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.
goalkeeper schrieb:
No – these are additional monthly costs, since the extra loan will require a minimum repayment. Besides, we would have to cut back on the upgrades that affect our daily life in the house.
The basement would burden us in every way – but not the 15,000 euros (about 16,300 USD).35,000 euros (about 38,000 USD) isn’t even 180 euros (200 USD) more per month, right? But you know your limits. Then it unfortunately has to be that way.You are currently only seeing the additional costs, not the extra space and added value you gain in the living area.
Move the washing machine, dryer, freezer downstairs, as well as children’s toys that are not in use, shoes, backpacks, tents, and so on.
Kitchen appliances you don’t need right now, tools, workbench...
This significantly frees up the living area—you only have in sight what you really want to have there.
You can create a man cave, with a projector, music, and so on—just a retreat space. That alone would be worth the $35,000 to me.
Yes, I know the decision is basically made, but I can’t help but plead with you to really reconsider.
Is a small private injection of equity for this purpose completely out of the question? An interest-free loan or something similar?
P.S. I love my basement.
Move the washing machine, dryer, freezer downstairs, as well as children’s toys that are not in use, shoes, backpacks, tents, and so on.
Kitchen appliances you don’t need right now, tools, workbench...
This significantly frees up the living area—you only have in sight what you really want to have there.
You can create a man cave, with a projector, music, and so on—just a retreat space. That alone would be worth the $35,000 to me.
Yes, I know the decision is basically made, but I can’t help but plead with you to really reconsider.
Is a small private injection of equity for this purpose completely out of the question? An interest-free loan or something similar?
P.S. I love my basement.
G
goalkeeper26 Aug 2019 20:55apokolok schrieb:
You’re currently only seeing the additional costs, not the extra space and added value you’ll gain in the living area.
Moving the washing machine, dryer, and freezer downstairs, along with children’s toys that aren’t being used at the moment, shoes, backpacks, tents, and so on.
Kitchen appliances you don’t need right now, tools, workbench...
This significantly eases the living space, so you only have in sight what you really want to have there.
You can create a man cave, with a projector, music, etc.—simply a retreat. That alone would be worth the 35,000.
Yes, I know the decision is basically made, but I can’t help but beg you to really reconsider.
Is a small personal equity boost for this purpose completely off the table? An interest-free loan or something?
P.S. I love my basement 😊 You seem to love your basement more than your wife.
I completely agree with you on everything. I always wanted a man cave too—but financially, we quickly decided against it from the start.
We also don’t want to go into debt just for a basement—since we would have to pay it back anyway. We have fully financed the house with our own savings—without any inheritance or wealthy parents. So, we’re quite happy to be able to afford eating out, going on vacation, or taking the kids to the movies without any problems. Taking on more debt is not an option for us, nor were we raised that way: you can’t spend what you don’t have.
Therefore, unfortunately, we will have to decide against it.
apokolok schrieb:
The 35k would definitely be worth it to me for the basement. Exactly: effectively "only" – yes, that’s easy to say – 40k or put another way: out of 50k, 10k pays off just because you can omit the backfill in this area, which by itself has no value increase. In this “calculation,” I am of course assuming that the 15k mentioned for the backfill also includes those areas that remain necessary even with a basement (parking spaces and slopes).
goalkeeper schrieb:
I always wanted to have a man cave, too. “Man cave” is retro, guys. The new Magnum isn’t played by Tom Selleck anymore, times change.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
G
goalkeeper26 Aug 2019 21:4311ant schrieb:
that the mentioned 15k for the embankment also includes the areas that remain necessary despite the basement (parking spaces and sloped embankments). No, they are not included. However, these areas do not have to be filled with expensive crushed stone but can be backfilled with excavated material from the construction site of other builders or with inexpensive sand.
By the way, the backfilling of these areas would also not be included in the 50k for the basement.
I see it the same way as Zaba, but I also think it’s good when someone sets clear boundaries. Do you manage with the
I strongly suspect that, in the end, it will still be the ordered gravel that is used because it is simply available on time, reliably, and predictably. Who wants to build with topsoil or wait until a neighbor happens to be digging their foundation? That would be quite a stroke of luck. The waiting and effort involved in collecting the semi-optimal excavated material from the surroundings ultimately cost more than the €15.90 (about $17.50) extra for processing the entire area at once.
goalkeeper schrieb:
No, they don’t. However, these areas don’t have to be filled with expensive gravel but can be backfilled with excavated soil from the construction site belonging to other builders or with cheaper sand.
I strongly suspect that, in the end, it will still be the ordered gravel that is used because it is simply available on time, reliably, and predictably. Who wants to build with topsoil or wait until a neighbor happens to be digging their foundation? That would be quite a stroke of luck. The waiting and effort involved in collecting the semi-optimal excavated material from the surroundings ultimately cost more than the €15.90 (about $17.50) extra for processing the entire area at once.
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