The land has been approved, what is the next step?

Hello everyone,

we have applied to our municipality for a special permit for my parents' property in order to build a house in the second row there. We received this special permit yesterday.

I would therefore like to ask what the next steps should be? Basically, I now want to go to architects/contractors and obtain quotes there. However, the new property has not yet been surveyed in detail, and the companies would not have an exact plan of the situation on site.

Should I therefore have the property surveyed in advance or does an architect/contractor also do that?

Would it be sensible to have a soil report prepared at the same time or does that make more sense later?
We want to build in the immediate vicinity of a river and the soil is generally known to be very swampy. Our new neighbor, who built right next to the river, constantly struggles with groundwater.
However, he is significantly deeper than we are. But I am a bit afraid that the ground is too soft and high additional costs will arise for me. I would like to be as well secured as possible before construction.

Are there any other tips on what I should do now after the special permit?

Many thanks in advance!

Best regards Markus

If you have found an architect you trust, he will request a site plan. From you or himself. You get this from the land registry office (or not from you either) or a surveyor. Call the office to find out if they know the addresses of surveying firms.

A soil report should also be obtained so that you can better calculate the costs.
In our case, however, the soil surveyor wanted the site plan as well as the architect’s plan, showing where the corners of the house will be located.
If you search for a soil surveyor in your region on Google, you come to a geo page where you can request a surveyor. Here I would pick 3 - 4 and ask what is better.
For you, since the plot already belongs to you, it is not about the decision whether you can buy the property regarding the report, but how. Accordingly, in my (layman’s) opinion, it would be advisable to wait a bit, as the core drills can then be done exactly where the house will eventually be built.

I also had to call through the offices and agencies back then and never had a annoyed person on the phone, but patient ones who (almost always) explained the individual steps to me.

Hello, Markus!

If the plot is limited in size, the division of the property should be done in collaboration between the architect and the surveyor. Your architect will know at least one surveyor; if not, you will certainly find local surveying offices through the Yellow Pages or internet search.

In your case, it must be noted that the rear property must be developed, i.e., it must have a connection to the public traffic area either through the new boundary drawing and/or burden of easement (public right of way), see Landesbauordnung Baden-Württemberg §4:

Source: Dejure

§ 4 - Development of properties

(1) Buildings may only be constructed if the plot borders on a trafficable public traffic area of reasonable width or has a trafficable access route, legally secured under public law, to a trafficable public traffic area; for residential paths, trafficability can be waived if there are no concerns regarding fire protection.

This depends on local conditions and is by no means trivial and in any case the task for a publicly appointed surveyor, unless you have a very large plot and plenty of space for access and construction.

Regards
Dirk Grafe

What is your special permit? Did you submit a preliminary building inquiry? Who issued the permit? Are there any conditions in the permit? Often, it is stipulated for the rear neighbors that the houses may not be higher, bigger, etc., than the adjacent house. Is something like that stated in the permit? A soil report never hurts, but you should roughly know where the house will be located.

Addition to my previous post:

Fundamentally clarify:

Is your new building within a development plan, that is: has an existing development plan been extended to include the new building land area, or has a project-related development plan been drawn up specifically for your construction project (which is probably not the case)?

If yes ...

- Are there fixed planning heights specified or indicated in the development plan? (=> question surveyors and/or AR thoroughly, this question can become enormously important!)
- Are there regulations regarding embankments, excavations, retaining walls, protected areas, etc.?
- Are the heights of neighboring buildings indicated?

If none of this is included in the development plan, definitely have the property and neighboring buildings topographically surveyed BEFORE the first groundbreaking by a surveyor (not AR and also not soil expert) to document the original terrain.

If there is no development plan or you are outside of one, this service is also highly recommended, as it may be that you are forced to build just as deep and thus unreasonably as your neighbor – which will either cause you massive additional costs or you will both have the same amount of water in the basement. Compared to this, the surveying costs are downright ridiculous.

Best regards
Dirk Grafe

Hello Markus,

we applied to our municipality to get a special permit for my parents' property to be able to build a house there in the second row. We received this special permit yesterday.

This is probably an approved preliminary building request. From this, you should generally be able to see what and how you are allowed to build.

I wanted to ask what the next steps should be? Basically, I now want to go to architects/contractors and get quotes. However, the new property has not yet been surveyed in detail, and the companies would have no precise plan of the situation on site.

Basically and above all else, you should clarify your financial situation in a bank meeting or with an independent financing broker. Backland development is not without complications and usually requires higher costs regarding infrastructure than usual development.

Should I therefore have the plot surveyed in advance or can an architect/contractor do that as well?

You will need a surveyor eventually, but at this point a simple cadastre excerpt is sufficient; you can get this from your city/municipality. Either it is in a development plan area or § 34; both can be roughly estimated in size by both architects and general contractors. Especially since a neighbor has already built in the second row, a building boundary will likely be found.

Would it make sense to have a soil report done at the same time or is that only sensible later? We want to build very close to a river and the soil is generally known to be very marshy. Our new neighbor, who built directly next to the river, constantly struggles with groundwater. However, his construction is significantly deeper than ours. But I am a bit afraid that the ground is too soft and will lead to high additional costs. I would like to be as well protected as possible before the build.

As mentioned at the beginning, first clarify the financial background! When you roughly know what you can afford, after initial talks – here I would primarily consider the general contractor – you can estimate well what building your dream house will cost. Make sure to approach comparable providers – or clearly put: compare apples with apples! Price differences should then be within a range of +/- EUR 5-10k; depending on the respective building description.

If the ground is marshy, a soil replacement will likely be necessary – even without a basement the ground must be load-bearing; with a basement construction a special sealing – commonly known as white/brown/black bathtub – will be required. Taken together, additional foundation costs in the range of EUR 8-20k may arise; depending on whether you want to build with or without a basement.

If the house price suggested by the house providers + additional foundation costs + incidental building costs + garage + extras still fits within the bank-financed budget, commission a soil report. This will then determine the exact foundation and you can subsequently have the extra effort due to the soil conditions quoted precisely.

So – initially don’t get scared, but first and foremost clarify your financial scope.

Rhenish greetings