Build a semi-detached house alone?

Hello,

In 2021 I was able to reserve a building plot in the new development area for a semi-detached house for purchase. The release of the building area is planned for autumn 2022. The goal is to move in autumn 2023.

So far, no neighbor has been found for the adjacent plot.

I can no longer wait long because of the contract award for the basement excavation. Of course, I want to plan together with a neighbor.

The notary appointment for the semi-detached house plot is planned for January.

I intend to wait as long as possible for a neighbor. Otherwise, due to the fixed move-in date autumn 2023, I will have to start building my semi-detached house alone without a neighbor.

Please share your experience and opinion with me.

Would you back out? Maybe I can still switch at short notice to a still available, less attractive plot for a single-family house.

The plot for the semi-detached house is nice and I would prefer it to the plot for the single-family house.

I have never seen a single semi-detached house standing alone. Also, regarding the issue that if the neighbor does not want a basement and then has to orient themselves to my building style, I think it's not an optimal start to a new neighborhood... I also think that when building the neighbor’s half, damage to my house wall may possibly occur.

What speaks against starting construction alone, with the risk that a neighbor may only be found in months or 1 or 2 years? The semi-detached house shouldn’t collapse in the meantime, right...

Best regards!

In our new development area, there were already 5 lonely semi-detached houses, the longest has been standing alone for almost 4 years. Three of them have meanwhile had extensions built.

You have to insulate the semi-detached house if it remains alone for a longer time, which of course incurs extra costs. Besides, building simultaneously is somewhat cheaper. It is also important that the first one doesn't build without a basement and the second one does build with a basement. Otherwise, from my point of view, there are no definite disadvantages. I also know all the semi-detached house owners personally and have heard nothing negative.

However, there are also negative experiences here in the forum, so it can apparently go quite wrong. Depending on who then comes second...

What speaks against starting the construction alone,

Everything. Sorry, the New Year's walk is calling, I have to keep it short now. But I have already written a lot about this, just enter "11ant Doppelhaus" here in the search. Or google "Ein Doppelhaus hat ZWEI Hälften".

The ERH from or the thread should inform you well. But don't worry: since you are building with a basement, it will probably be a bit easier for you. Maybe you should start a post yourself? "Neighbor wanted"

has to orient himself to my building style

Keep dreaming. Terraced houses with 4 different building styles are not uncommon. I have also seen semi-detached houses in a dreadful mishmash (totally modern on the left with flat tiles, floor-to-ceiling windows and a wide flat roof dormer, totally rustic on the right with natural stone imitation on the corners and small pointed roof dormers). Your neighbor will build whatever he has in mind.

Also, I think that when the neighbor's half is extended, there may possibly be damage to my house wall.

That should be covered by the builder's liability insurance of your future neighbor.

Would you back out? Maybe I can still switch at short notice to a still available, not so nice plot for a single-family house.
The plot for the semi-detached house is nice and I would prefer it to the plot for the single-family house.

You would have to tell / show significantly more (about both properties) for us to give our two cents on it.

I can’t wait much longer because of the contract award for the basement excavation. Of course, I want to plan together with a neighbor. [...] I have never seen a single semi-detached house standing alone. Also the issue that if the neighbor doesn’t want a basement and then has to orient themselves to my building style, is not an optimal start to a new neighborhood, I think...

The biggest problem is (almost) defused if you build with a basement. The most relaxed scenario is if your neighbor builds without a basement; second best is if they build with a basement and just as deep. But they might also want to excavate somewhat deeper than you—for example, because of more ceiling height in the basement and/or different foundation height level. Therefore, you should address the topic of "underpinning" with your planner. Unfortunately, most development plans do not require the semi-detached partner to build with the same profile—unfortunately, you can forget about optical harmony entirely. That the twins in the extreme could be as dissimilar as Schwarzenegger and DeVito, you can at best prevent by buying the other half-plot yourself and passing it on under corresponding conditions (which of course you first have to be able to afford financially and tax-wise).

At least technically, for the best possible complication-free situation, it is ensured if you can convince the neighbor of your half to use the same planner (which neither forces a mirror-identical house nor construction with the same materials). In current reality, your most likely half-partner is someone who only builds a semi-detached house as a compromise (and unfortunately has NOT understood that this not only means the deal “to buy a plot three meters narrower and give up a window side”). Instead, you have to reckon with someone whose claim to individuality far exceeds their intellectual horizon and who accordingly cannot think outside the box.

You have to insulate the semi-detached house if it stands alone for a longer time, which of course causes extra costs. Also, building simultaneously is somewhat cheaper.

The insulation must be well considered, also with regard to the border distance. If the insulation is to remain when the semi-detached house is completed, you naturally have to set back further—otherwise, a joint gap to the boundary, which is meanwhile covered by the insulation, suffices. Keep in mind that the neighbor will probably not build their half identically—see above. The truth behind hoping for quantity discounts is not really worth taking seriously: we are talking here about coins in small quantities compared to suitcases full of bills (similar to the rubber mats that the car dealer still adds on top of the "house price"). Peanuts in more than just Kopper’s sense. You can share the construction site porta-potty, too, without building with the same contractor.