Pre-planning assistance, planning heating room with basement

Hello dear house experts,

I will be building a kind of staggered adjoining house together with an acquaintance, so two separate houses that are connected and share a common heating system in a heating room in the basement (without a shared staircase).

The problem now is that the acquaintance wants to start building as soon as possible, preferably this year. For my part, however, I want to start in about 1 ½ years.

Now I am wondering what all needs to be planned in advance or what I need to keep in mind, since I have to partially get involved in the planning.

It would be great if you could list your experiences on what I need to think about, especially the points that laypeople usually don’t consider.

Best regards

PS: If you need plans, data, or other information, I will happily provide them afterwards

Do you have 2 parcel numbers? Are they separate properties? If yes - is the heating system in your acquaintance's basement? How do you want to handle easements / access permissions? The advantage of houses built next to each other is the joint construction - this way you can save on double site setups etc. You lose all of that if you build twice. If you build with a basement, do you then have to support his house while your basement is being built?! That costs more than usual. The plan sounds pretty strange.

How is it regulated who maintains the heating, who pays for repairs? Who decides how much to heat? Who orders the fuel, how well will people get along in 20 years, what happens if your acquaintance gives up the house, voluntarily or not. I would never buy a house that has no heating, or where I would be dependent on the neighbor.

To me, that sounds like a crazy idea :)

Partition declaration and homeowners' association according to WEG if 1 parcel. If two parcels with 1 heating system, go to legal advice. It will not work legally secure with two parcels, unless you divide the properties and make 3 parcels out of them 2 parcels sole ownership 1 parcel according to WEG on which you place the heating system and make a corresponding agreement. All in all a disaster for saved 2 expensive.

For explanation, it is a plot of land where the north side borders nature and the south side faces the street. Two options have been considered here.

1.) Divide the plot in the middle and put one house on the nature side and the other house facing the street.

2.) Divide the plot in the middle, one house on the left, one house on the right.

We could not reach an agreement for either option because the beautiful nature side and the light clash. So we decided on the slightly offset option because this way everyone has advantages and disadvantages and not just one person has only disadvantages. The initial idea was to build together to save money, but now things need to move quickly for them (a child on the way) and for us it is not financially feasible yet. The plot is to be divided because you can never be sure if one has to sell their house.

Does it not make sense, despite everything, to build a shared heating room as it would save a lot of money? We get along so well that we consistently share the same views on roof, heating, layout, etc., even though I cannot exclude that we might have a dispute in 20 years -> I am willing to take that risk.

Since this is also an inheritance for both of us, there is no question of choosing something else. I have to accept the circumstances as they are and try to find the best middle ground between my own interests and compromise.

So I hope you can understand it a little better now (if not, I am happy to provide more information) and give me further good advice?

Hello,

To explain, it is a plot where the north side transitions into nature and the south side faces the street. Two options have been considered here.

1.) Divide the plot in the middle and place one house on the nature side and the other house facing the street
2.) Divide the plot in the middle, one house on the left and one house on the right.

With both variants, we found no agreement as the beautiful nature side and the light clash. So we decided on the slightly offset variant since this way everyone has pros and cons and not just one person the disadvantages.

With all due respect - I do not understand that. If the houses are placed centrally, i.e. to the right and left of the central division boundary - then both have north and south light. Where is the disadvantage there?

Doesn't it make sense to build a shared heating room after all, as it saves a lot of money? We get along so well that we continuously have the same views on roof, heating, layout, etc., even if it can’t be ruled out that we might have a dispute in 20 years -> I’m willing to take that risk

If a single-family house takes on the heating technology, it must be regulated that you both have access to the heating system at all times. Whether this can be guaranteed by means of an easement (through the division of the plots), I am now also unsure. If I were you, I would rather parcel out another piece of land just for this purpose; however, this increases costs both in terms of notary fees and construction, because a standalone technical room must meet different requirements than a technical room inside the house. Thus, the supposed "savings" would tend towards zero, if not even go negative.

A shared heating system is usually only found where ownership is divided according to condominium ownership (WEG), i.e., in a two-family house or single-family house with a granny flat, or in multi-story apartment buildings. This means that each person owns their apartment, but the technology, hallways, garden, and driveway are common property.

I also don’t think you are really aware of all the consequences that come with the planned arrangement. What if, due to work, illness, or even death, the external conditions change in such a way that you suddenly have a neighbor with whom you can no longer discuss things on equal footing? Or - if one of you, for whatever reason, "has to" sell? The savings with one heating unit are not that great, I assume a 50% share for both parties, that I would voluntarily take on this possible trouble.

If this topic is really important to you, then build a "single" larger house with a shared entrance and divide it according to condominium ownership; this can also be realized with offset buildings. That is by far safer and you remain on the legally safe side in all the problems mentioned in the previous paragraph; no matter who owns the other share in 10/20/30 years.

Rhenish regards