ᐅ How to manage a property relocation over a distance of more than 600 km?

Oh, I almost forgot to mention: it's also over 500km (310 miles) distance. So that’s possible too 😉

Hangman schrieb:

This is how we handled it. Sold in April 2020 and received the full sale price by July 1, 2020. We had a right of residence until February 1, 2021, which we were able to shorten with two months’ notice (which we did as of December 1, 2020). The transfer of risk was specified in the purchase contract as the actual handover date (in our case, December 1, 2020). The issue is not about painted wallpaper, but what happens if something serious occurs (see Ahr Valley, worst case uninsured). A notary should be able to manage this without any problem. The money was paid immediately anyway, because even if something happens to you or you flee to South America – the property still exists and then transfers to the buyer.

Hangman schrieb:

Oh, I forgot to mention: also over 500km (310 miles) distance. So that’s possible too 😉

Thanks – wow, you’ve already done this. 🙂 That’s encouraging!
How do you decide on a service provider when there is such a distance involved?
I’m inclined to build turnkey with a general contractor (GC) again, because that seems easier to coordinate remotely than managing individual trades.
Or does the architect take care of that if you’re building with an architect?

How did you arrange the handover? With the notary contract, shouldn’t you be able to count that amount as equity for a new mortgage even if the money hasn’t been transferred yet?
The arrangement for the transfer of risk makes sense. We might need to extend the right of residence to a full year or so – you never know how fast construction will proceed.

We built with a local timber frame builder (also known as a prefab house) as the general contractor. The actual construction time was relatively short, and beforehand only small installment payments for planning services, etc., had to be made. The larger payments then came from the sales proceeds. Depending on how the installments are structured in amount and timing, this works quite well.

Our original plan to build with an architect didn’t work out because the architect really added absolutely no value. So we went with a general contractor instead, which basically worked out very well. The options were probably similar to yours. Although I’ve lived most of my life in Berlin, my family comes from the area we moved to. It’s very rural and therefore very traditional, decent, and reliable. We had absolutely no idea about this, but I’m quite fearless in these matters and simply asked everyone who didn’t walk away quickly enough. Once we had a plot of land and a clear idea of what we wanted, I went to the managing directors of local companies, laid our cards on the table openly, and asked if they were interested in the project. As it became more concrete, I always asked them to explain clearly how they planned and would carry out things... and if I understood at least halfway, I asked why they would do it that way instead of another. The rest was just a gut feeling.

How expensive are the plots where you are moving? Can you just buy them outright? I would start with that and at the same time look at local construction companies. You definitely won’t get any dumber doing that 🙂

Hangman schrieb:

We built with a local timber frame builder (aka prefabricated house) as the main contractor. The actual construction time was relatively short, and beforehand only small installment payments were needed for planning services, etc. The larger payments then came from the proceeds of the sale. Depending on how the installments are structured in terms of amount and schedule, this usually works quite well.

Our original plan to build with an architect didn’t work out because the architect really didn’t add any value. That’s why we went with the main contractor, which worked out quite well overall. The selection process was probably similar to yours. Although I’ve lived most of my life in Berlin, my family is from the area we moved to now. Very rural, so also very traditional, decent, and reliable. We had absolutely no experience, but I’m quite fearless with these things and just asked everyone who didn’t run away quickly enough. Once we had a plot and an idea of what we wanted, I approached the managing directors of local companies, laid our cards on the table, and asked if they were interested in the project. As things became more concrete, I always asked them to explain clearly how they planned and would execute things... and if I half understood it, I would ask why they did it this way and not another. The rest was just intuition...

How expensive are the plots where you’re moving? Can you simply buy them? I would start there and simultaneously check out local construction companies. You definitely can’t go wrong doing that 🙂

Relatively cheap. In the town we’re currently interested in, I saw another plot of similar size (but on a massive slope) for about 50k for around 1000m² (about 0.25 acres). The one we have in mind now is similar in size but flat; what the seller wants for it—we don’t know yet if they’re even selling. Probably not a huge amount.
It’s an area with poor infrastructure. The biggest challenge will be getting an internet connection that fits our needs.
We are seriously considering the “money is no object, dig fiber to the house” option from the telecom provider, which could easily cost five figures if it’s even possible and affordable. We might be willing to pay up to 20k, but probably not as much as 50k.

Myrna_Loy schrieb:

My cousin reportedly didn’t have to pay a prepayment penalty because she stayed with the same bank. She sold her apartment and built a house. However, I don’t know if this was a special condition since her husband works at the bank.

That might be a property swap. The financing stays, possibly with an increase, but the property changes.

kati1337 schrieb:

Are there people here or does anyone know someone who has done something like this before?
I can imagine finding buyers who would agree to that. The housing market is quite scarce, especially for nearly new homes, and ours offers some nice features.
But I always wonder what happens if something gets damaged in the meantime. Most structural issues are still under warranty, of course, but what if the child draws on the wallpaper or scratches the stairs or something like that?

Kati, this topic is discussed here every few months. You should look into previous threads.
It has become common (roughly for the past ±15 years): tenants, for example, had a long notice period, others face the same situation as you. You’re not the only one who wants to build and live in their own property. I’m one of them, too.
There are experienced notaries for every possible scenario—they know their “trade.”

kati1337 schrieb:

True, and a few more months to plan the move wouldn’t be a bad thing for the buyers either. Maybe that really could be an option.
Then we would have to find a construction company that works reliably, and if something goes wrong, we would have to store our belongings and possibly rent somewhere temporarily. :O

You’re not alone there either: in our village, for example, all holiday apartments were rented during our building phase.

kati1337 schrieb:

How did you handle the transition? With a notary contract, you should be able to count the amount as equity for new financing, even if no money has changed hands yet, right?

The notary can explain all of that to you. And you should also have a talk with your bank 😉