ᐅ Building an End-Terrace House as a Self-Managed Project with a General Contractor
Created on: 27 May 2019 10:48
G
goalkeeper
Hello everyone,
some of you might have already followed one of my threads about us having to or being allowed to build our end-terrace house on our own responsibility – depending on how you look at it. This means that we are buying an end-terrace plot (215 sqm (2315 sq ft)) in a new development area in the Rhein-Neckar district and will be building on it ourselves – but in coordination with our two terrace neighbors.
The municipality, which sold the plots through a local resident model, ideally wanted applicants to apply as a complete housing group with several families and then build accordingly with a general contractor, construction manager, or architect. Of course, that didn’t really work out, so now there are only individual applicants and also homeowners.
After we were awarded the plot, the addresses of the other terrace neighbors were shared to discuss certain matters, such as roof style, whether or not to have a basement, etc. It was immediately clear that everyone preferred to do their own thing. However, we were still able to agree that the housing group will have a gable roof with a pitch of 35 to 40 degrees (within this 5-degree range).
As the end house, we will build without a basement, while the middle house and the other end house will have basements. This obviously presents a challenge as we would have to make a deep foundation or simply skip it, and the middle house would have to support us, as we will start construction first. The current agreement with the middle house is that we will build a deeper foundation at his expense, as supporting our house later on would be considerably more expensive for him.
We are currently close to signing with the construction manager, the notarization appointment for the plot is at the end of June, and we hope to start construction in the fall of this year. Meanwhile, several other freely planned housing groups are being built around us, which might get in the way with their cranes.
I will document the progress here from time to time – such a self-planned terraced house doesn’t come along very often.
some of you might have already followed one of my threads about us having to or being allowed to build our end-terrace house on our own responsibility – depending on how you look at it. This means that we are buying an end-terrace plot (215 sqm (2315 sq ft)) in a new development area in the Rhein-Neckar district and will be building on it ourselves – but in coordination with our two terrace neighbors.
The municipality, which sold the plots through a local resident model, ideally wanted applicants to apply as a complete housing group with several families and then build accordingly with a general contractor, construction manager, or architect. Of course, that didn’t really work out, so now there are only individual applicants and also homeowners.
After we were awarded the plot, the addresses of the other terrace neighbors were shared to discuss certain matters, such as roof style, whether or not to have a basement, etc. It was immediately clear that everyone preferred to do their own thing. However, we were still able to agree that the housing group will have a gable roof with a pitch of 35 to 40 degrees (within this 5-degree range).
As the end house, we will build without a basement, while the middle house and the other end house will have basements. This obviously presents a challenge as we would have to make a deep foundation or simply skip it, and the middle house would have to support us, as we will start construction first. The current agreement with the middle house is that we will build a deeper foundation at his expense, as supporting our house later on would be considerably more expensive for him.
We are currently close to signing with the construction manager, the notarization appointment for the plot is at the end of June, and we hope to start construction in the fall of this year. Meanwhile, several other freely planned housing groups are being built around us, which might get in the way with their cranes.
I will document the progress here from time to time – such a self-planned terraced house doesn’t come along very often.
P
Pinkiponk12 Aug 2020 20:00shenja schrieb:
It’s much quieter here compared to the apartment they lived in before. That was on one of the main traffic roads in the city. Now they live on a side street.
They don’t perceive themselves as loud at all. It’s just that there are always many people here, especially in the evenings, talking loudly. Turkish is apparently a language often expressed with volume.
In the evenings, they meet here to drink tea and smoke shisha. They probably discuss everything under the sun. I don’t understand it myself.
Also, for example, they can’t ring the doorbell. Arrival is signaled with a car horn, no matter how late, until someone comes out. The car engine is often left running, and driveways that don’t belong to them are used for parking... it goes on like that.
When the father/husband passed away, about 1,500 people came over a period of 2 to 3 weeks to offer condolences. You can’t imagine what it was like here day and night.
Our neighbors have lived here since the 1960s, the wife still doesn’t speak any German, and they live here as if they were still in the village they came from.
The youngest son is now engaged. Some time ago, there was an engagement party in the garden, as we found out the next day when he apologized for it probably being loud again. He hasn’t met his fiancée yet; she is still in Turkey. Just for your understanding. What keeps you there? Is your house/plot so unique that you couldn’t live anywhere else?
P
Pinkiponk12 Aug 2020 20:05Pinkiponk schrieb:
What keeps you there? Is your house/land so unique that you couldn’t live anywhere else? Alright, then I withdraw the question.
M
MelanieSH12 Aug 2020 20:4311ant schrieb:
To be so poorly compatible with the biotope of a “new German housing development,” one would have to be a special needs school dropout – just thinking about operating a crane over already inhabited houses is irresponsible in itself.It is undisputed that the future neighbor is acting completely wrongly and in an inexplicable way here.F
fach1werk13 Aug 2020 08:06The question remains whether—and if so, how—the toxic relationship can be made bearable again. I consider this just as important as the question of how the middle house can be built in a way that is acceptable to everyone.
In property management, especially in homeowner associations (HOAs), we often face "adjustment issues" with people from countries where construction law or HOA regulations are very different or more loosely enforced. In such cases, the decision-making power of an individual often carries more weight than a formal set of rules. This usually quickly leads to hurt feelings. Therefore, it might help to separate emotional aspects from factual matters to some degree, raising the question of how to approach the core issues.
One could try involving a neutral, competent mediator. For one party, professional expertise might be the priority, allowing them to temporarily set aside emotions. For the other party, it may be more effective to focus on trust and respect.
In property management, especially in homeowner associations (HOAs), we often face "adjustment issues" with people from countries where construction law or HOA regulations are very different or more loosely enforced. In such cases, the decision-making power of an individual often carries more weight than a formal set of rules. This usually quickly leads to hurt feelings. Therefore, it might help to separate emotional aspects from factual matters to some degree, raising the question of how to approach the core issues.
One could try involving a neutral, competent mediator. For one party, professional expertise might be the priority, allowing them to temporarily set aside emotions. For the other party, it may be more effective to focus on trust and respect.
P
Pinkiponk13 Aug 2020 08:23fach1werk schrieb:
...I like your post. It is smart (almost wise), helpful, and effective. Still, I get frustrated by what feels like a constant sensitivity towards people both with and without migrant backgrounds, who seem offended already when compliance with building regulations is expected. If I want to build a house in Japan, I follow the Japanese building regulations and customs, not the German ones. But my frustration is my own issue, for which I have also found an almost workable solution.F
fach1werk13 Aug 2020 08:24Sorry, my previous post got somehow messed up but was still published, so I started again.
This is a difficult mix of issues that cannot be untangled all at once.
Legal regulations are not the same everywhere, and there are regions where rules are treated more as recommendations, and where decisiveness and initiative of an individual are viewed more positively than they are here. Still, once facts have been allowed to come into being, it is difficult or even impossible to reverse them.
This causes hurt feelings. The question is whether emotional and factual problems might be easier to address if dealt with one after the other.
In my professional experience managing condominium associations, I often work on training people who have a completely different understanding of ownership. By the way, this is a tedious process and does not always succeed. Sometimes we have to enforce things legally, which makes it very difficult to foster a sense of belonging in the person who is on the losing side. However, it works more often if a mediator can be found who is respected by both parties.
What might a mediator look like?
He—unfortunately, in this case a woman is unlikely—could be familiar with the mentality where more feelings of hurt are expected. Where a more factual problem solution is needed, he could be a specialist in that field. With such a search framework, one could start looking for someone to engage.
I have had very bad experiences when something is allowed that should not be, and then one wants to resolve it later through litigation. Better to avoid that.
Best regards and my sympathy,
Gabriele
This is a difficult mix of issues that cannot be untangled all at once.
Legal regulations are not the same everywhere, and there are regions where rules are treated more as recommendations, and where decisiveness and initiative of an individual are viewed more positively than they are here. Still, once facts have been allowed to come into being, it is difficult or even impossible to reverse them.
This causes hurt feelings. The question is whether emotional and factual problems might be easier to address if dealt with one after the other.
In my professional experience managing condominium associations, I often work on training people who have a completely different understanding of ownership. By the way, this is a tedious process and does not always succeed. Sometimes we have to enforce things legally, which makes it very difficult to foster a sense of belonging in the person who is on the losing side. However, it works more often if a mediator can be found who is respected by both parties.
What might a mediator look like?
He—unfortunately, in this case a woman is unlikely—could be familiar with the mentality where more feelings of hurt are expected. Where a more factual problem solution is needed, he could be a specialist in that field. With such a search framework, one could start looking for someone to engage.
I have had very bad experiences when something is allowed that should not be, and then one wants to resolve it later through litigation. Better to avoid that.
Best regards and my sympathy,
Gabriele