The construction costs for a home consist of various items. In order not to lose the overview, it is important to deal well with the construction financing before building a house. Because the construction costs not only include the pure costs for the house, but also the ancillary construction costs, which should not be underestimated and for which a sufficient buffer should be planned. In the following guide, we have listed a few typical cost traps that you should not fall for when building a house. To see wallpapers for the childrens room, please check listofledlights.
1. Cost trap: Do not take additional costs into account when buying a property
The misconception that a turnkey house will cover all costs is widespread. However, the offers only rarely include the additional purchase costs. These arise from the purchase of the property, regardless of whether you then build there or not. They amount to approx. 5 to 13 percent of the acquisition costs of the property and are divided into the real estate transfer tax, the notary fees, the fees for the entry in the land register and the broker’s commission. The ancillary construction costs when buying a property, during the preparation and when building the house itself are the most dangerous cost traps. It is therefore good to find out about the ancillary costs and to include them in the calculation right from the start.
2. Cost trap: Overestimate your own contribution
The next cost trap when building a house is overestimating what you can do yourself. On average, non-professionals invest around 1,000 to 2,000 working hours in a converted house before it is ready to move into. Building a house is exhausting and, in addition to work or childcare, the capacity to work on the construction site is limited. In addition, many activities are not so easy for a layman without manual skills or technical understanding to carry out and experts are always in demand, especially for work that requires approval. As a result, work is taking much longer than originally planned. In some cases, this pushes the entire blueprint backwards.
Also, keep in mind that you will still have to pay rent for each additional month that you cannot live in your new house. If the construction is delayed by several months, the sums that add to the construction costs can be quite large.
3. Cost trap: Underestimate ancillary costs during the construction phase
While the personal contribution to be made is often overestimated, the additional costs of building a house are often underestimated. The problem: homeowners often only rely on advertising offers, which can be a cost trap when building a house. Because with these offers, the additional costs that arise when building a house are usually not listed. They include, for example, the fees for the building permit, the planning costs for building surveyors, insurance fees and the costs for legal advice.
Probably the biggest items on the list of additional costs are the connections to the water and sewage, gas, electricity and telephone networks. In addition, the expansion of the outdoor facilities costs money. The minimum is usually a paved path and, if necessary, a fence. In addition, a little money should be planned for the planting and a garage, a carport or the extension of the balcony – for example with comfortable outdoor floorboards . The costs for the outdoor facility quickly add up to between 15,000 and 20,000 euros.
4. Cost trap: Wrong budget planning
If you plan too little money when you want to build a house, you could get into payment difficulties during the completion. If you have miscalculated and underestimated the loan, you may have to ask your lender for more money. In the worst case, another loan will not be granted and the house cannot be completed indefinitely.
If your bank grants you another loan, you often get it on renegotiations on significantly worse terms. In order to avoid this cost trap when building a house, it is advisable to calculate a little more generously right from the start.
