Reference current construction prices / Build now or wait?

I'll make myself unpopular and ask if you are really sure that grandma is going to live door to door or wall to wall with you and, in case of emergency, also be cared for at your home? Mobile caregivers come by every few hours, this will only get worse, the rest of the day grandma then lies alone in bed or you have to take care of her. This is a burden (emotional but also physical and especially time-wise) that is often massively underestimated.

And not everyone can care for their own parents. I would go crazy after 20 minutes with my father.

With the luxury that money is hardly a problem, I would always build with an architect.

... although then you could even afford to do without one ;-) But I always recommend an architect, it doesn’t have to be a “standard” mandate.

The more we think about it, the more the tendency is towards an architect-designed house. But that can of course still change. It all depends on the plot of land we are assigned.

But always keep in mind: an architect-designed house in the sense of one designed by a freelance architect and not a draftsperson-designed house is good, an architect-designed house in the sense of one winning the styling award on this street is expensive. Planning with a freelance architect (except only up to the building permit!) is always worthwhile in principle, no “medical indication” like a sloping site is needed for that.

A major advantage is, among other things, that he is not tied to execution companies.

That is not the case otherwise either. Usually, with general contractors (in both construction method lines) you can remove trades or suggest subcontractors; many “prefab” home builders even have their own expansion house brands.

Thank you very much for your input. Especially the recommended approach is very helpful for us. I will calmly read through the posts.

Preferably before visiting any exhibitions and before talks with construction companies.

Yes, I agree with you, it may seem to some as if money shouldn’t matter to us, but we earn our own money too and it is not unlimited. Especially with an investment of more than one million, I find it quite important to think intensively. Regarding the plot, we are building in the Böblingen district.

So closer to Stuttgart than I thought. But that is also close enough to the Alb that flat plots are already rare. I didn’t mean that you should build carelessly without money worries, but that then the anxious question about actual current construction costs is unnecessary. What you have is well invested in “concrete gold.”

Why didn’t you mention Schwörerhaus among the prefab manufacturers, for example? I always thought Schwörer is one of the high-quality prefab home providers.

I mentioned Weberhaus because in the said exhibition they have two houses opposite each other, so you can easily get a “first impression” from visiting two houses. I recommend you visit them first, as in my opinion, they are a provider at a level suitable for you. This lets you “adjust” your view for the houses you visit afterwards, and this step doesn’t need to be more redundant than with these two houses—hence no second provider at this level. I see Schwörerhaus, unlike their self-perception, a half tone behind, similar to Audi compared to Mercedes. Following this adjustment, I deliberately put as the next such providers on your first exhibition visit list those whose offers will already accustom you to financing needs with a buffer; and then two Steiner, who are naturally rarer in “prefab” home exhibitions (therefore I couldn’t “representatively” select them here). From my point of view, the ideal way for you in Fellbach is to 1. visit the two Weberhaus (purpose: adjustment); then use the further walk to let this impression settle while strolling by (do not enter the other houses along the way!); 2. visit any two of the three providers named as pharmacy examples (purpose: triggering the higher-priced offers); 3. go to the bistro (purpose: reflect on the impressions so far before completing the round with two providers of the stone building methods); 4. go home!!! Don’t even get the crazy idea to “process” an even bigger amount of impressions in one day. You will go there a second time during the dough resting phase.

We have naturally planned that the apartment as well as its access must be barrier-free for grandma.

Barrier-free begins already before the entrance and practically means “with an entrance at street level,” since suitable ramps massively consume floor area ratio II. For barrier-free building I can even recommend a specialized architect in your area.

... although you could even afford to leave it out then ;-)
But I always recommend an architect, it doesn’t have to be a "standard" mandate.

But always keep in mind: an architect’s house in the sense of a house designed by a freelance architect and not a draftsman is good, an architect’s house in the sense of where the Styling Award is won on that street is expensive. A design with a freelance architect (except just up to the building permit!) is fundamentally always worthwhile; no "medical indication" like a hillside is needed for that.

You’re not that anyway. Usually, with general contractors (both building type lines), you can remove trades or suggest subcontractors, many "prefab" house builders even have their own finishing house brands.

Preferably before visiting any exhibitions and before talks with construction companies.

So closer to Stuttgart than I thought. However, that is still close enough to the Swabian Jura that flat plots are already rare. I didn’t mean that you should build thoughtlessly without financial worries, but that the worrying question about actual current construction costs is unnecessary then. What you have is well invested in "concrete gold."

I mentioned Weberhaus because they have two houses opposite each other at the said exhibition, so you can easily get "an impression" from visiting two houses. I recommend you visit those first, as they are, in my opinion, a provider whose level suits you. This lets you "calibrate" your view of the houses you visit afterwards, and more redundantly than with these two houses, this step is not necessary – hence no second provider at this level. In contrast to their self-image, I see Schwörerhaus a half tone behind, similar to Audi compared to Mercedes.

Following this calibration, I consciously included such providers on the visiting list for your first visit to the exhibition, whose offers will already get you used to the financing needs with a buffer; and then two Steiner builders, which are naturally rarer at prefab house exhibitions (therefore I couldn’t select them here “representatively”). From my point of view, the optimal way in Fellbach is
1. to visit the two Webers (purpose: calibration); then use the further route to let this impression sink in while strolling by (don’t go inside the other houses along the way!);
2. to any two of the three providers mentioned as pharmacy examples (purpose: to initiate the higher-priced offers);
3. to the bistro (purpose: reflect on the impressions so far before completing the round with two providers of the masonry building types);
4. Go home!!!
Don’t even get the crazy idea to try to "work through" an even bigger amount of impressions in one day. You’ll go there a second time during the resting phase of the dough.

Barrier-free already starts before the entrance and practically means "with entrance at street level," since suitable ramps massively consume plot ratio II. For barrier-free building, I can even recommend a specialized architect in your area.

I just wanted to give a brief feedback. We were in Fellbach yesterday and Weberhaus really appealed to us.
If it ends up being a prefab house, it will be a Weberhaus. We were truly surprised how high-quality prefab houses are built nowadays. As soon as we finally know which plot we will get, we can really get started with the architect and the general contractors.

I just wanted to give a brief feedback. We were in Fellbach yesterday and Weberhaus actually approached us.

That’s okay – but I hadn’t mentioned this provider "for that purpose" ;-)

If it ends up being a prefabricated house, it will be a Weberhaus. We were really surprised at how high-quality prefabricated houses are built nowadays.

Then I wonder in what world you have lived until now. The impression of Weberhaus’s standard has been consistently the same over the last thirty years. I even think this applies to their ownership structure, while many competitors from back then today are only nominally the same, but their brands are long since in the hands of some vultures (self-designation: Private Equity).

As soon as we finally know which plot we will get, we can really get started with the architect and the general contractors.

But keep in mind: GCs not instead of architect! – thus the GCs actually do not really need to interest you themselves, since they only come into play as participants in the tender conducted by your architect.

I recommend the following approach: 1. follow along here with the forum search terms like "Hausbau-Fahrplan", "Gerddieter", "Einzelvergabe"/"Eigenvergabe" to find the existing threads about the procedure for house planning; 2. now go to construction companies and model home exhibitions. Choose providers for higher-end demands as a precaution (you will need the buffer) and keep in mind the stalking by salespeople, i.e. get yourself a disposable email address and a prepaid dumb phone; 3. go to financing advisors and already obtain a building land survey; 4. commission an independent architect for service phases 1 and 2 ("Module A" see "Ein Hausbau-Fahrplan, auch für Sie: das Phasenmodell der HOAI!" - external, i.e. including the quotation marks, to google); 5. during the dough resting phase go again—with the preliminary draft of the architect—to construction companies and house manufacturers (this time in the actually appropriate market segment), meanwhile you or the architect file the preliminary building inquiry; 6. derive from the feedback of your price inquiry a decision whether the service phase 3 (design) should be planned in stone or wood and commission the architect for the further path (see posts about the above search terms).

I know we had a similar topic in another thread before, but my question fits better here: If I decide on a general contractor after service phase 2, doesn’t he then, or at the latest from service phase 5, take over the architectural services? And the independent architect actually only still makes sense for service phase 8? Or am I overlooking something?

If I decide on a general contractor after service phase 2, does he then take over the architectural services from then on, or at the latest from service phase 5?

If you decide on a general contractor after service phase 2, there must already be a worm somewhere. An attentive and not grumpy reader of my advice will never do that. Instead, they will derive from the result of the decision inquiry round whether the architect should initially only tackle service phase 3 (timber construction) or the entire module B (masonry construction). So service phase 3 is in any case still done by your architect; and with a timber construction general contractor aka prefab house manufacturer, service phases 4 and 5 then come from them. If planned further in masonry, these two come from your architect, who then also sets module C on this—thus also service phases 6 and 7 with the tendering, in which general contractors can also participate. There— and not before!—you then bring in those general contractors you consider suitable into the participant field.

And the independent architect only really makes sense for service phase 8? Or am I missing something there?

If the construction comes after the tender with a general contractor, your architect also performs service phase 8 as they would with individual contracts. If you have too much money and absolutely want to lose it as tuition fees, you save yourself service phases 6 and 7 by the architect and spend at least the "saved" fee as exactly that tuition fee for the fact that the offer and billing differ considerably. And for the architect, it is then a punishment task to at least avoid this between detailed planning and construction result. That would be only slightly less stupid than omitting service phase 5 as well and building according to the submission plans. I say it for good reason like a broken record that a general contractor is only a contractor but not an alternative to the architect. By the way, general contractors regularly take over explicitly only the necessary architectural services. This means those required to obtain the building permit and for the formwork construction of the foundation slab and ceilings. Incidentally, in the upcoming November, you can read in the four-part series "Hausbau-Fahrplan reloaded" when and how to wisely deviate from the default/mainstream house construction roadmap—for example, if/because you build in timber (but the "generic masculine" of the house construction roadmap is the stone-on-stone house). To keep it clear and didactically digestible for laypeople, I had to structure the "basic course" this way—now it continues with the advanced course. Sorry it took so long—but my week also has only seven days, and daily business takes precedence.