I am honestly shocked right now. Our construction company just informed me that they want 21.4% more money due to price increases in the building industry. At the moment, I am still stunned and can’t think clearly.
ypg schrieb:
He didn’t mention Corona in the letter, but that his contracting partners have terminated the contracts/conditions. Something like that. Please check it yourself.
Here:On one hand, he did not refer to Corona, and on the other hand, terminated contracts are not considered force majeure. Ahrweiler—that is force majeure.
ypg schrieb:
For example, first selling the old house.
One could say that the general contractor contract was signed far too early. That is certainly possible; however, “Pinky” has restricted her profile so that there is no information/history available for beginners. 😎
Wishing Pinkiponki strength and wise decisions in this difficult situation!
Regarding the time between signing the contract and the start of construction, I can certainly relate and congratulate those who managed it faster!
We also signed the construction contract in December 2019. The financing was supposed to be finalized by February 2020, and the documents were practically on their way. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, and our financier’s processing time dragged on. The deadlines we set on our side were not met, it got frustrating, and we started looking for alternatives again.
Eventually, we found some (interest rates began to rise again in spring 2020), and we signed with another bank, which assured us of a processing time of 2 to a maximum of 3 weeks (due to COVID).
In the end, it took almost 3 months! They regularly apologized but couldn’t do anything to speed up the process (COVID, home office, holiday season…).
So by the end of summer, the financing was secured, which had originally been planned for early spring!
After that, the planning with architects, building permit applications, and months of waiting for the building approval followed, and by spring 2021, construction could finally begin. We are very satisfied and grateful that everything went relatively smoothly and that the move is coming up soon, but this “long” construction period is not actually that unusual.
Our neighbors also signed with another general contractor in January 2020 and are planning to move in November.
Others signed even earlier than us and currently have only two stories of the shell structure completed. I really feel for them, too 🙁
Edit:
A few weeks ago, I met someone from the Cologne area (Leverkusen) who waited 16 months (!) for their building permit.
One can imagine the value of their original budget calculation and why, after that time, they had to start completely from scratch 🙁
Regarding the time between signing the contract and the start of construction, I can certainly relate and congratulate those who managed it faster!
We also signed the construction contract in December 2019. The financing was supposed to be finalized by February 2020, and the documents were practically on their way. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, and our financier’s processing time dragged on. The deadlines we set on our side were not met, it got frustrating, and we started looking for alternatives again.
Eventually, we found some (interest rates began to rise again in spring 2020), and we signed with another bank, which assured us of a processing time of 2 to a maximum of 3 weeks (due to COVID).
In the end, it took almost 3 months! They regularly apologized but couldn’t do anything to speed up the process (COVID, home office, holiday season…).
So by the end of summer, the financing was secured, which had originally been planned for early spring!
After that, the planning with architects, building permit applications, and months of waiting for the building approval followed, and by spring 2021, construction could finally begin. We are very satisfied and grateful that everything went relatively smoothly and that the move is coming up soon, but this “long” construction period is not actually that unusual.
Our neighbors also signed with another general contractor in January 2020 and are planning to move in November.
Others signed even earlier than us and currently have only two stories of the shell structure completed. I really feel for them, too 🙁
Edit:
A few weeks ago, I met someone from the Cologne area (Leverkusen) who waited 16 months (!) for their building permit.
One can imagine the value of their original budget calculation and why, after that time, they had to start completely from scratch 🙁
Schimi17918 Sep 2021 18:22How did the selection process go?
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Pinkiponk8 Sep 2021 18:46First of all, many thanks to all of you for your contributions, information, tips, and support.
It’s unfortunate, but not completely disastrous. Instead of the originally requested 21.4% increase, we now only have to pay 15.4% more for the house, but the price increase for next year is already included. Our house will not be delivered this year, and the price applies until the house handover. We try to console ourselves with the fact that we basically got hit with the price increases from 2020, 2021, and 2022 all at once.
We canceled the selection appointment because we were unsure from a legal standpoint whether agreeing to it meant accepting the 21.4% price increase, but we were contacted and invited to a meeting with the company owner. You can find the result in the second paragraph of this post. The selection process started late after the agreement and was not very pleasant since we had to make compromises everywhere to at least partially offset the price increase. For example, instead of wallpaper, which would have cost at least 17,000 euros (because the plastering work is also more extensive), we chose basic textured wallcovering. This can possibly be changed later. What we managed to keep are the floor height increases on both levels, as well as the many windows and floor-to-ceiling doors, which will also be taller. The sash windows also survived. The main entrance door is not what we wanted, but it can be replaced later as well. I can only give more details once we have the selection list with all the price reductions and additions.
At least I’m happy that the house will have a nice, warm yellow shade and red roof tiles. 🙂 And I’m also looking forward to the many, what I think are beautiful, windows and doors. 🙂
My thanks also go to the moderator, from whom I received the very last reminder today and am still allowed to participate here. Yesterday, I was so desperate that I did not remember the forum rules and forgot to remove the links.
It’s unfortunate, but not completely disastrous. Instead of the originally requested 21.4% increase, we now only have to pay 15.4% more for the house, but the price increase for next year is already included. Our house will not be delivered this year, and the price applies until the house handover. We try to console ourselves with the fact that we basically got hit with the price increases from 2020, 2021, and 2022 all at once.
We canceled the selection appointment because we were unsure from a legal standpoint whether agreeing to it meant accepting the 21.4% price increase, but we were contacted and invited to a meeting with the company owner. You can find the result in the second paragraph of this post. The selection process started late after the agreement and was not very pleasant since we had to make compromises everywhere to at least partially offset the price increase. For example, instead of wallpaper, which would have cost at least 17,000 euros (because the plastering work is also more extensive), we chose basic textured wallcovering. This can possibly be changed later. What we managed to keep are the floor height increases on both levels, as well as the many windows and floor-to-ceiling doors, which will also be taller. The sash windows also survived. The main entrance door is not what we wanted, but it can be replaced later as well. I can only give more details once we have the selection list with all the price reductions and additions.
At least I’m happy that the house will have a nice, warm yellow shade and red roof tiles. 🙂 And I’m also looking forward to the many, what I think are beautiful, windows and doors. 🙂
My thanks also go to the moderator, from whom I received the very last reminder today and am still allowed to participate here. Yesterday, I was so desperate that I did not remember the forum rules and forgot to remove the links.
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