Good morning dear colleagues,
I am in the fortunate situation of having found our personal dream plot for our first own house. However, I only decided to start building four weeks ago and began searching two weeks ago – and now I need to act quickly, or the plot will be gone! I’m a bit overwhelmed because everything is moving so fast; I’ve already made one mistake and would therefore be extremely grateful for professional help and experience.
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1. Question about the builder:
We would like to build with TAFF-Haus, or rather have to, because the broker involved was until two weeks ago still part of the management team and since February has been an independent broker (during the viewing we were told he only works for the owner… which was true at that time but already feels a bit questionable). Now, there is no information or reviews about TAFF-Haus or the other companies in the parent group "Uwe Köhn Unternehmensgruppe," such as ALLEGRO-Haus (only two negative reports about ALLEGRO here in the forum). This is perhaps not surprising, considering the following from the commercial register regarding the entire company structure:
So, there is practically no experience in housebuilding! Or am I mistaken?
Fortunately (?), TAFF does not handle the construction itself but hires a large number of local subcontractors for the individual trades. You could almost say that they only organize. But I’m not certain about that; the walls are patented (prefabricated house/timber frame construction).
That doesn’t worry me too much yet, although I would prefer a company with many years of experience. But I probably just have to make sure that every tiny detail is documented in writing from the start – as it should be for contracts involving such sums.
-> What do you think? Can TAFF-Haus be trusted?
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2. About my mistake:
I, a naive fool, of course told the seller my budget. Quite surprisingly, our desired house now fits exactly into that budget – what a wonderful coincidence!
To partly fix this and to create a basis for negotiation, I’m considering, as mentioned above, asking for a detailed breakdown of every single item and comparing them online. It would be best to also get reference projects with addresses/contact details and compare prices with those. It can’t be too long since they built those...
-> What should I absolutely pay attention to now?
Is there a checklist or something similar in this forum? I will definitely read the section "Buyer assistance before signing the contract" here in the housebuilding guide, but maybe there is more or something that fits my situation.
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3. Alternative for the brave:
The plot is a dream, and we really want to have it. I have managed to find the owner and am seriously considering making him an offer. In the worst case, I’d pay the “hidden” broker’s commission but would then own the plot and no longer be tied to TAFF. We would also like to change some things about the house, which TAFF with their fixed floor plans cannot offer us.
-> Would you consider this option in my situation? Are there risks?
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Normally I’m someone who research many things extensively myself, but in this case I simply don’t have the time. I am grateful for any answer because the next meeting with TAFF is still this week, when the house is supposed to be planned. Feel free to bombard me with helpful links (as far as allowed) or similar topics, as I simply don’t have time to search and sort – mea culpa!
I am in the fortunate situation of having found our personal dream plot for our first own house. However, I only decided to start building four weeks ago and began searching two weeks ago – and now I need to act quickly, or the plot will be gone! I’m a bit overwhelmed because everything is moving so fast; I’ve already made one mistake and would therefore be extremely grateful for professional help and experience.
-----
1. Question about the builder:
We would like to build with TAFF-Haus, or rather have to, because the broker involved was until two weeks ago still part of the management team and since February has been an independent broker (during the viewing we were told he only works for the owner… which was true at that time but already feels a bit questionable). Now, there is no information or reviews about TAFF-Haus or the other companies in the parent group "Uwe Köhn Unternehmensgruppe," such as ALLEGRO-Haus (only two negative reports about ALLEGRO here in the forum). This is perhaps not surprising, considering the following from the commercial register regarding the entire company structure:
- VSC Vertriebs Service Consult GmbH has existed since January 2006.
- Meißner Bau Management GmbH, like Allegro-Haus GmbH, was founded in December 2012.
- TAFF-Haus GmbH has only existed for two years, since May 2015.
So, there is practically no experience in housebuilding! Or am I mistaken?
Fortunately (?), TAFF does not handle the construction itself but hires a large number of local subcontractors for the individual trades. You could almost say that they only organize. But I’m not certain about that; the walls are patented (prefabricated house/timber frame construction).
That doesn’t worry me too much yet, although I would prefer a company with many years of experience. But I probably just have to make sure that every tiny detail is documented in writing from the start – as it should be for contracts involving such sums.
-> What do you think? Can TAFF-Haus be trusted?
-----
2. About my mistake:
I, a naive fool, of course told the seller my budget. Quite surprisingly, our desired house now fits exactly into that budget – what a wonderful coincidence!
To partly fix this and to create a basis for negotiation, I’m considering, as mentioned above, asking for a detailed breakdown of every single item and comparing them online. It would be best to also get reference projects with addresses/contact details and compare prices with those. It can’t be too long since they built those...
-> What should I absolutely pay attention to now?
Is there a checklist or something similar in this forum? I will definitely read the section "Buyer assistance before signing the contract" here in the housebuilding guide, but maybe there is more or something that fits my situation.
-----
3. Alternative for the brave:
The plot is a dream, and we really want to have it. I have managed to find the owner and am seriously considering making him an offer. In the worst case, I’d pay the “hidden” broker’s commission but would then own the plot and no longer be tied to TAFF. We would also like to change some things about the house, which TAFF with their fixed floor plans cannot offer us.
-> Would you consider this option in my situation? Are there risks?
-----
Normally I’m someone who research many things extensively myself, but in this case I simply don’t have the time. I am grateful for any answer because the next meeting with TAFF is still this week, when the house is supposed to be planned. Feel free to bombard me with helpful links (as far as allowed) or similar topics, as I simply don’t have time to search and sort – mea culpa!
Caspar2020 schrieb:
According to their website, the exterior wall is constructed as follows:On the website, I mainly don’t see any consistency between the described wall assembly and the accompanying image. The proportions of the material thicknesses in the image are sometimes completely different, and I can’t identify the "installation layer" there.
PowerBauer schrieb:
Assignment declaration is present. The home construction guide says that in return, one should require a performance bond covering the entire construction cost. I can’t find anything like that in the contract. I don’t know what that means overall,This assignment declaration means that the supplier intends to withdraw the full payment amount directly from the builder’s financing bank, but I don’t read any adequate completion guarantee in return.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
P
PowerBauer17 May 2017 16:0011ant schrieb:
This assignment declaration means that the provider wants to directly collect the full payment from the builder’s financing bank. I don’t see any reasonable completion guarantee offered in return. The guide states:
If the company insists on its own condition, only agree if, in return, a performance bond covering the entire construction sum is provided. Remember, this must be done simultaneously and through a notary. And further down:
[Don’t be misled by:]
- A written assurance from the company guaranteeing project completion (this is pointless, as the company already does this through the contract) So, a completion guarantee is not the same as a performance bond, and the latter must be countersigned by a notary?
PowerBauer schrieb:
So, a completion guarantee is not the same as a performance bond, and the latter would have to be countersigned by a notary, right?Performance bonds for completion can be obtained in three ways: through a bank, an insurance company, or by involving a notary who manages an escrow account.
The purpose of the bond is
1) to ensure that in case of damage or default, the client can have the project completed without effectively paying twice; for example, by receiving a compensation payment that can be used to cover a substitute contractor;
2) to avoid having to make the claim for completion through the insolvency administrator if the contractor goes bankrupt.
A “guarantee” that consists of nothing but an unbacked promise like “we commit to fulfilling our contract” is essentially worthless.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
C
Carsten-le17 May 2017 19:31Nordlys schrieb:
Taff Haus advertises bargain prices but has a strange way of presenting itself. You’re addressed informally, like at Ikea, but there it feels more professional. You get a house configurator that gives you a great price, but says nothing about how things are built or by whom! Be careful and hire an engineer as a consultant for a fee.
I wouldn’t be too worried about the land either. You can include in the notary contract that the plot is not contaminated. But those bargain prices really aren’t that great when compared to the “better” prefabricated house manufacturers...
Moreover, we had a Taff salesperson who you simply don’t want to handle a house purchase with, unless you see it as shopping at Ikea and don’t quite know what you’ll end up with...
Taff Haus was the first developer we contacted, and right at the start of our search, also the most incompetent... Maybe it was just the salesperson, who no longer works in our area, because the product itself isn’t actually bad.
However, there were things that just aren’t okay when it comes to prefabricated timber houses, for example the mandatory chimney (“...it’s included for free, because that’s how we bought it...”); whether you want it or not. Also, when we asked about changing load-bearing or even non-load-bearing interior walls, we were told it’s not that simple and the floor plans are already optimal as is... The final price at that time really shocked us, and we only considered Taff because they supposedly had a plot available that we liked but weren’t actually allowed to sell... Meanwhile, another show home has been built here, but the other plots still aren’t developed after a year...
Regarding selections, they cooperate with Bauhaus, where you can choose the materials...
As several other users have pointed out, their payment terms are very questionable—15% after submitting the building permit application, WHAT? Sorry, but nowadays that’s an interest-free loan that they get from the builders. Overall, 30% is due after completion of their rather inexpensive foundation slab. That slab costs almost 100,000 euros on a 300,000-euro house! Since they are still very new on the market, you really have to think carefully about whether you want to accept such terms... We were repeatedly told that Mr. König, as owner of the entire real estate group, now wants to use his many successful decades of experience to enrich the single-family home market and founded Taff for this reason. That’s obviously nonsense, as he only cares about profit, which in the single-family home segment has been rising steadily for the past five years and will probably remain at least stable in the medium term...
I don’t want to badmouth this company, but you should already notice differences when simply comparing, which should actually steer you away from building with this company. The configurator alone is rather limited, especially considering that what you get is basically a shell house including materials while the labor costs are almost the same, at least for the interior finishing including heating and so on...
With the "assignment declaration," you effectively relinquish all warranty and performance rights without receiving appropriate compensation for this disadvantage (and is therefore ineffective).
The bank practically becomes a self-service source for contractors.
Guarantee: If it is not "on first demand," you practically cannot access it (without an acknowledgment of debt or a court judgment).
And: KfW subsidy 431 for burglary protection is not available for new builds, only for existing buildings.
The bank practically becomes a self-service source for contractors.
Guarantee: If it is not "on first demand," you practically cannot access it (without an acknowledgment of debt or a court judgment).
And: KfW subsidy 431 for burglary protection is not available for new builds, only for existing buildings.
