Semi-detached house yes or no

Hello,

we (2 adults and 1 toddler) are currently still looking for a plot of land, but today we had the opportunity to buy a semi-detached house in a new development area. The semi-detached house is in shell construction and we could still incorporate our own wishes. Until now, we were basically only considering a single-family house. However, it looks like we would have to wait another 2-3 years for a plot of land and then the construction time would follow.

The semi-detached house (solid construction) has a full basement, 125sqm of living space, and the possibility of a double garage, so we are currently thinking about it very intensively.

However, we still have questions / concerns and are very hopeful for input from here.

1) Noise - sound insulation
how good are semi-detached houses built today regarding noise from the neighboring house? I still have the old houses in mind where you can hear TV, children, stairs, etc. quite well.

2) Conversions - changes
how flexible is one when wanting to change something on the property, does this always have to be agreed with the other owner since the houses are on one plot?

3) Disadvantage - advantage
are there specific disadvantages or advantages that speak against or for a semi-detached house?

We look forward to your input and hope to be able to make a decision sooner.

Best regards

Duplex houses are usually located on two separate plots of land. Therefore, no constant coordination is necessary.

Hello

I can't say anything about insulation due to lack of experience, regarding the property NatureSys has already said everything.

So here just very subjectively:
We also considered buying a semi-detached house and I still absolutely have no problem with it. The most common concerns from others were about possibly annoying neighbors you live door to door with - but that can happen to you anyway in the end. And I know from my own experience that even a bad neighbor on the same street can be quite annoying, they don’t have to live right next to me.
Actually and logically, of course, a semi-detached house is simply cheaper than a detached single-family house with the same features (still: in my opinion the days when semi-detached houses were associated with low earners are long gone) and rather small plots can be better utilized.

I don't know where you come from, but here (border between Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg) you have to take what is available – waiting for a dream house or dream plot makes little sense.
So it’s worth considering how much compromise a semi-detached house means for you and whether you are willing to make that compromise for your own home.

well the disadvantage is that you basically live back to back. when you are in the garden and the neighbor is there sometimes whispering is required^^

I get that from my father-in-law when he then says "now whisper, the old folks over there shouldn't hear it)

you really have to like that.

A detached house already has a few meters of distance to the neighbor

1) It depends on the wall construction. It is definitely better today than in the past. You only hear the neighbors climbing stairs if the building walls are not properly separated, if there is only one shared wall, or if the floor slabs are even connected. I hardly believe that this is still done today, or even allowed to be built this way.

2) You have your own property, so you can do whatever you want. Of course, the neighbor will look very closely if you want high fences, trees, hedges, and similar things. Coordination is advisable, but not mandatory. What do you want to do?

3) Semi-detached houses with the property are usually smaller and cheaper.

Hello

I can’t say anything about the insulation due to lack of experience; regarding the property NatureSys has already said everything.

So here just very subjectively:
We also considered buying a semi-detached house and I still have absolutely no problem with it. The most common concerns from people around us were about possibly annoying neighbors you live door to door with – but that can happen to you anyway in the end. And I know from my own experience that even an annoying neighbor on the same street can be quite a nuisance; he doesn’t have to live right next door.
In fact, and logically, a semi-detached house is simply cheaper than a detached single-family house with the same equipment (however: in my opinion, the days when semi-detached houses were associated with low earners are long gone) and smaller plots can be utilized better.

I don’t know where you’re from, but here (border between Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg) you have to take what is available – waiting for your dream house or dream plot makes little sense.
So it’s worth considering how much compromise a semi-detached house would mean for you and whether you are willing to accept that for a home.

Hi, we come from Bavaria / Upper Palatinate. Here, there is absolutely nothing available privately. We have looked at plenty of existing properties, and it doesn’t make sense because some are even more expensive than new builds and require a lot of work. The city itself will open 3 building areas in the next 3 years where you might get lucky with a plot via a lottery system, that’s it. Now, in the last new development area that was approved for construction 7 months ago, a semi-detached house is still available for purchase, which we found out while walking from the builder in the neighboring house. I then called the construction company and they confirmed this to me. We have a toddler who, like any child, can be loud at times, and we simply don’t know how well the houses are insulated from each other inside. I don’t want to hear every bathroom visit, movie night, visitors, music, and stairway use of the neighbor. Sharing the plot and possibly being a bit quieter if he doesn’t want to hear everything is true; however, we live here in a single-family house neighborhood, and despite having a single-family house, we hear almost everything from the two surrounding neighbors when they are outside.

The question is also, can you possibly still change something in the room layout or individual standing walls with a standing shell, or would it be too late here.

Best regards