Old building on property - Bungalow extension - Various problems

The drawing was made for me by a nice architect, I only have the scanned sheet: The gray box No. 5 is the existing building, the orange areas would be possible independent new buildings taking into account the setback areas and fire protection. In this regard, he also added pencil sketches for another alternative.

An independent 1 1/2-story new building is too expensive for me at the currently mentioned prices, so the idea of an extension directly attached to the existing building, single-story (see the darker areas on the plan), prevails.

The old building has two windows on the east side at the bottom, which could be closed if necessary, only upstairs there is a balcony and bedroom, nothing can be closed there.

So what does one say now to the architect when his consulted builder demands "a plan" for estimation??? The background is that I am a burnt child. Last year, several turnkey builders had already looked at the matter, one was chosen. The idea was a small technical room as an intermediate building and then a single-family house/semi-detached house as an extension. However, he said that he himself could not currently draw due to capacity shortages but needed (also) a plan to be able to calculate exactly. He submitted a raw construction offer of 80,000 and said that for turnkey it had to be calculated x3 (+ development costs). He recommended that I go to a "good" interior architect known to him who could draw cheaply; although he was not authorized to submit, he (as a master craftsman) would then sign the plan. If I were to build with him, he would credit the planning costs to me, if not, I could obtain offers from other companies with the said plan.

So I dutifully did that, received three drafts from the IA, suddenly titled "submission plan" and invoiced as "Creation of submission plan." I dutifully paid several thousand euros after all! The builder calculated and suddenly came to 350,000 without... without... without... That this amount is not feasible, he definitely knew. I had also asked for adjustments in the plan by the IA and for the submission plan to be signed by the builder/master so that after approval another general contractor could be commissioned, but neither happened.

After months of unsuccessful search for a (!) new offer based on this plan – I actually did not get one from all companies contacted – I end up with a "normal" planner regarding the question about amending/signing, and he now says this also does not work, the plan is not even approvable due to fire protection and setback issues....

Now I am arguing with the IA and the builder, and see the same situation again with the statement of the (new, real) architect (to whom I really do not attribute any ill will, but stupidity does not protect against damage, see above) that I first have to pay a few thousand (?) again just to find out that it is too expensive to be realizable at all.

Apart from that, I simply cannot believe that these prices can be true – my mother built 15 years ago and just throws her hands up over the sums I tell her :-/

Overall, quite discouraging :-(

Unfortunately, you have to believe what you can read here when it comes to prices. We are building for the second time (we built once 12 years ago) and initially got badly taken for a ride with the new cost estimates. With our price expectations from 4 years ago when we started dealing with the topic again, we had to move FAR away!

And how is this supposed to / can this continue like this? This can't be true, or does everyone earn that well except me???

And how is this supposed / able to continue like this? This can’t be right, or is everyone earning that well except me???

Prices are far above what was usual just a few years ago, thanks to the construction boom. The price for building land is rising along with that.

If you look at the net incomes that building couples currently state together for financing here, you see that a) either good incomes or b) at least a lot of equity is present. The rest is strongly (and rightly) advised against. Or to lower their expectations.

In some areas of Germany it’s cheaper. None of them are in Bavaria.

Apart from that, I simply cannot believe that these prices can be real – my mother built 15 years ago and when I tell her the sums, she just throws her hands up in disbelief :-/

The prices from 15 years ago have about as much in common with today’s as jam and salad.

Plus tightened requirements for new buildings, ENEC and all that stuff.

The prices from 15 years ago have as much in common with today's as jam and salad.

... unfortunately true!