ᐅ House purchase; shell construction completed; scheduling expert inspection appointment

Hello,

we are looking for a single-family house and have already identified and visited a property. It is a detached single-family house within a larger new development project. The shell construction is completed, and the interior work is also fairly advanced.
If we want to buy, a reservation fee would be required to proceed with personalized planning and further construction.
When would be the best time to have the house inspected by an independent expert to verify that everything matches the building specifications and is done correctly? Should this be done before the reservation, or between the reservation and signing the contract? After the contract signing would probably be too late...

What are the average costs one should expect for an independent expert?

Best regards and thanks in advance :-)

Cappu 😉

Cappuccino18 schrieb:
If we want to buy now, a reservation fee would be due.

I find that highly suspicious.

Cappuccino18 schrieb:
What costs should one expect on average for an expert surveyor?

For inspecting and assessing a shell construction, I would estimate 300 to 1000 euros, also depending on the location (in a big city you will find several providers without significant travel costs, in rural areas there is often only one who will charge for a two-hour drive).

Who wants a fee for what exactly?

The purchase is made directly from the developer, and the "fee" is paid to them as well.
The reservation fee is refunded after the purchase. It is essentially a down payment or deposit. Before the notary appointment, there is already the selection of finishes and some individual planning, so the process continues based on the customized planning.
Therefore, there is no reservation fee just for holding the property. I will quote once from the reservation agreement: "The reservation fee serves as a flat rate to cover the costs and expenses of the seller and will be refunded immediately after notarization. If the purchase contract does not come into effect for reasons for which the buyer is not responsible, the reservation fee will be refunded to the buyer. By paying the reservation fee, the seller is commissioned to prepare the notary contract. Once the contract is available, it should be notarized within the aforementioned time frame."

I basically find this completely acceptable and not highly suspicious...
Edit: The amount of the fee is 1.5% of the purchase price...

So before I pay a fee and write it off because the inspector says there is a defect but the builder disagrees, I would always recommend reserving payment or signing until this is clarified.

Now the question is, are you even allowed to bring the inspector there? What does the builder say about that? Do they agree to it?

Read up on developers and the legally regulated payment schedules. We also purchased through a developer and only transferred the first payment after the notary’s approval (after the earthworks had begun and after the priority notice was registered in the land registry).