Semi-detached house, upscale fittings: Are the additional costs correct?

We all know that real estate transfer tax has to be paid on everything. The architect knows this too, but he said that so far it has always worked to pay only on the land. The land is handled by a completely different realtor. And he would also do it so that we start building the house with a time delay, that is, much later than the purchase of the land.

I wouldn't bet on that in your place. The tax office is not stupid.

Otherwise, you should take the answer from the construction expert to heart. €230,000 for a 140 sqm house including a basement - that certainly doesn't have much to do with upscale fittings.

So the plot with about 460 sqm costs 60,000€, which is super cheap in our region (Mannheim) even though it does not belong to Mannheim. It's a small town on the Bergstraße. The standard land value for the street is actually 210€/sqm, so we are even cheaper here.

OK – here you should ask yourself why this plot is priced more than 35% below the realistically achievable price. I mean: 96,600 euros (210 * 460 sqm) vs. 60,000 euros.

Definitely follow BEFORE purchasing the plot the advice of and especially with regard to the nearby stream, get a soil report.

In the worst case, the ground has seepage water / groundwater or pressing water and your costs would be in a completely different dimension. Then you can decide whether you want to bear the additional high costs or write off the plot.

Hello,

What is meant by backfilling? I only know that he said something like: The earth that is excavated can be used to level the garden.

The house is being built with a basement, which means the excavation pit + working space must be dug out and the earth stored. That would be roughly 300 cubic meters of earth including topsoil for you; the topsoil must be stripped off first and stored separately.

As soon as the basement is finished, the working space must be "backfilled" and compacted.

Whether the excavated material can be stored on the property at all depends, on the one hand, on the presentation of the soil report as well as the general terrain profile, and if yes, there must also be space available for it. This decision should ideally be made before your garage is built.

But one half has already been standing for a year, can "additional foundation costs" still arise?

Of course. For example, if the neighbor built without a basement, you have to support their house - or a water vein runs beneath your half of the property, clay is found under the turf, and ... and ... and.

Isn’t every house with a basement three stories high???

No.

Which value of the glass including frame to be built in is meant?

U-value.

You come from the living room onto your terrace, go down a few steps (1.5m) there and stand in the garden with a view of the forest

I already thought so. That means the balcony restricts the basement in terms of lighting.

Isn’t every masonry covered with an ETICS??

No.

The house has to be insulated somehow.

No.

I assume the construction time is 16 weeks including everything.

Doesn’t that seem a bit too short to you?

Rhenish regards

I will try to give some hints on a few points:

He wants to try to get a soil survey, also regarding the forest soil, by Friday.
But one half has stood for a year already, can "foundation additional costs" still arise?

I don’t think the architect can present you with a soil survey specifically for this property. It would already have to have been prepared before the planned sale. But why should the seller burden himself with costs that only interest the future buyer?

Preparing a soil survey usually cannot be done within 3 days.
A company comes, drills several (2 or 4) boreholes, analyzes the soil for composition/moisture, and draws the corresponding conclusions. This already takes several days.
If the architect presents you a soil survey from the neighbor — this could provide an indication, but the soil composition and especially the water drainage can change within several meters between plots.

Seepage water? No idea. There supposedly wasn’t a rise in the stream flow.

Of course, seepage water / subsoil water or similar can be connected with the stream. It should also be clear that the soil gets wetter the closer you get to the stream.
However, seepage water / subsoil water can also occur on properties where no body of water is nearby. On our property, water was found at 80 cm depth in a borehole (you could also hear a splash when throwing in a small stone). Our property lies about 50 m above the river and has no waters nearby. Only the soil survey can give you closer information here (but also not any final certainty) — in my opinion this is an essential point for every building plot for the builder.

You come from the living room onto your terrace, go down a few steps (1.5 m) there, and stand in the garden with a view of the forest.

Additional costs through installing a staircase (estimated 5-10 thousand EUR).

Isn’t every masonry covered with an ETICS?
The house has to be insulated somehow.

No. Houses built with, for example, Ytong, hollow bricks (possibly filled), Poroton bricks, etc., usually do not require an ETICS (“plastic shell”). (correct me if I’m wrong)

I assume that the construction time including everything is 16 weeks.
But I can gladly ask.

16 weeks including drying time is more than ambitious.
With us, the construction until moving in took 6 months including drying and that was already very fast.
With friends of ours the construction was completed after about 4 months — I hope for the friends that they don’t experience any unpleasant surprises afterwards because the house might not be dry enough after all.

Why the plot is below the standard land value, I don’t know. Maybe because it is a building gap?
Or the owner couldn’t get rid of it… can also be.

And exactly here you should ask yourself: Why couldn’t the owner get rid of it? What could be the reason? In my opinion, it should not be the building gap. As you wrote, the price for building land there is 38% higher. There is demand in your region. If it was the location within the village, a discount of 5-10% on the price should be enough to compensate for this disadvantage.
The only reason I can think of would be an emergency situation for the previous owner, pushing him to sell as quickly as possible (through paying off heirs, over-indebtedness, etc.).

Hi everyone... so as I said, I will try to have all the questions from the architect answered tomorrow.

Do you have any other questions that I should definitely ask???

If it works out, I will post all the answers tomorrow (Could be tight on time though, since I have a Christmas party )

phew hot stuff. My advice ... if you are really interested in the property and the object, get an independent expert who checks all statements, the property, and the offer. The statements don’t seem particularly reliable to me. The price indications are sometimes 50% overpriced. Don’t rush anything!!! The costs for a "bad" property can explode. Even with a soil report, there is no 100% guarantee that no additional costs will arise. Much only becomes clear once the earthworks have begun. Talk to the building authority, the local earthworker, the neighbors, a local structural engineer, and a local architect and find out what’s really going on. Good luck The final price will probably be between 350,000 EUR and 400,000 EUR. One more thing on the topic of Kfw55, controlled residential ventilation, etc.. Think carefully about whether it’s really worth it! Economically speaking, it probably hardly makes sense!! Kfw 70 alone certainly demands additional costs that should be examined closely. To understand all this, you need a lot of patience and the right experts (not consultants or salespeople!)