ᐅ Dream Plot, but TAFF House – First Mistake Already Made

PowerBauer schrieb:
So, for us, TAFF is now definitely off the table.

Despite everything, we were not deterred from the plot because it perfectly suited our needs. So, we signed the contract despite the many vague phrases and critical points, since TAFF had assured us the plot would be available. I also spoke with three homeowners who built with Allegro, and they were quite satisfied, which reassured me somewhat.

However, the expert from the Association of Private Homeowners strongly advised against it, saying the construction contract was "absolute rubbish" (exact quote) that no homeowner should ever voluntarily agree to. There are many points where the builder (meaning me) has to perform tasks, many risks are shifted onto the homeowner, and with the wording used, it seems you could face a pretty rough time in court if it ever comes to that.

I noted down about 60 questions regarding the construction description, general terms and conditions, trades involved, etc., and managed to clarify some of them with TAFF. However, they refused to provide answers in writing, let alone with a signature. Some critical issues, like a contractually fixed completion date for construction work (something like “12 months after the start of construction, excluding weather-related delays”), they neither wanted nor were able to confirm orally. One might suspect foul play there.

Another example is the warranty on the windows, which only exists if you sign a maintenance contract. None of my contacts at TAFF even knew what that meant, nor was there a template for such a maintenance contract.

Since we really wanted the plot and have a few lawyers in our circle of friends, we signed anyway, as mentioned. The expert from the Association of Private Homeowners even said the contract was written so unfavorably for customers that certain clauses or even the entire contract could be declared invalid and challenged in court—with plenty of perseverance.

After signing, the long wait began. We were puzzled because there was extreme pressure to sign initially, then TAFF suddenly stopped contacting us. When I tried to reach anyone at TAFF about two weeks later, no one answered, despite calling every few hours over two days. Later that evening, I tried a different phone number—finally reachable. Supposedly, they were on vacation then got sick. Then they said the plot was already gone—even though it had been guaranteed to us... We were understandably upset and contacted the real estate agent.

The agent suddenly said the owner decides who gets the plot and had not yet decided. When I spoke with the owner, he said he had already sold the plot to the agent (??) and didn’t care who got it anyway. So things got very confusing, with all parties contradicting each other. By now, it was clear something was wrong.

In the following days, we were constantly stalled. Allegedly, the notary was overloaded, and the draft purchase contracts were not ready. I don’t understand what’s so complicated about this contract that requires weeks to draft or why a contract draft would influence the buyer’s selection, but okay. I suspect someone made a higher offer or had relevant contacts, and the agent was just waiting for proof of financing. Several subtle remarks suggested there were buyers willing to pay more. We later learned someone from the agent’s family apparently got the plot.

In the end, the owner supposedly chose someone else. I am pretty sure the agent, formerly a managing director of TAFF-Haus, had a much bigger role in this than he admitted. He claimed to know nothing about any house contract and said it didn’t interest him at all—that he was only the agent. Meanwhile, the TAFF sales rep told us, “Contact the agent; he makes the decision.” Sure.

Throughout this time, both the “agent” and TAFF were very hard to reach. The TAFF sales rep apparently still reports to the agent, who was the managing director of TAFF until recently, so his assurances were worthless. The agent constantly dodged direct questions, overwhelmed us with talk, and contradicted himself repeatedly. Behind the polished friendliness there was no genuine professionalism... promises and statements kept changing. The same applies to the TAFF sales rep: just like another interested party here, we were promised appointments with ventilation and heating companies several times—but they never happened. Emails were generally unanswered. We only received the construction contract we signed several weeks later by mail, when the decision had long since been made—and even then, the agreed cancellation clause had already come into effect since we could not purchase the plot.

At some point, the sales rep called to ask if we had bought the plot yet (???). He said he had another similar plot and asked if he could share my phone number. Needless to say, we never got a call regarding that.

When cancelling the construction contract, we had to follow up several times until cancellation was confirmed.

All in all, a very unprofessional and uncertain experience. We will definitely not build with TAFF, not even on another plot. The product might be okay, but the people behind it and the contract leave a really bad impression. You don’t feel taken seriously by the company.

By the way, the second half of the plot—a 13-meter (43 feet) wide strip, for which there were supposedly “3-4 interested parties” bidding against each other—was later offered as a developer-free plot for around €20,000 (about $22,000) more on Immoscout. So that claim was just hot air, too.

One more thing: The company offers only about a dozen different houses. Still, the house we chose had never been built by TAFF before; there was only a parallel construction project. That worried me a bit because I didn’t want to be a pilot project when building my house.