Our plan for the new building - What next?

The issue becomes even more complicated because the property is a leasehold property of the church, but I thought that would totally go beyond the scope here... We had basically asked the church once whether we could build a second house on it. In principle, there is nothing against it, but of course you need to have a concrete plan to be able to say yes or no...

Clear that up first before you do anything else. How much longer is the leasehold running?

Clear that up first before you do anything else.
How much longer is the leasehold running?

Over 60 years with my parents' contract. That’s why we actually had no need to set up a new one, because it wouldn’t be relevant for us anymore. It’s a chicken-and-egg problem, since the church naturally only gives a statement when they know exactly what we plan to do on the property. It’s possible that we plan everything now and in the end the church will throw a wrench in the works...

Yes, I also find that a bit strange... We have already submitted a sketch twice showing how we would like to adapt the house from the catalog (which is completely fine as a basis) according to our ideas. The response was always "Yes, we are totally flexible on the inside and can still change the walls and rooms however you want." But why doesn't someone from their side just do it then? Because we have often realized ourselves during the floor plan planning that the devil is in the details and things often don't work out as initially thought. What if we apply to the building authority for a house measuring 9 x 10m and then realize that we actually need 10 x 11m because the inside doesn't work out? Or am I just being too detailed again?

So, should we look for architects on our own and develop a professional floor plan with one of them and then get offers from companies based on that floor plan? How much does such a plan from an architect cost? (Or what is the best approach?)

Because they don't earn anything from offers. Only when the ink is dry. The problem is that every change from the standard always costs amount x.

""Yes, inside we are totally flexible and we can still change the walls and rooms however you want.""

Have you already received a construction specification? It should state whether and how often the floor plan can be changed free of charge.

I can describe to you my approach from last year:

I composed an email in which I summarized all the conditions regarding approximate square meters, roof, windows, type of heating, number of bathrooms, and much more, together with a rough desired floor plan and a price range (I might be able to send you a template by private mail) with a request for an offer and the forwarding of the service description to the companies that might be an option from a model home park. Excluded were the companies I knew to be too expensive for me. I also mentioned that the plot is already owned and requested information on approximately how long the construction would take from the issuance of the building permit.

When I then received the first information in writing, I made appointments at the model home parks. On two days, I reserved a two-hour time slot for each company that seemed interesting to me.

Some companies did not respond to my email and were naturally excluded. Others did not want to provide a service description and were also ruled out; another company told me on the phone that they basically do not build without a ventilation system; another company said they basically do not build with a gas condensing boiler; or that the house (in our case a prefabricated house) could not be erected earlier than 2022 due to their order situation, and so on.

My husband is now at the point where he almost does not care and just wants to take a standard house from the prefabricated house provider.

Your previous posts are certainly only a snapshot and I hope I do not come across as too presumptuous now. But if it is already mentally and emotionally so exhausting for you, I actually think a prefabricated house would be a good choice. However, I am not completely objective, we ourselves have also decided on a prefabricated house, but have not yet built it. Hopefully, we will start soon.

It's a chicken-and-egg problem, since the church of course only issues a statement once they know exactly what we plan to do on the property. It could be that we plan everything now and in the end the church throws a wrench in the works...

Then ask again very nicely – the church probably won’t need more than for the building preliminary inquiry. With the lease contracts (when did the parents even build, 20 or 39 years ago?) it works like this: there is a term, after which there are two possibilities. Extension is more common, but non-extension is also possible. In the latter case, you or your heirs would receive a kind of compensation payment for the value of the house – it would neither be torn down due to contract termination nor just left as a gift. Changing 80-year contracts into 99-year ones should be unproblematic; more than 99 years (counted from the parents’ contract start) is to be avoided.

Your previous contributions are certainly only a snapshot, and I hope I don’t come across as presumptuous now. But if it is already mentally and emotionally so exhausting for you, I actually think a prefabricated house would be a good choice.

That’s not presumptuous, but simply confusing: the prefabricated house is as finished as there is dog in dog biscuit, which means just so much. Shorter is nothing here, simpler neither. Only a large part of the shell construction takes place in the production hall and is therefore not yet visible at the assembly site.