A 4-person family with an income of €3200 should be able to manage €350,000-400,000? We are two, without children, have a net income of €4500 and the maximum was a €400,000 loan. With a "normal" life including insurances, two cars, etc. Better don’t trust any calculators on the internet. Just keep a household budget book, then you already know what you can afford with stable conditions. You can forget general statements. Also always remember that a house brings more ongoing costs. Higher insurances, reserves for future investments, higher heating costs, etc., etc. The list is long..
Well, I calculated with the €3200. 14 monthly salaries are guaranteed for me, so the bank can count on a net income of €3628. I used several calculators and on average they came to a possible load according to the flat rates of about €1500. As I said: that’s too much for me.
No, no, no... never! No extras, no basement, no bay window, nothing, standard sanitary, not even upper layers, not to mention design. You are certainly around 750m^3 without me knowing the dimensions. That would correspond to a price under €300/m^3 or €1200 gross per m^2. Just put aside €30,000 extra as a precaution, you will still be surprised.
Ok, thanks for your assessment. Still, I have the offer in hand. As described in the opening post, I have set aside about €20,000 cash. Of that, I plan €5,000 as pocket money for helpers. Then there will be an additional €20,000 emergency reserve. That brings me to a total of €35,000.
I am aware that almost every builder who wants to burden themselves with a lot of self-performance does not want to hear (read) my objections. Nevertheless, I repeat here: think about it carefully! It’s not enough that friends/acquaintances/family promise to help; they must consistently stick to the cause. How that looks with a club, I cannot say, but I think that their members also lead their own lives ;) Aside from the finished shell, professionals need about 3-4 months for the interior work, depending on the size of the house—they are then constantly on site. Can/will your friends/acquaintances/family realistically sustain this continuous double burden over roughly 1 to 1.5 years—beyond just verbal promises? Have you thought about the what-if scenarios? What if defects occur, warranty claims arise? Will the connection of friends/acquaintances/family surely withstand this, or is there a risk that—when the single-family house is finally done—the network of friends/acquaintances/family will develop major cracks?
A good objection, and it is certainly true that not everyone is so persistent. But I expect that from my father and myself. I only need the others for specific tasks, so max 1-2 weekends. A longer construction period is not a big problem since we live cheaply and nearby in a rental.
I will now answer from my point of view with a counter-question: why should I make an effort with you/your construction project (the temporary contact between the builder and me usually lasts 1 year) if in the end you skim the cream off and my performance is not rewarded?
I can well understand your point of view. But I also did not intend to find professional help here. In a forum one normally expects free help or assessments from other laypersons based on their experience. That’s how I also give my experiences free of charge in other forums. If I seek professional help (which I will certainly do when it gets serious) I will look for a consultant near me. In fact, I have already looked on your website where your company is located. Unfortunately, the distance is considerable.
Overall, through your feedback I come to the conclusion that building with a €300,000 budget is not reasonable. I will talk to my bank advisor about what is actually possible for me.