Reference current construction prices / Build now or wait?

A general contractor has framework agreement partners and corresponding conditions that a private person usually does not get. How wide the margin is, I cannot estimate. But if it is a zero-sum game, I prefer to take the general contractor and save myself the corresponding effort and time.

For a larger project that may be the case. For a zero-sum game, I prefer to give the craftsman in the region or from the village something to earn.

Haven’t you already stood out on the topic of the ventilation system with barstool slogans?

He profits from every trade.
Craftsmen have a reputation that precedes them.
Good, expensive, reasonable, cheap, doesn’t turn up, etc.

That might be the case for a larger project.
For a zero-sum game, I’d rather let the craftsman in the region or from the village earn something.

In short: a regional general contractor is either also “your” craftsman in the neighborhood, or at least a company where your fellow villagers are employed. Construction companies also tend to hire local craftsmen from their area on the construction site, meaning your craftsmen from the village as well.
So it has nothing to do with the choice between a general contractor or an architect but rather with regionality.

A general contractor (GC) has framework contract partners and corresponding conditions that a private individual usually does not get. I can’t estimate how wide the gap is there. But if it’s a zero-sum game, I’d rather take the GC and save myself the corresponding effort and time.

It’s simply not a zero-sum game. The margins of the GCs are far above the negotiation scope of the craftsmen. At least, that’s what I’ve seen from the information of four house builders from the immediate neighborhood. Among the providers of the neighbors are the usual “suspects,” budget house builders from the solid construction industry. A prefabricated wooden house (with a slope location and solid part) is priced on a completely different level (higher) than the GCs of the solid construction industry. The disadvantage in the end is that you have several contact points for possible warranty claims. Although experienced general contractors are also very savvy and cover themselves in all directions. In my opinion, the regional craftsman has much more motivation to deliver proper quality for the local house builder. By the way, during the time when we and our neighbors were erecting the shell, I was present live every day (I was on parental leave and therefore helped a lot). The GCs installed the cheapest insulation (or none at all) under the floor slab. The amount of steel in the floor slab was significantly less despite the same soil conditions than with us (with us, neatly according to the structural engineer’s specifications + soil report). Then it continued with the GCs partially letting rain splash in through the filled bricks. Every evening we laboriously covered the bricks so that everything would stay dry. I could continue the list endlessly. Up to the friend who transferred more than 100k to the general contractor at the start of construction before he went bankrupt and ceased all activities. So far, I have not paid a single craftsman’s invoice before the work was completed.

Although we are not from the industry, we provided a relatively high amount of self-performance,
which for the general contractor was a godsend to avoid a complaint.

The warranty trap when providing self-performance before suitable intermediate acceptance dates is a broad field in itself.

A general contractor has framework contract partners and corresponding conditions that a private person usually does not get. How wide the margin is, I cannot estimate. But if it’s a zero-sum game, I prefer the general contractor and save myself the corresponding effort and time.

I am increasingly seeing that I will soon have to write a post on the topic to explain the "functioning" of a general contractor. Hopefully, I will manage at least half as well as Armin, Christoph, Malin, Siham, and Ralph ;-)

That might be the case for a bigger project.
For a zero-sum game, I prefer to let the craftsman from the region or village earn something.

The general contractor should first of all also be from the region, and secondly a partner and not a "pimp" of subcontractors.

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We have talked to various architects; I am not convinced that an architect is an expert in all trades. The experts for the respective trades are the craftsmen themselves. Sure, the architect knows from experience what to pay attention to, and building without an architect is a bigger risk than with one.

The best composers are not at the same time virtuosic soloists on all instruments ;-)

Financially, we are overall about 10% above the original offers. But we had planned for that. I compare myself with the neighbors, and cost-wise, we are definitely much better off (it’s a new development with about 40 new single-family houses).

Forty, most of whom you know: how are they distributed among the factions move-in ready general contractor, shell construction general contractor, individual contracting with or without architect / tendering?

@11ant: What is ultimately your recommendation for house construction? Architect, general contractor, or self-management?

As you can already read many times here from me (with search terms like self-contracting, individual contracting, tendering, Gerddieter, etc.): my standard case is an architect with tendering that general contractors are also allowed to participate in. See also my well-known originally five-part house construction roadmap, which is currently being updated. General contractors are often already met during the dough resting phase with key decision making.

It’s simply not a zero-sum game. The margins of general contractors are well above the negotiation scope of the craftsmen.

That is not generally true. There are quite a few craftsmen who are such commercial and marketing disasters that they would be practically broke without general contractors. The big-name general contractors usually have a good sense of recruiting such candidates and taking them for a ride. Even when I was still in training age, there were attempts to counter this with instruments such as "business economist in the crafts sector," with mixed success. However, there are at least as many craftsmen who are entrepreneurially skilled themselves; and those you hardly find as general contractor subcontractors; but also those who are quasi “civil servants” at general contractors. General contractors and craftsmen—that’s a pretty colorful scene.

You can imagine it like a small craft business buying 20 SPS units from the manufacturer with the 7 petrol-colored letters in the year 20, or a VW 20,000.

It is not only the craftsman whose price can be pressed if you reliably keep him busy all year round. Screws, stones, wood, concrete... Everything becomes significantly cheaper when you buy a lot of it.