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
I don’t find Steven’s approach as problematic as others might. The elderly lady is attached to her land—who knows why, maybe sentimental reasons (the first night of love under that bush down to the lower right!), or because she’s an old farmer and land holds a very different value for her, or who knows what else. Obviously, she doesn’t need the money but is attached to the land. So she won’t sell it during her lifetime.
Therefore, Steven doesn’t have to deal with neighbors he doesn’t like while she’s still alive. It can stay the way it is for now. The elderly lady is content and happy, and so is Steven.
However, at a certain age, one simply has to expect the possibility of death, and if I were Steven and knew who would inherit the land, I’d want to get in touch with the heirs. Maybe they are also attached to the land and would never consider selling it (first night of love under the bush, but on the left side), which would work out for Steven as well. But the daughters apparently decided to leave, live elsewhere, and have no connection to the land at all—they will sell it.
Given this, it makes a lot of sense in Steven’s situation to signal to them: I would like to buy the land if that happens! This is the best solution for everyone, including the elderly lady! She keeps her land for life, and the heirs know that in the event of her passing, they don’t have to market the property somewhere else but can handle it conveniently. Steven keeps troublesome neighbors at bay and ends up with a great piece of land (and my envy *g*).
Therefore, Steven doesn’t have to deal with neighbors he doesn’t like while she’s still alive. It can stay the way it is for now. The elderly lady is content and happy, and so is Steven.
However, at a certain age, one simply has to expect the possibility of death, and if I were Steven and knew who would inherit the land, I’d want to get in touch with the heirs. Maybe they are also attached to the land and would never consider selling it (first night of love under the bush, but on the left side), which would work out for Steven as well. But the daughters apparently decided to leave, live elsewhere, and have no connection to the land at all—they will sell it.
Given this, it makes a lot of sense in Steven’s situation to signal to them: I would like to buy the land if that happens! This is the best solution for everyone, including the elderly lady! She keeps her land for life, and the heirs know that in the event of her passing, they don’t have to market the property somewhere else but can handle it conveniently. Steven keeps troublesome neighbors at bay and ends up with a great piece of land (and my envy *g*).
Climbee schrieb:
I don’t find Steven’s approach that problematic. The elderly lady is attached to her land – who knows why, maybe sentimental reasons (her first night of love under the bush down there on the right!), or because she’s an old farmer and land means something entirely different to her, or God knows what else. She obviously doesn’t need the money, but she’s emotionally tied to the property. So she won’t sell it while she’s alive.
Therefore, Steven doesn’t have to worry about neighbors he doesn’t like during her lifetime. Things can remain as they are. The elderly lady is happy and satisfied, and so is Steven.
However, when a person reaches a certain age, death must be considered. If I were Steven and knew who the heirs are, I would try to come to an agreement with them. Maybe they are also attached to the land and would never sell it (first night of love under the bush, but on the left side), then that would work out for Steven as well.
But it seems the women have chosen a different path, live far away, and have no connection to the property and will sell it.
In that case, it makes perfect sense for Steven’s situation to signal to the heirs: I would be interested in buying the land if that happens!
That’s the best solution for everyone, including the elderly lady!
She keeps her land for her entire life, and the heirs know that in the event of her passing, they don’t have to put the property on the open market but can handle it conveniently. Steven avoids unwanted neighbors and ends up with a great piece of land (and my envy *g*). That’s why I highlighted and underlined the “if”...
That reaction is understandable!!!! There are cases where exactly that kind of arrangement is made, and it’s just disgusting (“hopefully he/she dies soon so I can finally sell it”).
A neighbor of a friend once said exactly the same thing.........
@Steven: if you don’t mind me asking, what’s the asking price for the property?
No one said “HOPEFULLY she dies soon” – that was entirely your interpretation. Do you realize that?
Steven is clearly more than satisfied with the status quo, and this situation could continue indefinitely. He has simply made arrangements for the time after. And that is completely legitimate.
That’s exactly what you do when you transfer ownership of your house to your children but reserve a lifetime right of residence for yourself. You plan ahead (possibly to avoid inheritance tax), but that doesn’t mean you’re expected to die anytime soon!
Steven is clearly more than satisfied with the status quo, and this situation could continue indefinitely. He has simply made arrangements for the time after. And that is completely legitimate.
That’s exactly what you do when you transfer ownership of your house to your children but reserve a lifetime right of residence for yourself. You plan ahead (possibly to avoid inheritance tax), but that doesn’t mean you’re expected to die anytime soon!
tumaa schrieb:
@Steven: may I ask how much the land costs?Hello tumaaI have no idea. It hasn’t been discussed yet. But it is garden land, so not a building plot, and also not land designated for future development.
However, I can’t ignore the costs either. I actually think investing in land, especially here in the Düsseldorf metropolitan area, is not the worst option.
I’ve also considered refinancing. There are many horse owners around here. I could create three to four paddocks, tap electricity from my house, drill a well quickly, collect wastewater and have it removed occasionally. I’ve already looked into stables: if the stable is portable, it doesn’t require a building permit / planning permission. Portable means it must fit on a truck. How it gets there doesn’t matter. So, the size of a shipping container, and that’s it.
Steven
Climbee schrieb:
Steven is obviously more than satisfied with the status quo, and this situation could continue indefinitely. He has already made preparations for the time after that. And that is perfectly legitimate. Do you notice that I said it is completely okay??? I don’t know the situation; he knows it better. If that’s not the case, then everything is fine!!! It’s just that people immediately become defensive when something is questioned... hmm