Preliminary planning of house and garage BEFORE land purchase

Hello dear forum,
until now I was only a silent reader here, but now it’s our turn and we are planning to build our house.

I have been reading up on the topic for several weeks, watching various tutorials, talking to acquaintances who have already built, and believe I have understood the basics, so now I would like to slowly start with the rough planning.

We have now reached the point that we have found a plot of land that appeals to us in terms of location, but we are still unsure whether our project can be realized there. The plot (860 sqm) is nice but has a slight slope (1-2 meters elevation difference) and unfortunately a somewhat awkward shape including building boundaries.

We are now asking ourselves how and by whom we can get a qualified rough plan for
a) the arrangement of house and garage and
b) the external house design (building height, bay window, roof angle, etc.) considering the development plan


Since the purchase of the plot depends on this, of course, we would like to have it evaluated in advance.
Do architects already do something like this in advance (possibly for a corresponding planning fee)? Or would we have to conclude the architect contract with all service phases directly? Does it have to be an architect or are there possibly other contact persons? Or are plots generally purchased "blind" and then only afterwards looked at how things can be implemented in detail?

We would be very grateful for opinions and experiences on a sensible approach.
Best regards

I have been reading up on the topic for several weeks now,

... but unfortunately you haven't noticed that before the tips the questioner first "delivers", namely the site plan and the development plan (both preferably without any childish erasures). Then you don't need an architect (at this stage), just a few days of patience with the forum community.

Of course, very gladly even. I wouldn't have thought that someone would take the trouble to support us in such detail we would of course be very happy.

I have attached the development plan including all revisions. It concerns parcel 832. Furthermore, there are 2 cross-sections through the soil attached to get a feel for the slope and a satellite image including some basic information.

What about plot 831, which I interpret in the drawing as being between the street and the access road to the property that you suspect? It should be allowed to be crossed to get to your property.

Hello,
at first glance, the 6m eaves height is the limiting factor. For 2 full floors (keyword townhouse), this will be tight, or you will have to accept a low ceiling height (estimated about 2.40-2.50m). However, it is allowed, see 1.2.

In the development plan, it is always referred to as a hillside location. I deduce from the elevation drawings that the lowest point of the property is the northwest corner (at 831).

The north-south height differences of 0.5m are practically negligible. More interesting is the west-east direction (the pictures are confusing, it seems the height profile is mirrored, or viewed from the north, since the chosen height point is closer to the west boundary).

Do you want to build with a basement? At first glance, I do not see a residential basement, since the slope is mainly on the sloped part of the property. If you move the house on the property to the northeast, the slope in the building area is no longer so significant (at least according to my interpretation of the mirrored height profile, please correct me if I am wrong).

Whether the driveway, as mentioned by , may go over 831 is to be clarified. But it would certainly be the best place for it.
Due to the shape of the property, I would orient the gable perpendicular to the slope, even if the immediate neighbors do not have that. Then "only" a roof pitch of 37° is possible, but since there is enough height for a knee wall, that should not be a problem. Orienting the house crosswise to the slope creates a larger southwest garden.

Is there a view in one direction that should be utilized?

We now ask ourselves how and by whom we can obtain a qualified rough plan for a) the arrangement of house and garage and b) the external design of the house (building height, bay window, roof angle, etc.) taking into account the development plan.

Difficult to answer if you provide no information about the desired house. Actually, the plot seems large enough that you can initially place any houses there. The height restrictions have already been appropriately mentioned by RomeoZwo.

For a first orientation, I would look at standard houses such as those from Town & Country and set them as examples in the floor plan. However, I don’t know if they list the heights directly on the website.

Initially, orientation and position as in the neighborhood.