Hello dear members of the homebuilding forum,
We have finally found a plot of land! I’m very excited to become active here from now on and hope to gain a lot of collective and practical knowledge. We are still at the very beginning. We plan to build a semi-detached house with a larger side for us (about 11x8m (36x26 feet)) and a smaller side (about 7x8m (23x26 feet)). Now we need to decide which side of the plot we should take. Does anyone have any tips?
It is a corner plot, and I have attached a sketch. The small black square at the top is the neighbor’s garden shed, and the large corner on the right is the neighboring house. The street to the west has a sidewalk, and the plots along that street generally have lower fences or hedges. I’m not sure if there are any regulations (such as a maximum height of 1.5m (5 feet)) regarding this. Opposite this street is just a pasture (farm). The street to the south has no sidewalk, and the plots there are very overgrown with tall hedges – usually there is a carport, a wooden gate to the property, and tall hedges along the street.
The corner plot itself is not perfectly rectangular; to the southwest there is a small public parking area (3 parking spaces). We would, of course, like to have as much of a “single-family house character” as possible. We would have the largest garden and more “quiet” if we position our side of the house to the north. However, this means for access either a very long, narrow driveway past the smaller house side (starting at the sidewalk) or a southern driveway, which I don’t really like because I don’t want the mail carrier to be able to look onto the terrace. If we choose our house side to the west, our garden is restricted by the public parking and possibly more overlooked (even upstairs), but this would allow a normal parking space and a normal front yard, and we would have neighbors on only one side, which can also be an advantage. What would you do?
We have finally found a plot of land! I’m very excited to become active here from now on and hope to gain a lot of collective and practical knowledge. We are still at the very beginning. We plan to build a semi-detached house with a larger side for us (about 11x8m (36x26 feet)) and a smaller side (about 7x8m (23x26 feet)). Now we need to decide which side of the plot we should take. Does anyone have any tips?
It is a corner plot, and I have attached a sketch. The small black square at the top is the neighbor’s garden shed, and the large corner on the right is the neighboring house. The street to the west has a sidewalk, and the plots along that street generally have lower fences or hedges. I’m not sure if there are any regulations (such as a maximum height of 1.5m (5 feet)) regarding this. Opposite this street is just a pasture (farm). The street to the south has no sidewalk, and the plots there are very overgrown with tall hedges – usually there is a carport, a wooden gate to the property, and tall hedges along the street.
The corner plot itself is not perfectly rectangular; to the southwest there is a small public parking area (3 parking spaces). We would, of course, like to have as much of a “single-family house character” as possible. We would have the largest garden and more “quiet” if we position our side of the house to the north. However, this means for access either a very long, narrow driveway past the smaller house side (starting at the sidewalk) or a southern driveway, which I don’t really like because I don’t want the mail carrier to be able to look onto the terrace. If we choose our house side to the west, our garden is restricted by the public parking and possibly more overlooked (even upstairs), but this would allow a normal parking space and a normal front yard, and we would have neighbors on only one side, which can also be an advantage. What would you do?
@11ant: Well, it’s not that simple. After all, there’s a car that needs to be parked somewhere, a family, a scooter and bicycle fleet, and large weekly grocery shopping trips that I really don’t want to carry around in a wagon! I would simply find it unwise not to choose the most practical way from the start, as it significantly affects everyday life.
Regarding the general contractor: Exactly, these are local family-run businesses with a good reputation, which seems more appealing to me than a large prefab home builder or something similar.
Regarding the general contractor: Exactly, these are local family-run businesses with a good reputation, which seems more appealing to me than a large prefab home builder or something similar.
@ypg, thank you very much for the sketch, it is currently being planned out in my mind. The only downside is that the trees (which cannot be cut down) will cast a lot of shade over the front half of the garden. The back half would only receive evening sun / be a west-facing garden anyway.
jolovyn schrieb:
@11ant: Well, it’s not that simple, after all there’s a car that needs to be parked somewhere, a family, a scooter and bicycle fleet, and large weekly grocery shopping that I really don’t want to be pulling around in a wagon! I would find it simply unwise not to choose the most practical option from the start, since it significantly impacts everyday life.
Regarding the general contractor: Exactly, these are local family-run businesses with a good reputation, which seems more appealing to me than a large prefab home builder or something similar. Packages of diapers take up more space than weight, and otherwise a weekly grocery shop only fills a wagon halfway. You’re not supposed to use the wagon for shopping but rather as an alternative to a hand truck between the car trunk and the pantry. For the scooter and bicycle fleet, there are bike lockers or garden sheds, both of which can preferably be positioned independently of car parking spaces.
Unfortunately, the "prefab" home builders are mostly large companies and not regional ones.
jolovyn schrieb:
@ypg, many thanks for the sketch, it’s currently being planned out in my head. The only drawback is that the trees (which cannot be felled) cast significant shade over the front half of the garden. The rear half would only get evening sun / west-facing garden anyway. Be grateful for every “non-fellable” tree, its shade, and other climate-related effects.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
jolovyn schrieb:
After all, there is a car that needs to be parked somewhere, plus a family with a scooter and bicycle fleet and large weekly grocery shopping that I really don’t want to haul around in a wagon! Sorry, but that’s exactly what I asked! What are your needs, the ages, children, etc.? You have to answer these questions too. For me, that kind of missing information is a reason not to continue thinking about it.
jolovyn schrieb:
The only downside is that the trees (not to be cut down) cast a lot of shade on the front half of the garden. Where exactly are the trees located? How tall are they? What is their trunk circumference? I only saw hedge trees.
jolovyn schrieb:
And the back half would only have evening sun/west-facing garden anyway. So what? From midday onward, there is enough sun on the terrace. And as mentioned above: in summer, you’re actually glad to have any shade.
If you want everything, you either have to build staggered or just a single-family house.
Even if I might be putting my foot in it, I’ll ask anyway. Why do you want to build a duplex?
With 100 m² (1,076 sq ft) of living space, the half you plan to rent out will cost you around €300,000. Do you have this money or can you get it from the bank? Can the rental income cover the loan payments? Has all of this been calculated carefully and realistically?
What would bother me the most as a landlord is living right next to my tenant.
With 100 m² (1,076 sq ft) of living space, the half you plan to rent out will cost you around €300,000. Do you have this money or can you get it from the bank? Can the rental income cover the loan payments? Has all of this been calculated carefully and realistically?
What would bother me the most as a landlord is living right next to my tenant.
@ypg: But I already mentioned in the original post that we are a family with two children. Sorry for any frustration. The children are in primary school age—I generally consider having a designated place for bicycles, etc. to be useful, both for us and for tenants and/or potential future buyers. My comment that it’s not so simple was more directed at ant’s idea of a handcart; as long as I can avoid something like that in the planning, I’d prefer to do so 😉 You are right about the west-facing garden; for potential tenants, especially working couples, that might also be a good feature... Regarding the trees, this was also mentioned early in the thread: in the southwest, along the lower edge of the plot, there is a very large pedunculate oak that must be preserved. Next to it, there are several smaller trees (maybe about 6m (20 feet) tall?) that I actually find quite nice, but they do not necessarily need to be kept.
@hanse987: We are building a semi-detached house because plot prices here are absurdly high and the zoning plan allows semi-detached houses. Since the smaller unit should more or less pay for itself, we can reduce the price of our side by a six-figure amount and at the same time build equity, possibly also providing housing for one of our children later on. Having experienced the housing shortage firsthand for several years, we want to make the most of the space and thus help other people find a roof over their heads. The financing is in place, and we are getting a corresponding loan to build a semi-detached house. By the way, we are also more the “urban renter” type and never really planned to own a home; financially, it just doesn’t make sense here to rent something of this size (and appropriate rental options don’t exist). So building is also, to some extent, a rational decision for us—we haven’t dreamed of or planned for this like others do.
P.S.: Can someone please tell me how I find the function to reply directly to posts here? Sorry for the chaotic feedback—I can’t find a “reply to” button or anything like that.
@hanse987: We are building a semi-detached house because plot prices here are absurdly high and the zoning plan allows semi-detached houses. Since the smaller unit should more or less pay for itself, we can reduce the price of our side by a six-figure amount and at the same time build equity, possibly also providing housing for one of our children later on. Having experienced the housing shortage firsthand for several years, we want to make the most of the space and thus help other people find a roof over their heads. The financing is in place, and we are getting a corresponding loan to build a semi-detached house. By the way, we are also more the “urban renter” type and never really planned to own a home; financially, it just doesn’t make sense here to rent something of this size (and appropriate rental options don’t exist). So building is also, to some extent, a rational decision for us—we haven’t dreamed of or planned for this like others do.
P.S.: Can someone please tell me how I find the function to reply directly to posts here? Sorry for the chaotic feedback—I can’t find a “reply to” button or anything like that.
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