ᐅ Construction supervision despite TÜV 5-phase inspection

Created on: 24 Jun 2017 18:13
L
lasa64
L
lasa64
24 Jun 2017 18:13
Hello everyone,

We are planning to buy a house from a developer who advertises a 5-phase inspection carried out by the TÜV. I have recently read online that the TÜV secretly works for the developer and that inspection reports from the developer are not handed over to the buyer.

Would you recommend hiring an independent building inspector?
If yes, can you recommend someone in the Duisburg / Mülheim an der Ruhr / Oberhausen area? Is it better to hire an independent expert or organizations such as the Association of Private Homeowners or the Homeowners’ Protection Association?
N
Nordlys
24 Jun 2017 18:33
May I say something? You seem very worried. You want to have the scope of work independently reviewed, you give the contract to a lawyer, and you also distrust the building inspection authority.
This will be a stressful process for everyone involved.
You want a developer, which means the developer is the client, not you. The developer is the builder, and you buy the finished product from them. You may have discussed some special requests beforehand, similar to customizing a car, and they fulfill them because you have committed to purchasing. No matter how you approach it, you will have to trust them. Your independent inspector may not even be allowed on site, since the developer is the client. Your car mechanic is not allowed inside the VW factory in Wolfsburg to check whether the brakes are properly installed on the assembly line either.

If you don’t have this trust, you will have to build with your architect. You will also have to pay them. Karsten
L
lasa64
24 Jun 2017 18:43
Hmm, of course we trust the building contractor to some extent. However, it is reasonable to seek advice from various sources. If I were already certain that I wanted construction supervision, I wouldn’t have asked the question here. I was expecting straightforward answers!
O
ONeill
24 Jun 2017 18:57
The factual answer provided by Nordlys is that if you are truly working with a general contractor, they are not obligated to allow your building supervision on site until handover. You should clarify this beforehand.
L
lasa64
24 Jun 2017 19:03
Thank you very much! Do you consider this necessary at all if the technical inspection authority (TÜV) is already involved?