Hello,
I am quite new here and hope this is the right place for my concern.
We are currently having a turnkey house built through a developer, meaning we are purchasing the finished house along with the land. It is a semi-detached house, 130sqm (1400 sq ft), currently at the shell stage, with the roof and windows completed, so the house is basically “closed in.”
We have now discovered serious defects in the construction of the interior walls. Some of the bricks were cut with an axe instead of using the available saw. The walls look accordingly poor and have been covered with large amounts of mortar, so later on when installing furniture, we can never be sure if it will hold properly. In plain terms: it is botched work.
A complaint to the developer about these defects has so far led to nothing; it was ignored. We can never reach the responsible people by phone, and we have not met the site manager even once in person.
We have now hired an independent building expert, who repeatedly pointed out that the following documents are needed for ongoing construction supervision:
Structural engineer’s report
Energy performance report
We asked the developer to provide these documents, but this was refused; we were told we would receive them only once we officially own the property.
What can we do now?
Even if the developer denies us an expert on site and exercises their property rights, we would at least like to have an expert present at the final handover. But the documents will only be provided AFTER this handover....
Is the developer required to provide these documents at least before the final inspection?
Do we at least have a chance to report the defects already identified and demand corrections? Even if it is very inconvenient to reopen finished walls, as mentioned, there has been no dialogue with us so far. So far, we only have photos as “evidence.”
I would really appreciate any advice, as this whole building project is becoming extremely frustrating.
Thank you and best regards
I am quite new here and hope this is the right place for my concern.
We are currently having a turnkey house built through a developer, meaning we are purchasing the finished house along with the land. It is a semi-detached house, 130sqm (1400 sq ft), currently at the shell stage, with the roof and windows completed, so the house is basically “closed in.”
We have now discovered serious defects in the construction of the interior walls. Some of the bricks were cut with an axe instead of using the available saw. The walls look accordingly poor and have been covered with large amounts of mortar, so later on when installing furniture, we can never be sure if it will hold properly. In plain terms: it is botched work.
A complaint to the developer about these defects has so far led to nothing; it was ignored. We can never reach the responsible people by phone, and we have not met the site manager even once in person.
We have now hired an independent building expert, who repeatedly pointed out that the following documents are needed for ongoing construction supervision:
Structural engineer’s report
Energy performance report
We asked the developer to provide these documents, but this was refused; we were told we would receive them only once we officially own the property.
What can we do now?
Even if the developer denies us an expert on site and exercises their property rights, we would at least like to have an expert present at the final handover. But the documents will only be provided AFTER this handover....
Is the developer required to provide these documents at least before the final inspection?
Do we at least have a chance to report the defects already identified and demand corrections? Even if it is very inconvenient to reopen finished walls, as mentioned, there has been no dialogue with us so far. So far, we only have photos as “evidence.”
I would really appreciate any advice, as this whole building project is becoming extremely frustrating.
Thank you and best regards
I don’t fully understand: on one hand, your description suggests that you are not misusing the term developer, but on the other hand, you mention visible construction defects and site supervision, which sounds more like a construction contract with a general contractor.
Legally, a developer is essentially just a “previous owner” of the house, against whom you have no entitlement to documentation proving proper construction, nor any right to site inspections.
By the way, poor workmanship and expanding foam are common “ingredients” even in houses that are marketed as “turnkey” (in the sense that the average consumer understands the term) and appear flawless from the outside.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Legally, a developer is essentially just a “previous owner” of the house, against whom you have no entitlement to documentation proving proper construction, nor any right to site inspections.
By the way, poor workmanship and expanding foam are common “ingredients” even in houses that are marketed as “turnkey” (in the sense that the average consumer understands the term) and appear flawless from the outside.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
In fact, the construction specification mentions a site manager who was also supposed to be introduced to us. The construction specification was also the basis for the notarized contract.
I believe that the developer, who also acts as the general contractor (GC), partly has difficulties distinguishing the individual responsibilities. This would also fit with the otherwise sometimes disastrous organization.
However, it is indeed a genuine developer contract; we will definitely acquire the house and land only after completion.
I believe that the developer, who also acts as the general contractor (GC), partly has difficulties distinguishing the individual responsibilities. This would also fit with the otherwise sometimes disastrous organization.
However, it is indeed a genuine developer contract; we will definitely acquire the house and land only after completion.
M
Mottenhausen11 Sep 2019 15:07Fay1983 schrieb:
we will definitely purchase the house and land only after completion. including all visible and hidden defects.
Don’t worry about the blocks, I’m not sure how bad the situation is, but a wall plug won’t hold any better in aerated concrete blocks than in mortar. There will still be 1–2cm (0.4–0.8 inches) of interior plaster to apply.
including all visible and hidden defects.I am supposed to take over a house with visible defects? I can hardly imagine that. What is the purpose of a handover with a protocol then?
Even a builder cannot just take liberties like that, can they?
To be honest, I am quite shocked right now. It cannot be that I have to buy a faulty property in the end. Defects that already exist.
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