We visited quite a few suppliers of prefab houses and also solid houses in 2018. However, we did not visit Okal Haus. In the selection of the last 4, there were 3 prefab house suppliers (Weberhaus, Schwörerhaus, Bien-Zenker) and one solid house supplier (Viebrockhaus). It was supposed to be an individually planned house; whether prefab or solid house played only a subordinate role for us.
1. Schwörerhaus: My favorite before all the talks was Schwörerhaus because they seemed the best to me technically. But the salesperson simply never got back to us. Then, shortly before we had completed the first round of talks, he finally scheduled an appointment with us at home and apologized that he had been sick for 4 weeks and everything was piling up for him. Before the conversation, however, he unfortunately did not address our customer needs but kept telling us what Schwörerhaus can do and how great they are. But I already knew everything he told us, that’s why he was in my selection, or rather, was my favorite at that time. So the conversation did not really help us at first glance. In the end, I asked him about the construction time. He said there was a long waiting period of 22 months. That was the key information why Schwörerhaus was no longer an option for us. We had a construction deadline of 24 months imposed by our city when we bought the land from the previous owner, who did not fulfill his building obligation of 15 years. Only 2 months difference was too risky for me, especially since we still had to plan time for 1-2 more discussions.
2. Bien-Zenker: The salesperson was very likeable. In terms of design, they also had the most beautiful houses to offer. At first, they were still in 4th place in our favorites selection. But gradually, they managed to convince us more and more compared to the other builders. We really liked that the salesperson brought us a bonus of 10,000 euros at the contract handover appointment. We did not expect that. Nevertheless, in the end, it didn’t work out because we were only given such a handwritten contract. No proper plans and even a few discussed things were still missing in the contract. Also, many things important to us were not specified in the contract. That was too uncertain for me, whether more costs would come up for us.
3. Viebrockhaus: They had nice houses in the brochure. It looked high-quality. But initially, they rejected us because we were not in the sales area. Only after I called them again after 4 weeks and explained to the salesperson that our building plot was not so far from one of their building areas, only 50 km south of it, they said after a one-day reflection period that they would take us, as they were now also planning to expand their building area. They had by far the best presentation prepared for us. Everything was accessible in detail at any time. The presentation near Mannheim was practically perfect. There was also a guaranteed construction schedule of only 9 months construction time. They were always the fastest when it came to changes in the offer. And they also had the right cost estimate from the beginning. (The other construction companies were always miles off in their initial cost estimates, meaning too low.) Doubts came to me only when I looked at the model houses in Hirschberg. Somehow they looked really shabby. The presented building materials of the interior also somehow looked cheap. For houses that were supposed to be showcase houses for customers, I would have really expected better quality. Everything looked used, worn out. I thought, if they don’t make such an effort to show it nicely, maybe it doesn’t suit us. Because we already have a somewhat higher taste.
4. Weberhaus: Weberhaus was my wife’s favorite from the very beginning because a colleague of hers had built with Weberhaus (although the cheapest and smallest model from them). They even became a Weber Model House Family (in hindsight, I think maybe that’s why they spoke so positively about Weberhaus). Our other research about Weberhaus also led us to conclude that it must be the Mercedes among prefab house suppliers. So exactly right for us. Nevertheless, we did not decide for them immediately, even though we had already been to Weberhaus in the model house park twice before we even had a discussion with another supplier. The prices were initially rather high-end, but we were willing to pay a bit more for the Mercedes among prefab houses. The price then got much higher because the first offers were shown way too low. The construction time was given to us until shortly before the end with 12-15 months waiting time. That seemed a bit long to us but was still within the possible timeframe, meaning the building obligation time of our building plot. We finally decided on Weberhaus because we thought it was a worry-free package, that we would definitely get a high-end house, and because they are advertising partners of SC Freiburg. However, at the last conversation, when we wanted to sign, doubts came up again because then the salesperson’s boss came and asked us who the other builders still in the running were. Then he badmouthed them, in the case of Bien-Zenker he demonstrated to us that we would get walls made of styrofoam, on which nothing can be hung because nothing holds. He brought us a piece of wall and said we would get such walls. However, we knew that was not true because we also got interior wall fastening plates throughout the house from Knauf, where everything can be attached very stably. But he didn’t tell us that. I did not want to expose him. But we did not sign initially and asked for time to think. I first had to sort out why he felt the need to speak badly of the other companies and spread false information. But we did end up signing with Weberhaus. Meanwhile, we moved into the house last November, even though not everything was finished yet (the follow-up work from the items that were not okay at house handover (and that was 8 DINA4 pages full) is still ongoing after almost 4 months. They are not that fast with that). Otherwise, we had to realize that they are not the Mercedes among the builders. The work is not done by regional companies but by workers who come from the east. There are defects everywhere. The defect repairs can require up to 5 follow-up repairs. And each time they forget something they still have to install. The electrics have already broken down several times. For some things, I have even given up complaining (e.g., the gutter was installed so slanted that there is a 20 cm difference in distance to the house edge from top to bottom. But since it’s only an optical issue and our neighbors have to see it, not us, we don’t care anymore. That and some other things, they don’t have to do anymore. The main thing is that no more craftsmen come constantly with follow-up appointments. That is getting on our nerves. We also want to not always have to stay at home because of craftsmen appointments.
Conclusion: You definitely don’t get a worry-free package with Weberhaus. And unfortunately, it’s not a Mercedes either. But you can build with them and mostly get simple to solid quality. But they will probably not be my first choice for the next house construction (that is, when I retire).
Oh yes – the said 12-15 months (from signing) did become 22 months. However, they already said at contract signing that it would not be 12 but rather 15 months. Then 6 months later, a letter came from Weberhaus that due to high demand it would take a few months longer. Maybe Corona also had a negative impact on construction time? Whatever – we have almost made it!