Hello dear members,
I discovered your lovely forum thanks to Google. Unfortunately, as is often the case, a problem has brought me here.
We are building an extension onto an existing semi-detached house in Baden-Württemberg.
We are building on a slab foundation. The friendly neighbor built his half with a basement.
We live 70 kilometers (about 43 miles) away from the construction site.
Therefore, with both of us working and having two children, we cannot be at the site all the time.
Yesterday morning, the workers began setting the formwork for the slab foundation.
When I arrived at the site yesterday, my friendly neighbor was already there waiting for me.
He yelled at me quite loudly and was extremely angry.
He said that the slab foundation towards his side was insulated only with Styrodur (extruded polystyrene).
One of the workers tried to explain that in addition to the Styrodur, a 4 cm (1.6 inch) soundproofing wall would be installed along the house.
Still, he did not calm down.
He just kept yelling. He said he would take pictures and that he would refuse to pay.
We have no intention of demanding any money from him.
I was really shocked!!!
Actually, he should be worried, since he built 3 cm (1.2 inches) of his house’s total length over our property boundary.
What is the legal situation here?
I told my husband about it.
He wanted to see a lawyer right away.
For me, maintaining peace with the neighbor is more important.
Please excuse my spelling mistakes and my lack of knowledge. I have two children and need to keep them happy at the same time.
Thank you,
Sandra
I discovered your lovely forum thanks to Google. Unfortunately, as is often the case, a problem has brought me here.
We are building an extension onto an existing semi-detached house in Baden-Württemberg.
We are building on a slab foundation. The friendly neighbor built his half with a basement.
We live 70 kilometers (about 43 miles) away from the construction site.
Therefore, with both of us working and having two children, we cannot be at the site all the time.
Yesterday morning, the workers began setting the formwork for the slab foundation.
When I arrived at the site yesterday, my friendly neighbor was already there waiting for me.
He yelled at me quite loudly and was extremely angry.
He said that the slab foundation towards his side was insulated only with Styrodur (extruded polystyrene).
One of the workers tried to explain that in addition to the Styrodur, a 4 cm (1.6 inch) soundproofing wall would be installed along the house.
Still, he did not calm down.
He just kept yelling. He said he would take pictures and that he would refuse to pay.
We have no intention of demanding any money from him.
I was really shocked!!!
Actually, he should be worried, since he built 3 cm (1.2 inches) of his house’s total length over our property boundary.
What is the legal situation here?
I told my husband about it.
He wanted to see a lawyer right away.
For me, maintaining peace with the neighbor is more important.
Please excuse my spelling mistakes and my lack of knowledge. I have two children and need to keep them happy at the same time.
Thank you,
Sandra
Sandrasix schrieb:
In my opinion, that’s the proper way to do it.
We didn’t want to exclude him completely.Yes, I also think that is the right approach. Especially with semi-detached houses, there are quite a few details to consider.
How did the initial discussions go? Was he friendlier then? What suddenly triggered him now? HIS encroachment? People affected often react defensively to divert attention from their own issues (encroachment).
Great how your husband responded!
And I can relate to you—having problems with neighbors is a really unpleasant experience!
Our situation is similar. We are also building in an infill lot, but ours is 2,500 m² (27,000 sq ft). The neighbors take liberties with everything. They knowingly build over OUR property with part of their parking area, drive construction vehicles and bicycles across our land, use our property as storage for their building work, and so on. We don’t mind at all—let them do what they want. We have plenty of space around our house and haven’t even come close to their boundary. But at the same time, every single thing, and I mean every single thing, that happens on our property is scrutinized closely. Recently, our gardener sprayed weeds with an organic product, and they wrote a formal complaint 40 m (130 ft) over OUR property about what he was doing.
Our probable mistake was that we should have shown our neighbors “their” boundaries much earlier. Our neighbors’ mistake is that, to avoid having neighbors and their construction site, they should have bought our property. It’s actually quite simple!
Our situation is similar. We are also building in an infill lot, but ours is 2,500 m² (27,000 sq ft). The neighbors take liberties with everything. They knowingly build over OUR property with part of their parking area, drive construction vehicles and bicycles across our land, use our property as storage for their building work, and so on. We don’t mind at all—let them do what they want. We have plenty of space around our house and haven’t even come close to their boundary. But at the same time, every single thing, and I mean every single thing, that happens on our property is scrutinized closely. Recently, our gardener sprayed weeds with an organic product, and they wrote a formal complaint 40 m (130 ft) over OUR property about what he was doing.
Our probable mistake was that we should have shown our neighbors “their” boundaries much earlier. Our neighbors’ mistake is that, to avoid having neighbors and their construction site, they should have bought our property. It’s actually quite simple!
S
Sandrasix21 Apr 2020 07:27Solveigh schrieb:
Yes, I also think that’s how it should be. Especially with semi-detached housing, there are quite a few details to consider.
How did the initial discussions go? Was he friendlier then? What triggered him all of a sudden? HIS development? Dogs that are caught often bark, trying to distract from their own issues (development).
Great how your husband reacted! The discussions went quite well.
More factual with my husband, more personal with me.
I’m not exactly sure what bothers him.
To be honest, I don’t even think he wants to divert attention from the development.
When I go on holiday, I look forward to the beach so much that I forget my fear of flying.
But when I’m at the airport, I feel really unwell.
Maybe that’s a metaphor that applies to him. Or just my wishful thinking.
But that’s only a guess.
S
Sandrasix21 Apr 2020 07:28Solveigh schrieb:
I completely understand how frustrating it is to have issues with neighbors—it’s a terrible feeling!
Our situation is similar. We are also building on an infill plot, but ours is 2500m² (0.62 acres). The neighbors take liberties with everything. They knowingly build over OUR property with part of their parking area, drive construction vehicles and bicycles over our land, use it as storage for their building work, and so on. We don’t care at all—they can do what they want since we have plenty of space around our house and haven’t even come close to their boundary. At the same time, every single thing we do on our own property is watched closely. Recently, when our gardener sprayed weeds with an organic product, a report was made from 40m (130 feet) away ON OUR property about what he was doing.
Our mistake was probably that we didn’t clearly mark “their” property lines sooner. Our neighbors’ mistake is that if they didn’t want neighbors and a construction site next door, they should have bought our land. It’s actually quite simple! Oh noooooooo
Sandrasix schrieb:
BER when I stand at the airport, I feel really unwell.
Maybe it’s a metaphor that fits him.Yes, I fully understand that. Something new, something unknown is coming, how will it turn out, and so on. It’s normal to get nervous, but certainly not to behave abusively!!
I feel like people are completely losing it at the moment. Especially the older ones – of course, they’re particularly panicked or totally frustrated. I was at the university hospital yesterday for just a check-up. What was happening there! The elderly (everyone except me was over 60) were yelling at each other in the hallways and at the staff as well. It was extremely aggressive, all because it wasn’t immediately clear who was next at the registration desk. People’s fear has become so overwhelming that it shows on every level – they completely lose it over the smallest triggers.
As a doctor, I would have given everyone a shot right away. Anything – the main thing is to help them calm down.
As a doctor, I would have given everyone a shot right away. Anything – the main thing is to help them calm down.