video conference was ignored. Well, on the other hand, their homepage is now new. Actually, for these reasons, I would have already ruled them out. However, good friends built with them and were very satisfied.

Both prefabricated house providers are completely out.

As soon as the first offers with the concrete plans come in, I'll get back to you.

I would like to write an update again and look forward to your assessment. Specifically, it concerns GU1 from the above post.

As mentioned, all conversations with the boss took place on equal footing and were very constructive. He calculated our version presented here, which has around 197 sqm without a basement (with wall thickness 0, so solely based on the "desired living area"), and gave us an offer in mid-January amounting to 635,000 euros + 71,000 euros for support measures. This offer did not include a precise floor plan. In another conversation, we discussed savings options. We removed the balcony on the upper floor, reduced the very generous open space by 1 m in width, and exchanged three (according to him very expensive lift-and-slide doors at approximately 10,000 euros each) for regular balcony doors or a fixed element. On site, he calculated a price of 597,000 euros for 185 sqm without a basement. The savings ideas came from both us and him. We are very much in agreement with everything. Afterwards, we reduced this floor plan again and saved 4 sqm. An employee translated our current "desired floor plan" into a "draftsman’s floor plan." To our pleasant surprise, our "desired floor plan with wall thickness 0" seemed to translate very well into a "real floor plan," logically enlarged by the wall thickness. We gladly released this draft, which is a total of 177.5 sqm without a basement, for exact offer preparation.

To our disappointment, a new written offer reached us last week, this time with a floor plan. Its designs have little in common with our approved draft, and the floor plan is tight in several spots. Overall, everything has become significantly smaller again. The living area now amounts to 159 sqm without a basement. To our incomprehension, the offer price is also 597,000 euros + support measures, i.e. the price of our second largest variant, which was 24 sqm larger.

This whole situation leaves me rather puzzled. For comparison: From the first calculation with 197 sqm including balcony and three lift-and-slide doors at 635,000 euros to 159 sqm without balcony and without lift-and-slide doors at 597,000 euros, there is, contrary to the offer price, a clear discrepancy in terms of the feeling of living space.

I now wonder whether he simply planned the first offer way too aggressively or whether the last offer might possibly be miscalculated?

Please show the differences, please

Show the differences, please

Gladly! I will split it into two posts. First, the "good floor plan" that the three of us developed on site at the desk, and then the "too small floor plan" that was attached to the specific offer.

This is the "good floor plan," of which we have only minor complaints.

This is the floor plan of the concrete offer for 597,000 euros. We do not like the basement, the multipurpose room, or the children's rooms.