Hello Forum!
After my grandmother’s life estate ended, we now have an unoccupied semi-detached house and face the big question: should we demolish and build new or do a (major) renovation?
What we know:
Not visible in the photo are two garages on the right, which are still in use and could remain untouched for now. How the house looks beneath the facade is unknown.
What we don’t know:
We would be very grateful for any kind of suggestions. For example, do you need a basement? Should you build an additional rental unit as a form of retirement planning, or the opposite – could you omit a floor to reduce costs, and so on…
There are two of us, around 35 years old, without children or pets, though that could change in five years. Unfortunately, the lottery win hasn’t come through yet, so we can’t replace this house with a castle. Ideally, we would like to come in under the architect’s estimated budget.
So, who has an idea, an opinion, a suggestion, or a question?
After my grandmother’s life estate ended, we now have an unoccupied semi-detached house and face the big question: should we demolish and build new or do a (major) renovation?
What we know:
- The house is 90 years old.
- There is a damp rubble stone basement.
- We consulted an architect who pointed out what might be wrong. For example, he picked at a piece of steel beam from the basement ceiling/wall with his fingers, which as a complete layperson I find extremely concerning. However, the houses in the neighborhood are all roughly the same age, none have been demolished so far, and none have collapsed. I am not sure how to evaluate this “the steel beams will eventually become flaky” information. He advised against a minor renovation, calling it a bottomless pit, and said it would ultimately cost much more than planned if something unexpected happens. He threw out the figure of 300,000€ (euros) for both a full renovation, a new build, or a sale. The latter is not an option for now.
- Electrical, plumbing, and heating systems would all need to be replaced.
- A call to the building authority revealed there is no zoning plan. So, basically, anything is possible at this stage.
Not visible in the photo are two garages on the right, which are still in use and could remain untouched for now. How the house looks beneath the facade is unknown.
What we don’t know:
- What we actually want.
- How we should proceed.
- Who to turn to for advice.
We would be very grateful for any kind of suggestions. For example, do you need a basement? Should you build an additional rental unit as a form of retirement planning, or the opposite – could you omit a floor to reduce costs, and so on…
There are two of us, around 35 years old, without children or pets, though that could change in five years. Unfortunately, the lottery win hasn’t come through yet, so we can’t replace this house with a castle. Ideally, we would like to come in under the architect’s estimated budget.
So, who has an idea, an opinion, a suggestion, or a question?
A preliminary building inquiry (preliminary decision) within the scope of the submitted question and the positive response from the building authority initially ensures that the building project complies with building and planning regulations and is fundamentally approvable. A positively decided preliminary inquiry is not a building permit but provides planning certainty, especially when other agencies or authorities need to be involved (landscape protection, nature conservation, heritage protection, water protection, etc.). An oral statement from the authority instead of a preliminary inquiry does not provide planning certainty and is usually rejected with reference to the preliminary inquiry.
Whether the estimated amount of €300,000 for the renovation is reasonable can only be roughly estimated once the size of the property is known (gross floor area / gross volume) and the condition assessed after a building condition analysis.
The neighbor’s dormer window should be at least 1.25m (4 feet) from the property line (fire protection). If stipulated by the building authority, a dormer that stands on the external masonry is no longer considered a "privileged building element." It then triggers setback requirements and must be at least 3m (10 feet) from the property line. This would need to be verified.
Whether the estimated amount of €300,000 for the renovation is reasonable can only be roughly estimated once the size of the property is known (gross floor area / gross volume) and the condition assessed after a building condition analysis.
The neighbor’s dormer window should be at least 1.25m (4 feet) from the property line (fire protection). If stipulated by the building authority, a dormer that stands on the external masonry is no longer considered a "privileged building element." It then triggers setback requirements and must be at least 3m (10 feet) from the property line. This would need to be verified.
D
Doc.Schnaggls28 Sep 2015 12:15W. Pickartz schrieb:
A preliminary building inquiry (pre-approval) ensures, within the scope of the question asked and upon positive response from the building authority, that the construction project complies with building and planning regulations and is fundamentally eligible for approval. A positive response to such a preliminary inquiry is not a building permit but provides planning security, especially when other departments or authorities need to be involved (landscape protection, nature conservation, heritage preservation, water protection, etc.). A mere verbal statement from the authority instead of a preliminary inquiry does not provide planning security and is usually rejected with reference to the required preliminary inquiry.However, I still cannot see any obligation to submit a preliminary building inquiry in this statement.
Therefore, the statement:
W. Pickartz schrieb:
...a preliminary building inquiry must be submitted. is simply incorrect.Whether it is advisable is another matter. Depending on the responsible building authority (and the reliability of the staff), the costs for a preliminary inquiry can certainly be avoided.
More precisely: It is not necessary to submit a building permit inquiry (BVA) to clarify the construction and planning law issues related to a planned building project. However, any architect in this situation would be well advised to use the BVA process, as they owe the client a design that can be approved. A building application rejected because fundamental questions about approval eligibility and other key issues were not clarified in advance—documented in writing and verifiably—is a design error on the part of the architect and affects their liability. While a private client may want to save on the fees for the BVA, the architect should not allow themselves to be persuaded otherwise.
W. Pickartz schrieb:
A building permit application that gets rejected because the feasibility and other fundamental issues were not clarified in writing and with proof beforehand is a planning error made by the architect and relates to their liability. The private builder might want to save the fees/honorarium for the building authority; the architect should not be persuaded to go along with that.Good point.
The issue with the dormer should be checked in the building records. It might be the case that the dormer is already secured through a specific encumbrance or would need to be secured by one, possibly via a project-related or general association encumbrance.
For your own project, of course, it is advantageous if the dormer cannot be found in the building records at all or was planned/approved differently. However, you should handle this carefully, as otherwise you might end up with a disgruntled neighbor.
Best regards
Dirk Grafe
A
allerdings28 Sep 2015 17:04backbone23 schrieb:
The neighbor’s dormer partly extends over your roof?! That could become relevant when demolishing, selling, etc.… He is definitely one of the potential buyers of the house…
Bauexperte schrieb:
Although I think €300,000 is still a bit optimistic… for a new build; for a renovation it might still be feasible. Ouch.
The square is a double garage.
I don’t know the floor area at the moment.
At first, we thought it would be easy to move back into this house. And you save on buying land! Everything is already there! But if you don’t know what you’re doing, it suddenly becomes much more complicated.
Have an architect experienced in historic buildings and renovations explain the advantages and disadvantages of this property, including all construction and planning permission specifics, on site. Otherwise, you might overlook crucial details and end up buying a property with hidden defects.
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