Single-family house KfW55 - Extra costs: rip-off or justified?

- The building has 3 floors (basement, ground floor, attic) - Living area 152 sqm - Volume 980 m³ - Costs: roughly ~560k

As already mentioned, a significant upgrade from the basic standard is necessary. Not only the 150 sqm, but also the approximately 70-80 sqm are experiencing an upgrade. That is then about €200/sqm. That is then (presumably) appropriate.

As already mentioned, a significant update from the simple standard is necessary. Not only the 150 sqm, but also the approx. 70-80 sqm are receiving an upgrade. That will be about €200/sqm. That is then (presumably) appropriate.

It should have said 70-80 sqm basement :rolleyes:

580k€??? In the construction description? That sounds very very expensive to me. Are you sure the rest of the construction service description meets your expectations? Remember: Everything that is not explicitly described, you will still need and have to pay for. A "thin" construction service description is an invitation for many expensive items. However, these should no longer occur in the house costs!

For us, it was about 15k extra for KfW 55 with 42.5 walls, better windows, better insulation of the floor slab, construction supervision, insulation above the rafters, Blower Door. Approx. 200sqm without basement. BW. Price agreed in 2019. Built 2020-2021.

The only offer where we explicitly had extra costs was from Town & Country. End of 2020 about €20,000 for a house on a concrete slab.

Basically, I have the feeling that your builder is building to a very basic standard? Uninsulated basement, metal windows, roof without insulation, mediocre windows, roof windows only double glazed. There are now many things included as extras that I would have considered standard. Then the surcharge is of course all the higher.

Yes, it really is the cheapest standard. Metal windows in the basement area with single glazing? Who still installs that nowadays? What's the name of the construction company? Post the entire BBS, there are surely even worse things in there.

Good evening everyone,

first of all, thank you very much for the many responses.
Great that there is so much going on here.

I can understand your reactions to the figures presented. We felt the same way.
We have the problem that prices like this are unfortunately normal in this region now.

Back to the house:
We obtained a total of 5 offers. Even with the additional costs from [KFW], this offer is still the most attractive.

Please forgive me that I am not posting the full scope of services description.
I don’t want any negative conclusions to be drawn about the company. I want to say again that we chose the company very carefully. Many houses here in the town were built by this company. We have spoken with several builders who have been living in their houses for several years. So far, the good impression has held throughout all conversations. That ultimately strengthened us in our decision to build with this company.

What we also noticed is that the construction service description is very thinly described. I think the concept is clear: less service, therefore cheaper price. That is of course tempting. What we did was to already include better features such as electric roller shutters, desired flooring in the offer. I assume that we have thus covered the biggest items and saved ourselves further surprises.

But one question still troubles me.
Is such a low standard even permissible according to the [Gebäudeenergiegesetz]? My understanding is that all new buildings have to meet a certain energy standard. Is that even possible with no or very minimal insulation? Or are the requirements in the [Gebäudeenergiegesetz] described so loosely that practically every new building automatically complies?

Does anyone here have experience? I have taken a look at the [Gebäudeenergiegesetz]. Somehow I am struggling with this "legalese".