ᐅ Construction supervision through a homeowners’ protection association, private builders’ organization, technical inspection agency (such as TÜV or DEKRA), independent expert, or another option...?

ypg schrieb:
2. Invoices are not submitted to the KfW Bank but are settled by the approved and prepaid repayment grant

Alex85 schrieb:
This was about the funding for building supervisors, specifically Program 431. You submit the invoice and application to KfW after completing the measure, and then the grant is paid out.
With the repayment subsidy in KfW 153, you are correct, it is applied to the remaining loan balance after the measure is completed.

BeHaElJa schrieb:
We consciously decided against hiring a building expert (e.g., surveyor or inspector) because we feared it might negatively affect the relationship between us and the construction company.

Although we are not completely finished yet, I would so far give a mixed summary. As with any build, some unexpected issues have arisen. In almost all cases we identified* – not necessarily defects in the strict sense, but also planning inaccuracies – the construction company was cooperative. Sometimes not immediately and only after we pushed, but then even on Sundays, for which we want to give our site manager a proper gift . Of course, there were a few nights when I didn’t sleep well (especially at the beginning).

I believe things would not have been much different with a building expert. In some cases, you could certainly have insisted more strongly on your rights and probably negotiated price reductions – but the flip side might have been that the general contractor would have scrutinized the contract very closely and made up for it elsewhere – that’s at least my suspicion.

I am curious to read about other homeowners’ experiences with building experts.

If I could start again, I might choose to build with an independent architect who manages all phases, including construction planning. To avoid exceeding the budget – I am firmly convinced that good planning costs more accordingly – I would then probably build the property about 25 m² (270 sq ft) smaller.

* we looked very closely and read a lot, but certainly missed some things due to lack of technical knowledge and sometimes “unfairly” demanded others – I think this is precisely where much of the debate will revolve.

jx7 schrieb:
First of all: The survey will be very unrepresentative because the people who click on the thread are more likely those who have hired one; many who believe it can be done without are not interested in the thread at all.

I think a building inspector is useful because as a layperson you can easily be talked into something, whereas the inspector can speak on equal terms with the construction company.

We have one from the Homeowner Protection Association; he charges €312 (approximately $340) per site visit (9 visits in total).

I would involve him from the very beginning. He usually knows all regionally relevant construction companies and knows which ones have had construction defects or not, and can advise you accordingly when selecting a company. He can also check the contract documents and ensure they are properly and customer-friendly structured from the start.