Hello,
I am quite new here and hope this is the right place for my concern.
We are currently having a turnkey house built through a developer, meaning we are purchasing the finished house along with the land. It is a semi-detached house, 130sqm (1400 sq ft), currently at the shell stage, with the roof and windows completed, so the house is basically “closed in.”
We have now discovered serious defects in the construction of the interior walls. Some of the bricks were cut with an axe instead of using the available saw. The walls look accordingly poor and have been covered with large amounts of mortar, so later on when installing furniture, we can never be sure if it will hold properly. In plain terms: it is botched work.
A complaint to the developer about these defects has so far led to nothing; it was ignored. We can never reach the responsible people by phone, and we have not met the site manager even once in person.
We have now hired an independent building expert, who repeatedly pointed out that the following documents are needed for ongoing construction supervision:
Structural engineer’s report
Energy performance report
We asked the developer to provide these documents, but this was refused; we were told we would receive them only once we officially own the property.
What can we do now?
Even if the developer denies us an expert on site and exercises their property rights, we would at least like to have an expert present at the final handover. But the documents will only be provided AFTER this handover....
Is the developer required to provide these documents at least before the final inspection?
Do we at least have a chance to report the defects already identified and demand corrections? Even if it is very inconvenient to reopen finished walls, as mentioned, there has been no dialogue with us so far. So far, we only have photos as “evidence.”
I would really appreciate any advice, as this whole building project is becoming extremely frustrating.
Thank you and best regards
I am quite new here and hope this is the right place for my concern.
We are currently having a turnkey house built through a developer, meaning we are purchasing the finished house along with the land. It is a semi-detached house, 130sqm (1400 sq ft), currently at the shell stage, with the roof and windows completed, so the house is basically “closed in.”
We have now discovered serious defects in the construction of the interior walls. Some of the bricks were cut with an axe instead of using the available saw. The walls look accordingly poor and have been covered with large amounts of mortar, so later on when installing furniture, we can never be sure if it will hold properly. In plain terms: it is botched work.
A complaint to the developer about these defects has so far led to nothing; it was ignored. We can never reach the responsible people by phone, and we have not met the site manager even once in person.
We have now hired an independent building expert, who repeatedly pointed out that the following documents are needed for ongoing construction supervision:
Structural engineer’s report
Energy performance report
We asked the developer to provide these documents, but this was refused; we were told we would receive them only once we officially own the property.
What can we do now?
Even if the developer denies us an expert on site and exercises their property rights, we would at least like to have an expert present at the final handover. But the documents will only be provided AFTER this handover....
Is the developer required to provide these documents at least before the final inspection?
Do we at least have a chance to report the defects already identified and demand corrections? Even if it is very inconvenient to reopen finished walls, as mentioned, there has been no dialogue with us so far. So far, we only have photos as “evidence.”
I would really appreciate any advice, as this whole building project is becoming extremely frustrating.
Thank you and best regards
Yosan schrieb:
Honestly, I find the pictures quite shocking... is this supposed to be normal? I believe it was Bismarck who supposedly said that it’s better if people don’t know exactly how sausages and laws are made. Did I mention before that I come from a family of butchers on my father’s side? Anyway: back when buyers of developer properties still accepted this saying, there were simply fewer smartphone photos showing the careless handling of materials by the builders. But beneath the plaster, it was basically the same “let it slide” attitude as today—only that during boom times, the level of poor workmanship increases accordingly. I also see in the pictures conditions that would definitely not please the Queen—but I also know that construction sites are no places of refinement. Work stops at five o’clock, crooked or straight.
Fay1983 schrieb:
At the final inspection, none of this is visible anymore, but we simply KNOW how terrible the walls underneath look. I’m afraid unofficial knowledge isn’t relevant for inspection reports. A “defect” is something that is visibly not up to professional standards or regulations during the inspection; something that only becomes apparent during the warranty period is a “hidden defect.” In that sense, these are “not” defects—even if they keep the philosopher awake at night.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
M
Mottenhausen14 Sep 2019 00:04Regarding the "visible" defects that come with the purchase: I bet not every tile will be perfectly aligned, there will be cracks at the joints of the ceiling panels, a scratch on the front door... these are the kinds of things I meant. You accept these when buying. No developer or general contractor will replace a front door just because of a scratch. Never. The effort to remove a tile is only undertaken in serious cases, and so on.
11ant schrieb:
Did I mention that I come from a long line of butchers on my father’s side?Mr. Hoeneß, is that you?
Now a lot makes sense to me -_-
11ant schrieb:
I believe it was Bismarck who supposedly said it’s better if people don’t know exactly how sausages and laws are made. Did I already mention that I come from a family of butchers on my father’s side? – Anyway: back when buyers of developer-built properties still accepted this saying, there were just fewer smartphone photos showing the casual handling of materials by builders, but behind the plaster it was basically the same "letting things slide" as today – only during boom times the level of shoddy work increases accordingly. I also see conditions in the photos that would definitely not amuse me – but I also know that construction sites are not places of refined craftsmanship. Work ends at 5 p.m., whether things are crooked or uneven.
I’m afraid unofficial knowledge is not relevant for inspection reports. A “defect” is something that can be recognized during the inspection as not conforming to professional standards or regulations; what only becomes evident during the warranty period is a “hidden defect.” In this sense, these are “not” defects – no matter how much they might keep the philosopher awake at night. I have avoided this for a long time. I think it’s about time to say that flowery expressions and your overly satirical stories, which do not reflect reality, do not add value to this forum.
guckuck2 schrieb:
Mr. Hoeneß, is that you?
Now a lot makes sense to me -_- No – I know about soccer as much as Jupp, the whale.
ypg schrieb:
I think it’s time to say that flowery descriptions and your overly satirical stories that don’t reflect reality don’t add value to this forum. Apparently, we have different "realities" (as Austrians say about real estate) – I contribute my value here with construction expertise, my 11ant memory, and a quick grasp of planning errors, which some people mistakenly interpret as envy. You don’t unlearn the Berlin attitude, even if we moved away before I was born – especially not when you end up in the Rhineland.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
guckuck2 schrieb:
Mr. Hoeneß, is that you?
Now a lot makes sense to me -_-But he recently said that he had never been on the internet ops:
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