Prefabricated house company vs. general contractor...

Hello,

due to the lack of suitable "used" houses, I am now slowly beginning to tentatively deal with the alternative of "(shell) house construction (commissioning)."

However, I was surprised by some reports I read about prefabricated houses. Buyers are annoyed left and right with sleeping architects, sloppy craftsmen, unjustified invoices, and self-performed work necessary during the construction process...

In my childish naivety, I had actually imagined it more like this: that I discuss the services with the prefabricated house company and sign the contract, 5 months later get a call saying "Your house is ready," check (or have checked) the house, pay the agreed total sum in one installment, and that’s it.

Even with a custom house from an architect, I had expected that at most I would have to settle the craftsmen's invoices from time to time, and the architect would take care of everything else.

Is what I imagine the kind of service you get from a "general contractor"?
Do I just choose one from the phone book and tell him: Build me XYZ prefab house No 123 on my property at SoundsoStrasse 42, 12345 here and there?
Or is that completely unrealistic and only achievable by buying an already built house?

(Side question: Into which of these categories do the various "projected houses" you find on real estate portals actually fall?)

Thanks for any enlightenment,
Andreas

There are many prefab house companies. You just have to find the right one. There are some that do very good work and unfortunately many that just want to make some quick money. How do you recognize a good company?

Well, first of all by customer reviews. Advertising is all smoke and mirrors. Then you have to carefully compare the construction management descriptions. Then the payment should always be arranged so that you pay only "after" a construction phase is completed. Anything else is pure folly. Five months of construction time is unrealistic; I know two good prefab house companies that both have almost 12 months of waiting time due to full order books. But if you know that, you can plan accordingly. And lastly, it takes a feeling that tells you whether to trust the people or not.

The problem with the internet is that mostly only people who have something go wrong report. Here you have to read carefully whether it was just a construction defect that can always happen regardless of how good the company is, or if it was gross botching.

The company we chose is a family business that has been building prefab houses for 60 years and currently erects 17 houses per week. We are currently in the building permit phase, and so far everything has gone smoothly. I actually only had trouble with the authorities and a soil survey... but the company is not to blame for that. But price transparency, consulting, and architectural planning all proceeded quickly and perfectly.

It was important to us to have a company that does everything from one source... with a shell construction house that doesn’t matter so much. The walls come, the roof goes on, and that’s it.

Planned houses are usually land already bought in advance by large developers, which they then sell bundled with a house. Especially where land is very scarce, you encounter that very often. Unfortunately, two companies often advertise with mottos like "House construction without equity... IMMEDIATELY" or "Lease purchase ... buy instead of rent." When you google these companies, it makes you sick what they do to their customers. People have already paid 80% in advance and have been waiting 15 months for the shell to finally be finished. That means double burden for the buyers due to rent and loan repayments plus interest. That’s why you absolutely must pay afterward. With these planned houses, you can often still change little things in the floor plan, adjust the room layout, etc. But the main framework is already set. Construction usually starts when a buyer is there. I see it this way: good pieces of land are used as bait to attract house customers. Or these are municipal building projects... then of course it’s something different.

Hello,

I had actually imagined it somewhat naively as a child that I would discuss the services with the prefabricated house company and sign the contract, get a call 5 months later saying "Your house is ready," inspect (or have inspected) the house, transfer the agreed total amount in one lump sum, and that's it.

That can't work like that. Who would fully pay upfront for an entire house?

Even with a custom house from an architect, I would have expected that I only have to settle the craftsmen’s invoices in between, and the architect takes care of everything else.

That's not a problem if you give him complete freedom. Any architect would be happy about that

Best regards

That just can't work like that. Who would already go completely in advance with a piece of a house?

Well... maybe a prefab house company that sells dozens of houses per week? If the buyer fails, they still have a like-new house and a plot of land that they can get rid of in the medium term without and in the short term with a small price reduction... so a fairly low risk.
The poor little homebuilder has completely different risks if the company goes bankrupt or simply builds rubbish, namely the total loss of the proceeds from decades of hard saving/money earning...

That's not a problem if you give him completely free rein. Any architect would be happy about that

Ah, good to know. So doable with a trustworthy architect...

Well.... a prefab house company maybe selling dozens of houses per week? If the buyer defaults, they still have a like-new house and a plot of land that they can get rid of in the medium term without and in the short term with a small price reduction... so a fairly low risk.

I think you see it a bit too simply. The prefab house company also has to pay the craftsmen who build the house. They don’t just provide funds a few days in advance. What do you think, how long does it take to get a prefab house (I find this term so stupid) move-in ready? One week? And if the buyer actually defaults, are they supposed to just finish building the house and sell it elsewhere at short notice? Not so easy........

Ah, good to know. So doable with a trustworthy architect...

yeah, no problem