ᐅ Construction company (family-owned) from abroad

Hello dear forum,

I would like to briefly explain the background of my question.

My parents are enjoying their retirement abroad/in their home country. Over time, grandchildren arrived, and my parents have developed a strong desire to visit, so they frequently take short holidays at my sister’s place or mine.

Since my parents are getting older, and traveling is becoming more strenuous for them as well as for us as hosts, I am currently considering buying or building a house with a separate apartment.

My current house was valued at 650,000€ (about 650,000 euros) for a mortgage.

Since the prices for used houses in our area are crazy and there is always something not quite right, I am now leaning towards new construction. My cousin runs a small construction company with around 16 employees in our home country.

That is why I am wondering how practical and realistic it is to hire him as the contractor in Germany and handle all the bureaucracy myself.

Where can I find information about which permits are required for building a house, as well as for any available grants or subsidies?

Is a foreign architectural firm recognized in Germany? For example, regarding KfW funding, structural engineering, and other related matters?

I look forward to any tips on various issues as well as general advice.

Best regards,
Adrian

.. if it is an EU country, it is basically possible ...

however, all German laws, regulations, and standards such as DIN still apply. So it will not be an easy process.

The permit planning must be submitted by someone who is authorized to do so in Germany ("planvorlageberechtigt"). For KfW funding and similar programs, there are also accredited consultants—your financing broker should be able to provide contacts. The employment agency ("Arbeitsamt") will inform you about the Posting of Workers Directive ("Entsenderichtlinie"): there are regulations regarding minimum wage when bringing in construction workers from abroad. In principle, you can also hire a general contractor from outside Germany. The Chamber of Crafts will advise you on this, as some trades require a certified master craftsman ("meisterpflichtig"). If you’re lucky, there may be a binational chamber of commerce (check with the IHK) between Germany and your cousin’s home country; embassies can also provide information. If things get complicated, the responsible construction accident insurance provider will consider you the owner-builder, and your cousin’s workers as your construction helpers. You can also inquire at customs: German large construction sites regularly have a significant number of foreign subcontractors of all kinds, so this is by no means uncommon.

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https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

Regardless of meeting the material building requirements, the formal authorization to submit plans, as already mentioned by 11ant, is definitely an important issue. For a construction project near Frankfurt, we worked with a structural engineer from Baden-Württemberg. Throughout the preparation phase, there was constant communication between the building authority and the structural engineer, and the location was never an issue. However, the structural documentation submitted with the building permit / planning permission application was still rejected due to the lack of formal authorization to submit plans. The outcome was that the structural engineer first had to involve a local engineer from their network, fortunately, who took care of the formal requirements. Especially for international cases, you will not be able to avoid this. Whether they will then accept the foreign planners’ designs more or less unquestioned, as we do here because of existing networks, and submit and vouch for them, I would have my doubts. In any case, this will have a significant impact on the timing...

I would also consider whether I trust foreign planners to be familiar enough with the local building, neighborhood, and other regulations to maximize the potential of the property and the project for me. Within this forum, we regularly see that even German architects and planners often struggle with this, although they should be very experienced in their daily work. How is a foreign architect supposed to know this or coordinate with the responsible authorities?

Looking for architects in Germany and then having your cousin handle the construction – if it’s an EU country, this should not cause major issues.