Is a house for a total volume of 400k still possible at all?

Good morning,

here are briefly the first experiences with the sales talks:

Seller 1: Took time for our wishes but "did not need" any data about the plot. Offer is coming.

Seller 2: This one was recommended to us. Wanted data and pictures of the plot before the conversation to get an idea of the conditions. Afterwards, the following was recommended to us: Due to the topography of the plot, preparing just a slab foundation would almost be a waste of money. The earthworks as well as the filling with gravel would be well over 20k. Building on this plot without a basement would not make sense in his opinion. We were offered a "low budget" basement version. This means a basement without insulation, screed, doors, electricity, and access from inside the house. According to the seller, this option would not be much more expensive than just the slab foundation (+10k) due to the conditions on the plot. Does anyone have experience with such a basement? Can it be converted into a fully functional basement in a few years?

Thank you very much!

Good morning, here are briefly the first experiences with the sales talks: Seller 1: Took time for our wishes but did not “need” any data about the plot. Offer is coming. Seller 2: This one was recommended to us. Wanted data and pictures of the plot before the talk to get an idea of the conditions. Afterwards, the following was advised: Due to the topography of the plot, preparing a plain slab would almost be a waste of money. The earthworks and filling with gravel would be well over 20k. According to him, building on this plot without a basement would not be reasonable. A “low budget” basement version was offered. Means basement without insulation, screed, doors, electricity, and access from inside the house. According to the seller, this variant due to the conditions of the plot wouldn’t be much more expensive than the plain slab (+10k). Does anyone have experience with such a basement? Can it be converted into a full basement within a few years? Thank you!

Just a quick note beforehand on the topic: “A basement definitely costs between 50-80k more.” Especially with plots like yours described, a basement makes sense. I also know several plots in our development where building with a basement practically makes sense only. I don’t know your plot, but depending on the slope etc., filling can easily cost 20k, that’s right. How is the groundwater situation with you? Is there any soil report/analysis etc.? You can of course insulate your basement yourself with rigid foam boards or something like that. I think that is feasible? Unfortunately, I’m not 100% familiar with it. I think it is feasible as long as it is only supposed to serve as a storage basement. As said, the main problem is groundwater. You would really have to be 100% sure that it causes no problems. But this must be assessed both by the soil expert and a basement builder.

Seller 1: Took time for our wishes but "didn't need" any data from the property. Offer is coming.

When I read something like this... :rolleyes: That guy would have already failed with me.

Does basement mean without insulation, screed, doors, electricity, and access from inside the house?

The sentence is ambiguous. Do you mean that the basement is NOT accessible from inside the house? Retrofitting a staircase from the ground floor to the basement is anything but easy and structurally probably a disaster. Retrofitting insulation is also labor-intensive (from the outside) to impossible (from below).

Can this be converted into a fully functional basement in a few years?

A fully functional storage room, possibly. More than that, no.
Who would want an office, bedroom, or lounge without windows? A deathtrap in case of fire.

Yes, without stairs. A lounge is almost impossible. Basement after all, probably only with a ventilation pipe, no windows.

Regarding the property situation, I believe you never wrote anything either. So the seller might even be right that a basement would be more sensible.

I always find it terrible when professional sellers try to take advantage of clueless builders. This applies to both variants you mentioned.

But yes, in variant 2 you have a basement. Only, unfortunately, you can’t do anything with it except store potatoes there. It is basically a raw basement where even the building services cannot be installed yet.