ᐅ Timber-framed house: What should be considered when purchasing a plot of land?
Created on: 16 Sep 2013 20:20
M
mengorAt first, we wanted to buy an existing house with land in Switzerland (canton of Zurich, Schwyz, or Aargau). Unfortunately, this was disappointing. Most houses are overpriced, and the real estate agents are looking to make a big profit.
Building a house that suits our tastes and needs looks more promising. So, we decided to plan a house. To avoid looking directly into the neighbor’s property, we also want to buy sufficiently large land.
Now the question is: how much land should be included? Our house will be approximately 12 x 14 m (40 x 46 feet) in size. We don’t want to look over the neighbor’s shoulder, nor do we want a family housing development with many houses.
Our questions at a glance:
- How much land should be purchased, and does it always have to be building land / planning permission land, or can it be mixed-use?
- What pitfalls should we watch out for?
- How can I be sure that no one will build in front of my garden seating area? Building behind the garden is okay.
- We are leaning towards a custom timber-frame house, for example from KD-Haus. Has anyone had experience with this?
- We also want to install a solar system for hot water, heating, and electricity generation.
- Additionally, we want to filter the water and have sparkling water available directly from the kitchen.
Thank you for your opinions and background information! We are two men but have absolutely no experience with building.
Building a house that suits our tastes and needs looks more promising. So, we decided to plan a house. To avoid looking directly into the neighbor’s property, we also want to buy sufficiently large land.
Now the question is: how much land should be included? Our house will be approximately 12 x 14 m (40 x 46 feet) in size. We don’t want to look over the neighbor’s shoulder, nor do we want a family housing development with many houses.
Our questions at a glance:
- How much land should be purchased, and does it always have to be building land / planning permission land, or can it be mixed-use?
- What pitfalls should we watch out for?
- How can I be sure that no one will build in front of my garden seating area? Building behind the garden is okay.
- We are leaning towards a custom timber-frame house, for example from KD-Haus. Has anyone had experience with this?
- We also want to install a solar system for hot water, heating, and electricity generation.
- Additionally, we want to filter the water and have sparkling water available directly from the kitchen.
Thank you for your opinions and background information! We are two men but have absolutely no experience with building.
Hi,
finding the right plot of land was also the most challenging part of our house planning. We searched for 1.5 years—and I mean really searched! That means driving around and asking local residents.
Well, I wouldn’t start looking at anything under 1000m² (10,764 sq ft).
Only the part where you build has to be designated as building land (building plot / planning permission). The rest can, for example, be woodland—of course.
For us, it was important to consider development costs and noise levels from all kinds of traffic.
You secure that by buying the land or planning your garden there. If you want an unobstructed view of nature, you might need to search longer. You can only be sure about what you own.
All of that is certainly feasible and straightforward for almost any home builder who didn’t just finish university yesterday.
finding the right plot of land was also the most challenging part of our house planning. We searched for 1.5 years—and I mean really searched! That means driving around and asking local residents.
mengor schrieb:
Now the question is: How much land should be included? Our house will be about 12x14m (39x46 feet) in size. We don’t want to be looking over the neighbor’s shoulder. Also, we don’t want a residential area full of dozens of houses.
Well, I wouldn’t start looking at anything under 1000m² (10,764 sq ft).
mengor schrieb:
Our questions at a glance
- How much land should you buy, and does it always have to be designated for building, or can it be mixed-use?
Only the part where you build has to be designated as building land (building plot / planning permission). The rest can, for example, be woodland—of course.
mengor schrieb:
- What pitfalls should you watch out for?
For us, it was important to consider development costs and noise levels from all kinds of traffic.
mengor schrieb:
- How can I be sure that no one will build in front of my garden seating area? Behind me is fine.
You secure that by buying the land or planning your garden there. If you want an unobstructed view of nature, you might need to search longer. You can only be sure about what you own.
mengor schrieb:
- We are leaning towards a custom timber-frame house from, for example, KD-Haus. Has anyone had experience with this?
- We also want to install a solar system for hot water, heating, and electricity production.
- Then we want to filter the water and have sparkling water available directly in the kitchen.
All of that is certainly feasible and straightforward for almost any home builder who didn’t just finish university yesterday.
A
AallRounder17 Sep 2013 14:08The size of the plot doesn’t necessarily matter. You could own 3,000 sqm (about 32,300 sq ft) and still have a boundary development on one side that allows for some visibility, or a neighbor across the way who lives at a higher elevation and can look into your windows. There are also always some distant attic windows where people could be lurking with binoculars and various equipment.
Even when living in complete seclusion, you never really know who might be watching you from the edge of the forest. In the past, most people also believed they were completely secure when using SSL encryption for online banking...
In my opinion, based on what you want, it basically comes down to complete isolation, unless you’re able to buy all neighboring properties as well. A forester’s house, a traditional farmyard, or an old watermill would be examples of such properties. The last one would also be interesting for plans oriented towards self-sufficiency.
Even when living in complete seclusion, you never really know who might be watching you from the edge of the forest. In the past, most people also believed they were completely secure when using SSL encryption for online banking...
In my opinion, based on what you want, it basically comes down to complete isolation, unless you’re able to buy all neighboring properties as well. A forester’s house, a traditional farmyard, or an old watermill would be examples of such properties. The last one would also be interesting for plans oriented towards self-sufficiency.
Every technology is only as secure as its user.
SSL uses a key length of 128 bits. This means there are 2^128 possible combinations... no one can crack that. Not even the NSA. The difficult part is the backdoors and cooperation from banks. Keyword: master keys.
Fortunately, land ownership is well regulated... no one can build on your land unless you are expropriated.
I think a nice plot size starts at 700 square meters (7,535 square feet). The larger it is, the more work it involves.
It doesn’t all have to be residential land. We only have 400 square meters (4,306 square feet) of residential land; the rest is garden land, which can or may never be built on.
SSL uses a key length of 128 bits. This means there are 2^128 possible combinations... no one can crack that. Not even the NSA. The difficult part is the backdoors and cooperation from banks. Keyword: master keys.
Fortunately, land ownership is well regulated... no one can build on your land unless you are expropriated.
I think a nice plot size starts at 700 square meters (7,535 square feet). The larger it is, the more work it involves.
It doesn’t all have to be residential land. We only have 400 square meters (4,306 square feet) of residential land; the rest is garden land, which can or may never be built on.
Allrounder schrieb:
There are always attic windows somewhere far away, behind which people can be lurking with binoculars and various equipment. I wasn’t really aware of this before, but apparently it’s quite a popular hobby (mostly among men, I think). I’ll have to reconsider my window design...A
AallRounder17 Sep 2013 19:06@Der Da: Exactly. That’s why I made this comparison, because you rely on certain basic assumptions—like the confidentiality of the SSL key—which can also turn out to be wrong with property. Of course, the government can build on your land, for example, with the popular high-voltage power lines. But much more common are the devaluations of property “behind the scenes” without expropriation: federal highways or railway construction, airports, or even just the rerouting of a flight path can suddenly cause serious problems for a landowner after decades of peace. In the eastern regions, entire residential developments have dwindled due to road construction or sewer connections, simply because people oddly didn’t have thousands of euros (or dollars) hidden under their mattresses. And it gets really expensive with large properties. Then problems with nosy, spying neighbors suddenly become unimportant.
Before buying the property, I specifically checked with the local authority about road renovations. They assured me that such work was not planned. A few years later, it still happened. Had I not been randomly included in a redevelopment area (which excludes the application of the local road contribution law), I would have lost my house. Things can change that fast. You think of “everything” and still end up screwed...
@kaho674: I once had a neighbor who would watch me through the rear windows (bedroom, bathroom) from his garden even in freezing weather. He stood in the dark by the fence for hours in freezing cold. His silly dog, which followed him around, always gave him away by barking at the slightest noise. However, this man’s behavior was work-related, a former intelligence and observation professional.
Before buying the property, I specifically checked with the local authority about road renovations. They assured me that such work was not planned. A few years later, it still happened. Had I not been randomly included in a redevelopment area (which excludes the application of the local road contribution law), I would have lost my house. Things can change that fast. You think of “everything” and still end up screwed...
@kaho674: I once had a neighbor who would watch me through the rear windows (bedroom, bathroom) from his garden even in freezing weather. He stood in the dark by the fence for hours in freezing cold. His silly dog, which followed him around, always gave him away by barking at the slightest noise. However, this man’s behavior was work-related, a former intelligence and observation professional.
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