ᐅ Semi-detached house: two contracts (landowner and construction company)
Created on: 17 Jun 2021 18:55
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HubiTrubi40H
HubiTrubi4017 Jun 2021 18:55Hello everyone,
it’s me again... but you advised me so well last time that I backed out of my last house purchase attempt (rightly so!). Now I have something new, and here too there seem to be one or two potential pitfalls. It is a semi-detached house (a total of 12 are being built). The seller is a real estate agency. The land belongs to an investor and is being legally divided. There will be two contracts: one with the landowner for the purchase of the land and one with the construction company (contract for work). The notarized purchase contract covers the total price package (just over 600,000 plus additional costs). Since this is a so-called initiator model (never heard of it before, but according to the marketer it is common), extras can be added afterwards—for example, an additional bathroom. These costs are then charged separately and added on, with so-called layout variants offered. The advantage is that property transfer tax and notary fees are only calculated on the base package. The savings are limited. Depending on the chosen variants, the price increases by another 15,000-20,000, depending on what you want.
I spoke with a lawyer who advised me to stay away. Why? Because you sign two contracts and could face difficulties deciding from whom to claim warranty if something goes wrong. What do you think? The company seems reputable, and my impression is that this is a common approach, but apparently it is not a developer in the usual sense. Anyway, I’m uncertain whether this is a good idea. I could reserve now. For that, I would have to pay 1,000 euros, which I would get back if I withdraw from the reservation within four weeks. These four weeks are intended for clarifying financing, further consultations and planning discussions, and the notarization appointment. Is this reasonable? Otherwise, everything looks okay so far; the house and land are fine (260 sqm (2800 sq ft)). I think building myself (I am still on the waiting list for a building plot) wouldn’t be cheaper, and existing properties are usually just as expensive if not more so. I have an appointment this Saturday to look at a smaller terraced house (125 sqm (1350 sq ft) versus 140 sqm (1500 sq ft) like in this offer). First, it is considerably older and the price is also around 600k. Oh, one thing that surprised me about this offer: the construction period from the start of building (planned from September—planning permission should already be granted) is 20 months. That seems quite long to me. So moving in would only be possible in about two years.
Best regards, Hubi
it’s me again... but you advised me so well last time that I backed out of my last house purchase attempt (rightly so!). Now I have something new, and here too there seem to be one or two potential pitfalls. It is a semi-detached house (a total of 12 are being built). The seller is a real estate agency. The land belongs to an investor and is being legally divided. There will be two contracts: one with the landowner for the purchase of the land and one with the construction company (contract for work). The notarized purchase contract covers the total price package (just over 600,000 plus additional costs). Since this is a so-called initiator model (never heard of it before, but according to the marketer it is common), extras can be added afterwards—for example, an additional bathroom. These costs are then charged separately and added on, with so-called layout variants offered. The advantage is that property transfer tax and notary fees are only calculated on the base package. The savings are limited. Depending on the chosen variants, the price increases by another 15,000-20,000, depending on what you want.
I spoke with a lawyer who advised me to stay away. Why? Because you sign two contracts and could face difficulties deciding from whom to claim warranty if something goes wrong. What do you think? The company seems reputable, and my impression is that this is a common approach, but apparently it is not a developer in the usual sense. Anyway, I’m uncertain whether this is a good idea. I could reserve now. For that, I would have to pay 1,000 euros, which I would get back if I withdraw from the reservation within four weeks. These four weeks are intended for clarifying financing, further consultations and planning discussions, and the notarization appointment. Is this reasonable? Otherwise, everything looks okay so far; the house and land are fine (260 sqm (2800 sq ft)). I think building myself (I am still on the waiting list for a building plot) wouldn’t be cheaper, and existing properties are usually just as expensive if not more so. I have an appointment this Saturday to look at a smaller terraced house (125 sqm (1350 sq ft) versus 140 sqm (1500 sq ft) like in this offer). First, it is considerably older and the price is also around 600k. Oh, one thing that surprised me about this offer: the construction period from the start of building (planned from September—planning permission should already be granted) is 20 months. That seems quite long to me. So moving in would only be possible in about two years.
Best regards, Hubi
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hanghaus200017 Jun 2021 19:28I would have said the same as a lawyer. Stay away. Ianal
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HubiTrubi4017 Jun 2021 19:39@hanghaus2000 are you a lawyer? I get the feeling that many things nowadays operate within this kind of structure. In the last offer I received, there were even three parties involved who all would have needed to be paid. What would the risk be in this kind of arrangement, or is this generally rather unusual?
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HubiTrubi4017 Jun 2021 19:44I checked the sign again. The landowner is a project development company (according to their website, a large firm). The builder is a construction company. These are the two parties involved in the contracts. Sales are handled by this real estate agency.
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hanghaus200017 Jun 2021 19:58HubiTrubi40 schrieb:
@hanghaus2000 Are you a lawyer? I have the impression that many things nowadays operate within this kind of structure. The last offer I received involved three parties who would all need to be paid. What risks are associated with this setup, or is it generally somewhat unusual?Ianal="I am not a lawyer" sorry for the abbreviation.
HubiTrubi40 schrieb:
Since this is a so-called initiator model (never heard of it before, but the marketer says it’s common) Oh, really, huh, well.
HubiTrubi40 schrieb:
The advantage would be that real estate transfer tax and notary fees are applied only to the basic package. Dear, now you’re disappointing me – I thought you had actually read a bit here (?)
HubiTrubi40 schrieb:
I spoke with a lawyer who said to avoid it. Why? Because you sign two contracts and that could lead to problems about who you hold responsible under warranty if there’s an issue. What do you think? Avoiding it is sound advice. But the reasoning suggests that this lawyer might not specialize in this particular legal area.
My bookshelf for your upcoming evenings would be this:
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/bautraegervertrag-mit-einer-ug.33486/page-2#post-370215
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/bauunternehmen-mit-grundstuecksservice.34693/page-7#post-398478
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/makler-betrug-oder-steuerhinterziehung.37639/page-9
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/erfahrungen-mit-okal-Verkäufer-ist-das-ein-kopplungsgeschaeft.38096/page-4#post-471690
and on the side also https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/schluesselfertiges-haus-vorzeitige-abnahme-moeglich.37104/#post-448713
HubiTrubi40 schrieb:
Anyway. I’m unsure again whether something like this is even possible. See the reading list above – I don’t believe in any single silver bullet we haven’t already seen debunked as wishful thinking here. But I’m happy to take a closer look at it without obligation; my contact info is now listed under “Information” in my profile. Due to weather conditions, I sometimes reply only after several days.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/