Your experience? Can we afford to build a single-family house?

Hello everyone,

it has now become clearer that we want to continue pursuing the dream of owning a home. The next steps involve talks with potential construction companies regarding pricing and with the bank regarding financing. The plot of land is already available.

Here are our key data:

[*]Single-family house (180 sqm living space, size approx. 9x12.5 meters) with a basement (WU) and a small bay window on the ground floor, 2 skylights on the upper floor
[*]Solid construction with aerated concrete + appropriate external insulation according to the Energy Saving Ordinance.
[*]Attic with knee wall height 1.50 m
[*]Gable roof
[*]Triple-glazed windows with WK2
[*]Electric shutters
[*]Opus building technology (basic package for controlling shutters, lights, doorbell)
[*]Pellet heating, underfloor heating on ground and upper floors
[*]2 bathrooms and a guest WC with shower
[*]Chimney + wood stove
[*]Construction to take place in Rhineland-Palatinate

I have calculated after thorough research here in the forum and on various construction cost info websites with a price of 1,600 EUR per square meter.

That means 290,000 EUR for the turnkey house including sanitary, electrical, and heating. The basement would add another 40,000 EUR, so a total of 330,000 EUR.

Additionally, I have calculated the following expenses:

[*]Additional construction costs (house connections, foundation extra costs, construction power, water, surveying, building permit, etc.) 49,500 EUR
[*]External building inspector (10-12 visits to the construction site and acceptance of the trades) 3,500 EUR
[*]Outdoor facilities (75 sqm paving, 30 sqm terrace slabs, 120 sqm roll lawn, initial shrubs and plants) 15,000 EUR
[*]Interior finishing (55 sqm tiles, 125 sqm laminate, wallpapering with fleece wallpaper on upper floor, plastered and painted on ground floor) 25,000 EUR
[*]Double garage on slab 13,000 EUR
[*]Kitchen 10,000 EUR
[*]Flat-rate additional expenses: 10,000 EUR

All in all, that makes 456,000 EUR.

What do you think of my current calculation, could there still be major unknowns or am I on a good path??
We have equity of about 75,000 EUR and would therefore need to finance 381,000 EUR. Preferably a combination of 15- and 20-year terms, 1.5% repayment and a special repayment right of 3-5%. The goal would be a monthly rate of max. 1,450 EUR. Available net income is currently 4,700 EUR/month.

Looking at various online calculators and comparison sites, this all seems to be no problem. How do you assess this? Especially since we are bringing the plot of land along with our equity, we should be able to achieve an attractive interest rate. Many thanks for your opinions.

Regards

Joschka

Hello Joschka,


I think that is calculated very optimistically.

"My" calculation would look like this:

House KfW 70 incl. small bay window on the ground floor - EUR 290,000
Basement waterproof concrete - EUR 50,000-55,000
RC II certified (only ground floor) and estimated - EUR 3,000
electric roller shutters (up/down switch - € 270.00/window) - EUR 3,000 for 11 windows ground floor/attic
Building technology (I can only roughly estimate) - EUR 5,000
Pellets is a big chunk, all in with boiler, buffer tank and storage/conveying system incl. installation - good EUR 25,000
Chimney flue from basement to attic - EUR 4,500

Investment single-family house without painting/floor coverings and ancillary construction costs - EUR 385,500

That all sounds plausible, although the double garage can also be more expensive.

For me rather EUR 55,500 more

Thanks for your comments, I have the following questions:

[*]We didn’t want to build to KfW standard at all, so shouldn’t it be cheaper for us?
[*]What is RCII certified?
[*]The basement really costs 50,000 EUR?? What makes it so expensive? Would a masonry basement with black coating be cheaper?
[*]I wasn’t aware that pellet heating systems are so much more expensive, can you estimate how the different heating types compare monetarily?

Hello Joschka,

Thanks for your comments, I have the following questions:

[*]We didn’t want to build to KfW standard at all, so shouldn’t it be cheaper?

I would recommend having the building envelope constructed in any case in compliance with the Energy Saving Ordinance; retrofitting later costs a lot of money. Of course, with an Energy Saving Ordinance house, you can also do without renewable energies and stay within your provider’s standard – usually gas and solar. In your place, I would consider gas without solar but with controlled residential ventilation; if the plot conditions are not absolutely terrible, in my opinion KfW 70 should already be achievable.

[*]What is RCII certified?

That is the new designation for the former WK II.

[*]The basement really costs 50 TER?? What is so expensive about it? Would a masonry basement with black coating be cheaper?

9.00 x 12.50 m is not a small house and a bit of earth has to be moved as well. I rather don’t believe that a masonry basement with corresponding sealing is cheaper.

[*]I wasn’t aware that pellet heating systems are so much more expensive, can you estimate how the different heating types compare financially?

You could write books about that

There are very large price differences between the individual providers – in ascending order I would dare to make the following statement:

1. Gas
2. Gas with heating support
3. Air-water heat pump
4. Geothermal heat pump
5. Pellet heating system

Only brand providers, complete prices starting at about TEUR 12 for the gas heating and ending at about TEUR 25 for the pellet heating.

You shouldn’t base your choice of heat generator solely on price, though. Discuss your plans with a specialist and clarify the different options with him. Sometimes the most expensive option on the second look and knowing all the facts is actually the most economical system; an air-water heat pump is not always the be-all and end-all.

Rhenish greetings