Questions from beginners to find the right house construction company and more?

Hello dear forum,

first of all, I hope I have placed the post correctly!
A little about us, we (37 and 32) without children have been dealing with our dream of owning a house for several months now.
Unfortunately, we lack a clear plan on how exactly to proceed or where to start.
The big points are
-finances
-land
-house
my problem is that one thing depends on the other and I don’t know exactly how to start.

We started with an overview of our personal financial situation
-income
-expenses
-savings
-existing equity
so we know how much monthly repayment we could/want to afford and how much equity we have. We also spoke to someone from the building society, but they just wanted to push us [Wohnriester], we haven’t yet had proper bank discussions, but still we roughly believe we can estimate our max budget for the entire project BUT whether that is enough to realize our dream of a house or “how much house” we get for that now has to be clarified. Only how???

For the plot we had to realize that we have to go quite far out to the countryside (Nuremberg region) to afford the prices. But here too we hopefully have a realistic idea of what costs will be incurred.

Additional building costs, well, I have no idea. People say anything from 10,000 to 50,000 repeatedly.
Same with the garden and carport/garage.

The biggest unknown is the house itself. Of course, you can build everything from “cheap” to “luxury” and it depends on what you want, but how do I get REAL prices and not just the bait prices from house providers?

We have already been to a prefabricated house exhibition and spoke with various providers. Prices were given to us and now we are supposed to get some calculations based on our wishes, but how are you supposed to plan properly without a plot?
And what always unsettles me: why do you always read that the house ends up being more expensive in the end? Where do these additional costs come from? The house is planned beforehand, right? It can’t just be at the selection stage that it gets so much more expensive just because you want something better than the standard?

And how are you supposed to choose a provider? There are so many just in prefab house construction alone. We sat with Allkauf Haus and Danhaus, almost 3 hours each, and only planned very roughly and have to make further appointments with both when they have implemented our thoughts/wishes in planning and can give approximate prices.
You can only really plan once you have a plot anyway.
Some also only plan once they have a plot, but I wouldn’t buy it before I know that I also have the money to develop it.
I don’t even know what to look for when choosing the providers we want to talk to. Judging who is serious is the most important. We won’t sign anything without having it checked independently, but I can’t check 10 offers.

Banks can only do detailed calculations with you once you have the house and the plot...

We are going around in circles here and are grateful for any helpful answers!

And if anyone can say something about Danhaus, I am also grateful. So far I find this provider likeable. We like this somewhat Scandinavian building style and the idea of ecological building and energy saving. The 114 sqm house Malmö is an option.

Thanks a lot already and sorry that the post got so long but all this is driving me to despair.

Best regards
Katdreas

Hi,

first of all, welcome to the forum and "keep calm". At the beginning, it’s all pretty much overwhelming and confusing...

You should first figure out what you actually want and especially where you want/can build.

In other words, prefab house or solid? With basement or without? Plan a kids' room or not? Are 114 sqm really enough? If you want a Scandinavian house, you will find what you’re looking for more likely from a prefab house manufacturer. Whether you need a basement is also always a matter of opinion. It’s a matter of taste and personal preferences and lifestyle.

Just don’t believe that a prefab house is cheaper; with the same living quality, they are rather slightly more expensive than solid houses and they are not necessarily finished that much faster either. You save the shell construction time of 6 weeks, which with a prefab house is only a few days (if you build without a basement). But the interior construction also takes its time.

All newly built houses are energy-saving. Almost a few tealights would suffice...

Whether a prefab house with lots of treated wood and plastic sheets as a vapor barrier is really more ecological than a house made of clay bricks, I can’t judge.

Building a house is not ecological anyway; if you want to do something for the environment, stay living in an apartment in the city. In our house, roughly around 350 tons of concrete were used, that’s already the first 35 tons of CO2 emissions. That roughly corresponds to the CO2 emissions of our gas boiler over the next 15 years!! With walls, screed, insulation, and plaster you’re probably at double that!

In other words, don’t let anyone convince you that any house is more ecological than another. They are not!

You should actually budget ancillary building costs at 30-40k€. You won’t get significantly below that. Just for the house connections, you’ll easily spend 10-14k€! And for the basement, you can quickly have 6-12k€ just for the soil excavation.

Best regards,

Andreas

Whether a prefabricated house with lots of treated wood and plastic films as vapor barriers is really more ecological than a house made of clay bricks, I cannot judge.

Times have changed somewhat for prefabricated houses since the 1970s. The treatment of the wood has also changed significantly. Films... are used more or less depending on the construction concept. Clay bricks – in our region, most buildings are made with aerated concrete, so not bricks. And usually concrete roof tiles are used on the roof.

Ecological construction – if at all, it is most likely realized in the timber frame construction sector. But just because it is a prefabricated house does not automatically mean it is timber construction or ecological.

Costs... We first looked at what equity, income, and reserves we could use. Then we went to the bank and discussed what amount of financing would be conceivable/useful. At the same time, we talked to several providers about the approximate costs of our desired house. Of course, a buffer was still included here for incidental costs, fittings, etc. The search for a plot of land also ran in parallel and dragged on... and dragged on... In the end, a plot appeared where the development plan also allowed an affordable overall concept.

Regards
I.

Andimann already addresses many prejudices, but having a fundamental discussion here won't help the creator either! : It's best if you just read around a bit here in the forum, I guarantee that most questions will resolve themselves.

Why prejudices?

Just read properly:

vermag ich nicht zu beurteilen.

No idea what is more ecological. Actually, none of them is ecological, if you want that, find yourself a cozy cave!

The prefabricated houses that stand in our residential area also all took at least 3-4 months from the first groundbreaking (foundation slab!) to moving in. Sure, there are also manufacturers who come with already wallpapered walls, but isn’t that then a different price category?

To the OP:
Since you live in Nuremberg: there is this prefabricated house park on the A3 in Heßdorf? Have you ever been there? It provided many ideas for us!

Many greetings,

Andreas

Hello dear forum,

first of all, thank you for your answers.

We have already been to Heßdorf several times and will also visit other model house centers. We have created something like a collection of things we like. But we can come to terms with many things. In the end, it has to please us but above all fit within our budget. Although we will probably get financed a bit more by the banks than the limit we set for ourselves. Only whether we can get something for the money we plan is what I am currently trying to find out. It is clear that there won’t be enough for big frills.

Can you please tell me a bit about how the offer process for prefabricated houses was for you? We are currently waiting for the first two offers. I find it very hard to compare. One says: ... the material for the floor coverings/laminate and walls/wallpapers and even outdoor facilities is included and with the next not even tiles or roller shutters. I have also heard that a carport is calculated under the incidental construction costs and these still remain under 30,000? What exactly can/should I expect from a reputable provider in terms of planning and calculation before I sign a contract? And I still haven’t been able to find out why I so often read on the Internet that the build became much more expensive than originally calculated and people had to massively finance more.

How do you choose the providers you talk to? With many, I can't even estimate what price league they play in. And what do I and the seller gain from investing several hours if they don’t build anything in our price range? Is there somewhere that informs you about house companies? Or some kind of rating? On the Internet I find practically nothing for some and many you can read as “good” or also “bad.” That has not helped me so far.

Which providers from the mid-price range are generally recommended or who even belongs to the middle field? At the moment, I think I should, for example, stay away from Danwood and Massa Haus, Allkauf Haus (we should receive an offer) doesn’t seem trustworthy to me either with all its oh-so-nice sounding sample calculations. Davinchi Haus, Kampa, Luxhaus and Baufritz are too expensive for us. From the building feeling, we could imagine asking these providers: Danhaus (I am currently waiting for an offer), EBH Haus, Albert Haus, Keitel-Haus, Haas, Rensch-Haus... there are simply so many :-(

We are already aware that a provider who says he builds healthy does not necessarily mean everything is environmentally friendly.

Whether in the end it will not be a solid house after all, I cannot say yet; we just find it easier to start with prefabricated houses. Although the terms are not used uniformly either. For us, all houses that are prefabricated and can be chosen from a “catalog” are prefabricated houses, regardless of the material.

Oh man, the text has turned into half a novel again.

Thanks in advance for your answers, tips, and suggestions

Best regards
Katdreas

P.S. I have been reading here for quite some time