Planning, financing, 1. Ideas for new construction

The property is our equity, as it is inherited. Outdoor area only includes the yard, terrace, and carport... nothing else. The house costs us 285k with all the bells and whistles, you could definitely do less bells and whistles, 40k additional construction costs, 25k for kitchen and inventory, and 5k go into electrical work and 5k into terrace and small things.

One must say... we are building in the federal state where construction is particularly expensive. Very few here manage to build a single-family house for under 350k (without land). Old existing properties from 30 years ago cost 300k and up here without land, and then you still have to renovate and refurbish.

Hello,

The slope is not that steep. See pictures below.

I see it differently; depending on where the building plot is located on the property, surely 1.50 m and upwards have to be compensated. The eye often deceives ;)

I assume a total budget of €400,000:

Budget €400,000
- Land €80,000
- Ancillary building costs €35,000
- Outdoor facilities €20,000
- Double carport €10,000
- Painting work + flooring €15,000
- Buffer €15,000

Leaves €225,000 for the house. Not as much as I have learned by now.

Unfortunately, this calculation is not correct. Solely due to the slope, the ancillary building costs will increase, and the costs for the carport (the stated price is too low anyway) and outdoor facilities will be higher due to increased civil engineering work.

What is realistically feasible for the house?

Provided the plot is flat and actually purchasable for TEUR 80, realistically about TEUR 210-220 remain for the construction project.

Let me put it differently: One has their ideas about what the house should roughly have. How much would I have to increase the budget to realize the following:

Otherwise, we are still considering:
- Fireplace
- Balcony
- Air-water heat pump
- Ventilation with heat recovery
- Cistern or private well

The city villa, as attached, costs you about TEUR 274 including the base slab. In addition, costs of another TEUR 10 for the chimney flue and the cistern will come up. I would think twice about the balcony, since you will have a nice garden and the balcony will probably only be decorative; to me, it is too expensive for that ;) To this sum, add ancillary building costs TEUR 40, painting work and flooring in EL: TEUR 20, costs for outdoor facilities (just the essentials): TEUR 10, double carport: TEUR 12, reserve for additional foundation costs: certainly TEUR 15-20 (and only if the soil is not problematic; if soil replacement is required, certainly more) as well as reserve for extras: TEUR 10. Plus land costs of TEUR 80, you are already at TEUR 466. For what you envision near Siegen, I would plan a budget of 510-520; so with a margin for a basement.

Is it necessary/sensible to plan a basement because of the slope?

From my point of view, you should postpone this decision until the preliminary site plan is presented. Only with this plan can the terrain topography be included in the planning; it will become clear whether a basement makes sense or not. From the initial impression so far, I would say that a basement pays off - but as mentioned above, appearances can often be deceiving.

Only then – together with the available budget – will the planning become more concrete. The floor plan shown above results in a good 175 sqm; if you do without the air space, even more. Building means making compromises; the question is always, where :D

Rhenish regards

Hello construction expert,
thank you also for your reply!

500,000€ is definitely above what we want to afford.

If I calculate with your numbers:
Additional construction costs 40,000€
Painting work + floor coverings 20,000€ (Why so much?)
Outdoor facilities 15,000€ (Here I prefer to calculate a bit more)
Double carport 12,000€
Reserve for additional foundation costs 20,000€
Buffer for extras 15,000€ (Also a bit more here)
Cistern/Fireplace 10,000€
Land 80,000€
Basement 60,000€ (?)

Total comes to 272,000€
Uff, that’s tough. There really isn’t anything left for the house. Even if you increase the budget to 450,000€, you’re not going to win any prizes with that. I think, under these conditions, building a house is a long way off.

Just a few months ago I thought 400,000€ would be a really, really decent budget for a new construction project. You sure can be mistaken. :/

€dit: Added Cistern/Fireplace in the calculation

€500,000 is definitely above what we want to afford.

Only a few months ago I thought €400,000 would be a really, really decent budget for a new construction project. How wrong can you be. :/

We were in the same situation about a year ago.

Our budget was just under €300k for a 125sqm house without a basement... Didn't exist.

In the meantime, we bought an existing property from 2007.

You really just have to be clear whether it's worth it to you. And as you already wrote, €400-450k... You really have to let that sink in...

Building was not that important to us, we would have had to far exceed our budget and I have to say, we are now sleeping very, very peacefully since we are investing nearly 1/3 less than planned/possible and then we will be finished in 15 years instead of 25.

Have you already looked for existing properties? There should be something in that price range, right?

Hello,

Uff, that's tough. There's really nothing left for the house. Even if you increase the budget to €450,000, you won't win any prizes with that. I think, under these conditions, building a house is a long way off.

Just a few months ago, I thought €400,000 was a really, really decent budget for a new construction project. How wrong you can be. :/

But you get discouraged easily :cool:

€400,000 is anything but little money; that's one thing! But it's another to adjust amateur understanding and wishes to reality. For example, you aimed for a design of almost 180 sqm; that costs its money. Add the requirements of the plot and suddenly you're around €470,000.

If you reduce your room sizes, for example to all in 150 sqm, a comparable architecture now costs "only" around €233,000; if you look for a flat plot, you save on the foundation, etc. ;)

I'm convinced that €400,000 will not be enough. However, with €450,000 and caution when choosing the plot (there are also flat plots in Siegen + surroundings), you should be able to build a nice single-family home AND enjoy life ;)

Rhenish greetings