Building a 250sqm house for 250k. Possible? Already have land.

Dean91

Would you build a good size house in kildare for 200 - 250k
Around 250sqm

Billythekid19

Dean91 wrote: »

Would you build a good size house in kildare for 200 - 250k
Around 250sqm

You would if you got the site for free!

Dean91

Billythekid19 wrote: »

You would if you got the site for free!

Thanks , we have just over 40 acrs split between my partner and her sister, will probably build on an acre or 2.


Thinking of something like this if possible.

Dean91

Hi what are peoples ideas on the following,
Looking to build a house for 250k on land we were left .

Is it better to keep it simple .

IvoryTower

with absolutely zero knowledge of building im guessing not a chance

Creamy Goodness

IvoryTower wrote: »

with absolutely zero knowledge of building im guessing not a chance

Also zero knowledge but I'd agree, something like that is closer to double €250k

awec

Dean91 wrote: »

Hi what are peoples ideas on the following,
Looking to build 250sqm house for 250k on land we were left .

Is it better to keep it simple .

€1000 per square meter seems like pure fantasy stuff IMO. I think even if you done as much as you could yourself instead of hiring trades you'd struggle to get anywhere near that costing.

Woshy

Dean91 wrote: »

Thanks , we have just over 40 acrs split between my partner and her sister, will probably build on an acre or 2.


Thinking of something like this if possible.

My friend built a house in Kildare on land given to them by her husband's family. I think it was around that price but I'm not 100%. They have an architect in the family too so saved on that.

They were smart and did a new build but didn't fully complete it - it's a one storey atm and it looks like there just have a double height hall but there is a doorway up there that has been blocked off. Behind it is more space to build and there's room to put a stairs in the hallway so when they have more money they can go up and finish the second floor. So something like that could work

Springy Turf

Dean91 wrote: »

Hi what are peoples ideas on the following,
Looking to build 250sqm house for 250k on land we were left .

Is it better to keep it simple .

You probably need professional advice!

Graham

Mod Note

thread split and other thread merged.

OP please don't post the same topic in multiple threads. I may move this to construction & planning if you get insufficient responses.

Dean91

awec wrote: »

€1000 per square meter seems like pure fantasy stuff IMO. I think even if you done as much as you could yourself instead of hiring trades you'd struggle to get anywhere near that costing.

Hi so what size build would I be looking at for 250k

fago

Dean91 wrote: »

Hi so what size build would I be looking at for 250k

150sqm according to this machine https://www.scsi.ie/advice/renewing_your_house_insurance_rebuild_calculator with no extras, garage etc.


Given it's on the chartered surveyors website perhaps it can be trusted - €1600 per sqm which is on the low side.

Dean91

fago wrote: »

150sqm according to this machine https://www.scsi.ie/advice/renewing_your_house_insurance_rebuild_calculator with no extras, garage etc.


Given it's on the chartered surveyors website perhaps it can be trusted - €1600 per sqm which is on the low side.

Probably better to get a 300k mortgage so , just thought 250k would be enough for a decent size .

awec

Dean91 wrote: »

Probably better to get a 300k mortgage so , just thought 250k would be enough for a decent size .

You should figure out what the max you're wiling to spend is, then engage an architect who will tell you what you can expect for that sort of money.

Even 300k for 250sqm seems a bit dreamy, that's only €1200 per sqm.

hackersphorr

You need to provide some additional information:

• Are you a tradesman/can you do any element yourself?
• Are you going to employ a contractor or go direct labour?

Before you break ground you'll most likely have to pay:

• Architect Fees (estimates vary widely)
• Engineer
• Solicitor - needed if transferring land/sorting mortgage
• Kildare CC fees - not sure of exact figure - circa €12k

Have you additional money for these?

Hasmunch

fago wrote: »

150sqm according to this machine https://www.scsi.ie/advice/renewing_your_house_insurance_rebuild_calculator with no extras, garage etc.


Given it's on the chartered surveyors website perhaps it can be trusted - €1600 per sqm which is on the low side.

I got a QS to cost a house for my recently and it came it just under €1600 per sqm so that seems about right. (South east region)

dubrov

I am assuming Kildare prices are very similar to Dublin.
If so, I'd expect to pay about 2k per square metre if you are not planning to manage the build yourself.
Remember things like professional/legal fees, driveway, landscaping, council fees, water/electrical connection will all add up

A local QS would be able to give you a fairly rough estimate fairly cheaply.
I'd start there.

JimmyVik

A friend from school got a big chunk of his parents garden and built a €125sqm house on it for less than €150k. That includes bathrooms and kitchens all finished. Think he brought it in from Germany pre built. Looks the business too.

sydthebeat

youll be building to A2 standard, under the NZEB regulations.

you cannot do that with unskilled cheap labour.

you will be looking at a minimum of a A2W heat pump, zoned underfloor heating, mechanical heat recovery ventilation, top level insulation and air tightness.

if you can do all these for €1500 / sq m you will be going very well

awec

awec wrote: »

You should figure out what the max you're wiling to spend is, then engage an architect who will tell you what you can expect for that sort of money.

Even 300k for 250sqm seems a bit dreamy, that's only €1200 per sqm.

It's hard to say really as things vary widely depending on many factors:

- What part of the country (Id expect kildare to be on the higher end cost wise)

- direct labour or contractor (This will make a big difference)

- can you or are you willing to do bits yourself, even painting etc or will you be pricing it all in

- level of finish

- are you completing everything from day one


I'm at planning stage for a 3000 sq ft (280 sq m) house so I am working on pricing etc. Best rate in the west with a contractor is around 155 euro a sq foot, that high quality finish, underfloor heating, heat pump.

I'll be going direct labour and would be looking to knock that back to about the 120 to 125 sq ft but still going high quality finish (hollowcore, underfloor all round, A2W, heat recovery etc). Doing all project management ourselves, all pricing and pushing hard and shopping around hardwares for everything, paying cash where possible to get better prices on trades men, doing stuff ourselves where possible (keeping site tidy, collecting materials, looking at buying second hand scaffolding and putting it up ourselves and then selling on after, organising materials on site, helping trades people, doing the gardens ourselves, painting ourselves etc etc).

Based off my way of working if I was building 2690 sq ft (250 sq metres) I'd be looking at 322k to 336k fully finished but we also plan on only finshing the rooms out fully that are needed to move in and working away on finshing the rest so you could probably get the house to move in level with some rooms finished very nicely but not all rooms finished for around the 300k mark.

As I said though a lot of variables, we know lots in the trade, have a farm so access to machinery for use on site, safe and dry storage for materials if bought in advance, people around all day to keep an eye on things etc.

To summerise best case contractor is probably around 155 euro sq ft or 1650 euro sq metre

Direct labour with plenty of effort on your behalf on pricing etc plus helping where you can would be around 120 sq euro foot or 1290 euro sq m.

Hasmunch

Dakota Bald Jet wrote: »

Builders finish?

Sanitary ware and kitchen allowances included in that

Mellor

Woshy wrote: »

My friend built a house in Kildare on land given to them by her husband's family. I think it was around that price but I'm not 100%. They have an architect in the family too so saved on that.

They were smart and did a new build but didn't fully complete it - it's a one storey atm

If they didn't complete it, then they didn.t do it for that price.

Dean91 wrote: »

Probably better to get a 300k mortgage so , just thought 250k would be enough for a decent size .

Why are you set on 250sqm?
I'd rather a normal sized house designed and built well than a large house where you had to cut corners.

awec

Makai Quaint Ram wrote: »

It's hard to say really as things vary widely depending on many factors:

- What part of the country (Id expect kildare to be on the higher end cost wise)

- direct labour or contractor (This will make a big difference)

- can you or are you willing to do bits yourself, even painting etc or will you be pricing it all in

- level of finish

- are you completing everything from day one


I'm at planning stage for a 3000 sq ft (280 sq m) house so I am working on pricing etc. Best rate in the west with a contractor is around 155 euro a sq foot, that high quality finish, underfloor heating, heat pump.

I'll be going direct labour and would be looking to knock that back to about the 120 to 125 sq ft but still going high quality finish (hollowcore, underfloor all round, A2W, heat recovery etc). Doing all project management ourselves, all pricing and pushing hard and shopping around hardwares for everything, paying cash where possible to get better prices on trades men, doing stuff ourselves where possible (keeping site tidy, collecting materials, looking at buying second hand scaffolding and putting it up ourselves and then selling on after, organising materials on site, helping trades people, doing the gardens ourselves, painting ourselves etc etc).

Based off my way of working if I was building 2690 sq ft (250 sq metres) I'd be looking at 322k to 336k fully finished but we also plan on only finshing the rooms out fully that are needed to move in and working away on finshing the rest so you could probably get the house to move in level with some rooms finished very nicely but not all rooms finished for around the 300k mark.

As I said though a lot of variables, we know lots in the trade, have a farm so access to machinery for use on site, safe and dry storage for materials if bought in advance, people around all day to keep an eye on things etc.

To summerise best case contractor is probably around 155 euro sq ft or 1650 euro sq metre

Direct labour with plenty of effort on your behalf on pricing etc plus helping where you can would be around 120 sq euro foot or 1290 euro sq m.

I get what you are saying but IMO if you're calculating sqm cost you need to calculating the cost to finish it all. If you're building it for 336, but leaving a load of rooms unfinished, then you haven't really built a complete house. If you've to spend another 30/40/50k to finish it off over the next few years then your build cost is closer to 380k than 336 for example.

Your figures work out at 1200 sqm if you add it up, but this is only possible because you're not completing all 280sqm now.

awec

awec wrote: »

I get what you are saying but IMO if you're calculating sqm cost you need to calculating the cost to finish it all. If you're building it for 336, but leaving a load of rooms unfinished, then you haven't really built a complete house. If you've to spend another 30/40/50k to finish it off over the next few years then your build cost is closer to 380k than 336 for example.

Your figures work out at 1200 sqm if you add it up, but this is only possible because you're not completing all 280sqm now.

I know what you mean in that its not the true overall cost to finish the house but I guess my thinking is what my cost commitment is going to be on mortgage + deposit to get the house finished to a satisfactory level for moving in. Finishing other rooms done over time when bits and pieces of money become available is not going to be impacting your cash flow every month for the next 25 years or so.

I'd be fully finishing a lot of it too at that, maybe leave two bedrooms unfinished, second living room unfinished and possibly main living room unfinished as kitchen will also have a large open plan living area in it. Everything else would be fully finished. Garage would have foundation in but no more to begin with but that's a separate thing so not going into that as not applicable to everyone.

Also unfinished means floors, furnishings and painting really so not massive outlay either to complete as you go. All electrics, plumbing etc would be completed and as its underfloor so would heating.

Anyway was just trying to give a feel to the op on how variable things are on pricing between the different routes you can go down.

Dean91

hackersphorr wrote: »

You need to provide some additional information:

• Are you a tradesman/can you do any element yourself?
• Are you going to employ a contractor or go direct labour?

Before you break ground you'll most likely have to pay:

• Architect Fees (estimates vary widely)
• Engineer
• Solicitor - needed if transferring land/sorting mortgage
• Kildare CC fees - not sure of exact figure - circa €12k

Have you additional money for these?

Hi I'm a electrician by trade . I know a few people in the trade business that can help along the way.

Father in law will be doing the foundation as he is in that kind of work .

Brother in law is a plumber by trade just qualified .

Will probably use my friends dad to design it , he is a retired Architect

Hopeing to save in those areas , her family are use to building there own homes , I just wanted to get my head around it as prices have changed since they built there own homes .

I was born and raised in Dublin so I wouldn't know much about building my own home . First time for everything excited and nervous about the journey.

Being in the trade yourself and having family and friends to do some/all of the work will certainly give you the opportunity to save quite a lot of money over a normal joe soap going with a contractor.

Some_randomer

JimmyVik wrote: »

A friend from school got a big chunk of his parents garden and built a €125sqm house on it for less than €150k. That includes bathrooms and kitchens all finished. Think he brought it in from Germany pre built. Looks the business too.

Hi @JimmyVik would you mind pm'ing me the name of the company in Germany that your friend used? I'm hoping to do the same thing in the near future. I've been looking at various prefab / pre-built companies in Ireland and abroad and there's a mind boggling amount of detail involved. Would be great to get details from someone that's been through it 👍

Ray Donovan

Ya it’s possible but you won’t have anything in it!!

Mellor

Makai Quaint Ram wrote: »

I know what you mean in that its not the true overall cost to finish the house but I guess my thinking is what my cost commitment is going to be on mortgage + deposit to get the house finished to a satisfactory level for moving in. Finishing other rooms done over time when bits and pieces of money become available is not going to be impacting your cash flow every month for the next 25 years or so

Finishing it off of the next few year might not affect your cash flow, but that's money you aren't paying off you mortgage so the net effect is more or less the say.

320k Mortgage = 290k principle after 3 years. + 30k to finish

350k Mortgage = 321k principle after 3 years. 30k as additional repayments = 290k

In either case you are left with more or less the same debt after you finish as long as you put the you'd spend to finish off into the house anyway. The only costs involved in the latter is the interest on the extra 30k over 3 years, which is about 1k. And finishing it all at once might even save you 1k on pricing vrs in bits and pieces.

Dean91 wrote: »

Brother in law is a plumber by trade just qualified .

No offense to your brother in law, but you might want somebody with a bit more experience. Especially with heat pumps, UFH etc

About ten years ago, my brother built his house of approx 300sq.m. for around 250k. He claims it's a little less, at just over 200k, but reading some of the replies to this thread I'm suspecting he's underestimating some of the costs.

He did a lot of the work himself, in fact so did all of us. And like the OP. he already had the land. This was in Tipperary.

OP are you referring to the structure or actually finishing the house, down to picture frames and pillowcases?

I'd say 250k is more than possible for the structural work, but a lot depends on spec and design. My brother had to forego a lot of the dreamier elements in his house, like a courtyard and glass walls and this kinda thing, because it required too much work, costly materials and, probably, experienced builders.

My only real piece of advice is do hire an architect, even if she's not going to see the project through. Just so the first principles are sound. After that, go mad and enjoy. Anything is possible.

Cyrus

With a small budget is there a reason you need a house that size ?

You could spend your building budget decorating and furnishing a house that size if you were that way inclined

You will probably only do this once so my advice would be to figure out what you really want , get a design that you actually like and work towards it rather than just throwing something up because it’s big. The majority of one off big builds in the countryside are eyesores so try not to fall into that trip .

Avoiding that will require paying an architect a few quid thought.