ᐅ Planned terraced house – contract structure/planning?

Hello everyone,

After still being unsuccessful in finding a plot of land (I just received a rejection yesterday), and considering the decision of the local council, where chances from outside seem quite limited, I also attended a new construction project. The contractual setup is, as I have mentioned in one of my previous posts, the same again: the owner sells the land, a planner must be paid separately, and a production house provider builds the house (a network where each party earns some extra). Basically, a lot fits: the development seems well planned. The location is ideal for me: infrastructure, proximity to work, schools, etc. There are between 6 and 10 terraced houses planned, depending on size, arranged around a corner with a courtyard (greened), which sounds good at first.

But now there is one thing I am really concerned about: the owner is building an underground garage with direct access to the basements (it is planned that each house will have 2 parking spaces in the basement, meaning about half of the basement space is allocated to the garage). The garden is completely above the underground garage. A soil layer of 60cm (24 inches) is planned. How is this supposed to work with plants and, especially, rainwater? How will the water drain? What makes me a bit uncertain about the project: you basically buy the land, including the basement and underground parking space, from the owner (only via notarized purchase contract). Then the house comes separately from the production house manufacturer (fixed building contract)...meaning I am the client. What should I watch out for here? If the rainwater drainage and sewage system are not fully taken care of, I will end up with puddles in the garden. I also think it will probably be difficult to grow plants. It will likely be limited to some shrubs and lawn area. Maybe a small fig tree or something. I might be able to live with that. The plots are not big anyway, and what do you really want to plant in a row house garden? Of course, a building plot would have been better. But you just don’t get any of those here anymore.

Oh, and the cost for the project is between 600,000 and 650,000 (depending on the plot size between 200 and 250 sq m (2,150 and 2,690 sq ft)), but about 35 sq m (375 sq ft) of communal area still has to be deducted.

Thank you in advance for your opinions.

HubiTrubi40 schrieb:

How is the water supposed to drain there?

Good drainage.

HubiTrubi40 schrieb:

I think it will probably be difficult to grow plants there as well. It will probably end up being just a few perennials and otherwise lawn. Maybe a small fig tree or something.

I find your concerns understandable, although there are other plants that have shallow root systems instead of deep roots. A traditional garden is something different—here, the concept seems to be an organized lawn and terrace area used only as a relaxation space, not for cultivation. That might be sufficient for some city dwellers; the main focus here seems to be on accommodating the car parking area.
I would rather see this as a condominium unit— a single-family house with a garden is something different altogether. However, this arrangement is enough for many.
Should everyone find their own home builder, or is one already named?

Yes, that's true. At the moment, the children mainly want a lawn. No, this is a fixed RH provider (G***equity capital). The houses themselves look quite nice.

Only if someone has told you that the real estate transfer tax applies only to the land: I would be rather skeptical about that, and in my view, this is significantly more important than the technical implementation of the garden on the underground garage.

Yes. I can imagine that the tax office might treat it like a development project. However, I’m not sure. I’ve heard different things about that. The notarized purchase contract only covers the land, basement, and underground garage.

...and as I said, I’m worried about how the surface water/rainwater drainage will be managed there. I don’t want the area to be constantly flooded.