Turnkey or self-management?

....and would have a strong negotiating position....

First of all, you should deal with the questionnaire here (pinned at the top of the floor plan section). If you fulfill the ideal constellation "Two adults with a shared bedroom, total of children and home office two, slab-on-ground plot without special farts in the development plan," I initially see no reason against a catalog design. The catalog design (also called a production home, Gabriele's favorite Heinz says "system architecture") and the construction company in whose drawer it lies naturally belong together: a catalog design from Meierbau realized with Müllerbau would still be a custom design. A catalog design is only suitable if you use it a) original or with the shifting of a few non-load-bearing walls or b) exclusively extended along the ridge axis: extensions that touch the base of the gable triangle structurally create a different house (a linear increase by changing the knee wall, however, has minor effects – less than those of the story height). A catalog home is an inseparable combination of house design AND the construction and service description of the respective general contractor!

A custom design should ALWAYS be approached with an independent architect (in the sense of the perfect Bavarian negation "never no exception not"!). A house planned by an architect becomes more expensive precisely when you a) plan it not only custom in terms of needs but also as a design unique piece and/or b) with an artist. Unfortunately, you cannot reliably but quite often recognize the latter by the fact that they only offer service phases 1 to 4: they cannot estimate costs well and manage construction – then their designs are not suitable for affordable and uncomplicated realization.

Secondly […]

That sums everything up perfectly! Thanks @11ant for your effort, I find it really helpful for new builders! This should actually be pinned, as the topic and these questions come up regularly.

With individual contracting, one must distinguish between owner-managed contracting (usually with permission plans sent by email) and architect-managed individual contracting (after a professional tender). With a general contractor you can end up in that situation not only by deliberately approaching only GCs but also by the fact that GCs respond to a tender! [...] Architect (possibly with GC) if you enjoy sampling, and GC without architect if you consider sampling a burden.

I'm always surprised that people here only talk about GCs and architects. A master mason, master carpenter, or master concrete builder also has a small building permit authorization. At least here in Hesse. Whoever is willing to prepare their building application themselves can get a building permit much more cheaply this way. The prerequisite, of course, is sufficient time and the willingness to thoroughly engage with the subject of building.

You can not start building based on the permission plans, you are only allowed to. This "fine" ;-) difference becomes most obvious in the form of drywall boxed-in sections, the telltale signs of saving at the wrong end.

Hello neighbor, would you like to reveal exactly where you are building near WOB? We also live quite close by and have the topping-out ceremony tomorrow :) We also went to the companies with a self-designed floor plan. Except for Viebrockhaus, all were on a similar price level. Our chosen company was a little more expensive than the others, but offered a much more extensive description of construction services. In that company, carpentry and masonry are under one roof. So fewer subs who also want to earn on the construction project. It is a local family business. I always said: The boss still has a certain local patriotism. If she goes to the sports field on a Sunday afternoon, she doesn’t want to be pelted with rotten eggs ;-) In that respect, the company stands for solid craftsmanship. We tried to contract the heating and sanitation work ourselves. Initially, our inquiries were quoted cheaper than through the BU. But less was offered, which we as laymen did not notice. Our BU looked at the offers and pointed it out. So we ended up taking their sub. Also a local company for decades. Known for top quality, but also a high price. In the end, we still didn’t pay more than if we had contracted the scopes equivalently ourselves. There are already discounts between BU and the subs. We spoke by chance with some unrelated people who work professionally in construction. All told us that with this company we did not need external construction supervision. For the other local companies, most recommended it. And before a wrong impression arises here: we were told this before we said which company we are building with. Sure, not everything that glitters is gold, but so far we are very satisfied with the BU. Also all the coordination, e.g. with the sanitation specialist, the discussion about where which water pipes run, integrating that into the drawings, etc. Doing and coordinating that yourself... No thanks. We are building with air conditioning, which was also contracted externally. But our BU still coordinates everything directly with them, implements the shafts in the drawings, etc. I’m digressing.... ;-) To sum it up: In this area, everyone makes you an offer based on an individual floor plan. An architect has no real interest in keeping your construction costs low due to their percentage-based payment. Near the VW "mother city," it is hard to get craftsmen. The BUs simply have their subs lined up. In that respect: one more vote for construction companies and against architects!