ᐅ Is it useful to hire a building inspector for a condominium purchased from a developer?

Dear Forum,

We have purchased an apartment near Munich from a developer (in a residential complex with about 30 apartments). The shell construction was recently completed, and the windows are currently being installed. Interior plastering will begin soon.

So far, we are very satisfied with the developer and their project management (the developer also has a good reputation). Nevertheless, we are wondering whether we should hire a construction expert to accompany the build.

Since the apartment comes directly from the developer, we are technically not allowed on the construction site at the moment. The actual handover and final inspection of the apartment will, of course, take place only at the very end of the construction phase (move-in planned for September 2019).

Our questions:

• Is it really necessary to have a construction expert inspect the individual building stages despite working with a developer? Basically, to identify any potential problems early or at all. Or is it sufficient to bring an expert only for the final inspection of the apartment?
• We would of course need to ask the developer if we are even allowed on the construction site with our expert. Has anyone in the forum done something similar when purchasing a condominium?
• Which construction experts are recommended in the Munich area – TÜV, IHK, Private Homeowners’ Association, Google? (Information gladly by PM)

Thank you very much in advance for your help!

I wouldn’t do that. It will only cause unrest and lead to a lot of trouble. You won’t be able to influence anything anyway.

Much more important is having an expert accompany the inspection of the common property on behalf of the community of (prospective) owners.

This is where the truly serious and significant potential defects lie...

Thank you for both of your responses. During the construction phase, I will keep a low profile and only bring the building expert along for the final inspection of the apartment.

Otus11 schrieb:
It is much more important for the community owners to have an expert accompany the handover of the common areas.

The handover of the common property is an interesting point. I am not at all sure when and how this handover actually takes place.

As far as I know, the first property management company is still appointed by the developer, and this (property manager) also organizes the first owners’ meeting. That would actually be the first opportunity for the owners to get to know each other and to vote on hiring an expert to inspect the common property. However, maybe the first owners’ meeting is far too late, and the handover of the common property has already taken place. Hmm...

NeuMünchner schrieb:
. Maybe the first owners’ meeting is way too late and the acceptance of the common property has already taken place. Hmm...

Yes, that is likely the case.
This is usually addressed in the developer contract or the declaration of division, but often these provisions are ineffective—for example, an irrevocable authorization granted to the initial property manager or an expert (which one?). At most, an expert may issue a recommendation regarding acceptance, but not the formal legal declaration itself.

This is a complex legal matter.
Just search for “acceptance of common property” for more information.

The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) states that the individual owners within the homeowners’ association (and not the association itself as a whole) must declare acceptance. This becomes complicated with late joiners...

We have just completed the final inspection of our build with a Hamburg-based developer. If my wife hadn’t been regularly visiting the construction site every week, the individually owned parts of the property would have been a complete disaster: tile backsplashes installed incorrectly, wrong fixtures, window outlets omitted, and so on. For the inspection of the individually owned property, we hired an expensive expert (he even wrote the book on final inspections), and he was worth every penny. He notices things that a layperson would never see.

For the inspection of the communal property, we hired the same expert for the homeowner association, with the same outcome.

I would NEVER buy from a developer again and NEVER accept the property without an expert present. It’s a professional (developer) versus laypersons (buyers).