ᐅ Conduct During Contract Negotiations

Hello,

Do your negotiating partners also react so abruptly when you don’t sign the first contract offered?

I am experiencing this for the second time. The first time, I had a house contract reviewed by the Private Homeowners Association and then went back to the house consultant, who reacted offended, tried to downplay it, questioned the competence of the Private Homeowners Association advisor, and offered small concessions, etc. We then decided to walk away from that.

More recently, we went to an independent architect whose contract I also didn’t find very good. When I requested changes, he responded by accusing me of a lack of trust, saying he had never had any problems before, and so on.

Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong?

You are doing everything right, but consider the situation carefully. Unfortunately, I don’t know your profession, but similar reactions could probably be triggered there as well.

Your counterpart represents the position of your contracting partner, who always wants the best for their company. You represent your own interests, and somewhere in the middle there is friction. Now it’s up to the parties involved. Either they come closer to an agreement or hold onto their position. Ultimately, the contract is either signed or not. If not, you have to keep looking until you find someone whose contract works for both sides.

You should not sign contract clauses that would keep you up at night.

A prime example: Deutsche Bahn AG, EVG, and GLD...

I can only agree with that!

I have a more positive example. We had our contract reviewed and addressed everything proactively. All requested changes were accepted.

However, it must be said that this was a premium provider in the region. For them, it was probably "peanuts."

You are doing the right thing. If it doesn’t suit you, you need to consider whether certain risks are worth taking for you. It seems to me that, for you, the risk was not worth it.

Of course, you also have to be aware of your negotiating position. If the suppliers have plenty of customers who sign every contract, they won’t make any concessions to you. On the other hand, if they need to find customers, the situation looks much better for you. I cannot assess how the situation is in the Saarland.

Regards,
Michael

We are also building in Saarland (a solid construction company from Nunkirchen up on the hill), had the contracts reviewed, and were able to implement all of our requested changes.