Property developer or independent architect

We are currently building with a general contractor and so far we would build with him again. - free planning - high transparency (there is no construction service description, but from the beginning a calculation, and with that you can easily add or remove items) - all craftsmen come from the local area - trades can be removed and replaced by own labor. A few towns away she had someone build the shell through the general contractor, takes all materials from that general contractor and gets professional help if he gets stuck. A friend built with a very small general contractor, she could even say I want the windows from that window maker, I help with filling and sanding, had parquet laid in the living room, we do the laminate in the children's room ourselves. There are general contractors who are flexible so that the usual disadvantages are balanced out. Whether really 60,000 euros profit per house remain, I consider that a myth.

We are currently building with a general contractor (GU) and so far we would build with him again. - free planning - high transparency (there is no construction service description, but from the start a calculation, so you can easily add or remove items) - craftsmen all come from the area - trades can be taken out and replaced by your own work. A few towns away, she had someone build the shell through the GU, takes all materials from that GU, and gets professional help if he gets stuck. A friend built with a very small GU, she could even say I want the windows from that window maker, I help with filling and sanding, had parquet laid in the living room, and we do laminate ourselves in the children's room. There are GUs that are flexible so that the general disadvantages are compensated. Whether 60,000 euros profit per house really remains, I consider that a fairy tale.

Depending on how extensive the markup for the sample selection is, I can imagine that. Personally, I assume a profit for the GU of at least €20k remains after deducting all costs. They don’t work for free and certainly not for you. They try to make as much as possible remain in the end.

We built again with a general contractor and are very satisfied once again this time. In the purchase contract, we have already fixed the prices for many extras, so no unexpected additional costs have arisen. The craftsmen hired by the general contractor have been working for this construction company for many years, everything runs smoothly, no waiting times. We planned our floor plan completely freely and were also able to choose heating, ventilation system, etc. freely. We settle additional costs for electrical work, for example, directly with the electrician. I know a building family that is building with an architect. There are hardly any offers coming in there because the craftsmen seem to have enough work at the moment.

Best regards
Sabine

We also built with the general contractor. Fixed price guarantee. However, the bosses are two architects, so free planning was guaranteed. We chose a model house as the shell and changed the floor plan as well as the windows. There were no price surprises at all. Before the contract for work, we inquired about all costs of additional items, and these were included in the contract for work. The fittings themselves (windows, doors, tile price, sanitary facilities, etc.) were appealing and contemporary. The craftsmen were all locally based and had already built many times with the general contractor. Our site manager was very precise. Perhaps communication could have been better, perhaps we would have done something differently with the architect, perhaps not. Overall, we felt well cared for, as ultimately the general contractor coordinated and planned everything.

We built with an independent architect.

He gave a maximum cost estimate at the beginning, which was also adhered to in the end (even slightly undercut). We believed him because we were able to speak with some of his former clients and it had worked out for everyone.

In our case, he took over the entire planning including dealing with authorities, obtaining offers, and construction supervision. We built "move-in ready." Our own contribution was only in the garden. Due to many years of collaboration and thus good planning of the projects, the architect has a large number of companies in his portfolio that made very good offers. The additional suggestions we brought in were always miles away.

Since the architect only recommended companies that also "work," he was able to guarantee and keep the construction time of five months (plus defect rectification) in our case.

However, we signed the contracts with the companies ourselves. Advantage compared to general contractor/general entrepreneur: in case of a company's bankruptcy, only a small part of the money is "at risk," and you can switch companies quite flexibly.

The architect’s budget was negotiated at the beginning with the first cost estimate at 10% of the total construction project and then paid in five installments.

The weekly meetings at the construction site (he himself was there about every two days) and the short response times to emails (from a few minutes up to a maximum of one day) rounded off the good relationship.

Oh – and it was by far the cheapest offer of all. (In comparison were large ones like Massa Haus/Schwörerhaus and very small, regional general contractors and prefabricated house builders)

We would build that way again.

Depending on how extensive the surcharge for the sampling is, I can imagine that. Personally, I assume a profit of at least 20k€ for the general contractor remaining after deducting all expenses. The work is not done for free and certainly not for you. They make sure that as much as possible remains in the end.

I am well aware that they don't have a red cross on a white background; I never claimed that either. General contractors are contracting parties and thus clearly the opposing side.

20,000 versus 60,000 euros profit is already a huge difference. I assume a 10% profit before taxes, but not a flat 60,000 euros per house. It should be clear to everyone that somewhere around 20-30% has to be added.

You just have to find the general contractor, architect, or developer who suits you and offers you the most for your money. Especially with general contractors, there are differences.