ᐅ Process for Purchasing Land Directly from the Municipality

Hello everyone. I’m new here and hope I don’t embarrass myself right away.

We currently have the opportunity to purchase a plot of land in a newly developed residential area directly from the municipality. The current status is that we have reserved a plot that we like. According to the municipality, the reservation is valid for about 6 weeks.

My questions are about “what’s next?”, since we have not yet received any further information from the municipality.
What are likely the next steps? What do we need to complete and by when in order to actually buy the plot? I’m thinking along the lines of:

• Is it advisable to have a soil survey done before purchase, or is it sufficient to do it later? My main concern is the timing because of the 6-week period. (What we already know: On the neighboring plots to the left and right, there are newly built or still under-construction houses, at least one of which has no basement, whereas we plan to build a basement. According to the land use plan, “no mining-related impacts are expected.” The plot is not on a slope (30cm (12 inches) height difference over 25m (82 feet)). To us laypersons, everything looks normal in every respect—rectangular, flat.)
• Does the notary appointment have to take place before the 6-week reservation period expires, or can we confirm our intention to buy in another way if time gets tight? (Unfortunately, we will be on vacation during this time as well.)
• Does it have to be a specific notary, or can it be any notary in the area?
• Is it correct that we don’t need a financing commitment or something similar from a bank if we can pay for the plot from our own funds?

Thanks so much for your help—I’m looking forward to some support in this adventure. If you need any further details regarding the questions, please just let me know.
If all of this can only be answered by the municipality, please feel free to say so as well.

Hello, from top to bottom:

Hausbau-Sandy schrieb:

According to the municipality, the reservation lasts "about 6 weeks."

You can usually extend it multiple times if you show serious interest.

Hausbau-Sandy schrieb:

What now?

Look for a general contractor or an architect. Study the development plan carefully and define your desired building envelope. Gather detailed information!

Hausbau-Sandy schrieb:

Is it advisable to have a soil survey done before purchase, or is it okay to do it later?

Based on what you said, doing it later should be sufficient. But since you can extend the reservation and once you know roughly where you want to build, you can commission the survey then.

Hausbau-Sandy schrieb:

Does the notary appointment have to take place before the 6-week reservation period expires?

No, not necessarily. It depends on arrangements with the municipality or the seller.

Hausbau-Sandy schrieb:

Does it have to be a specific notary?

You can choose whichever notary you prefer.

Hausbau-Sandy schrieb:

Is it correct that we don’t need a financing commitment or similar from a bank if we can pay for the plot from our own funds?

I’m not sure.

ypg schrieb:

The one you want.

However, in municipal building areas, the actual free choice of the notary is usually limited to exactly one notary and exactly one possible contract set by the municipality. A standard contract for the notary chosen by the municipality, who then notarizes 20–300 contracts, so that each individual contract does not have to be renegotiated.

Hausbau-Sandy schrieb:

Is it correct that we don’t need a financing confirmation or anything like that from a bank if we can pay for the plot entirely from our own equity?

Ask the municipality what they require from you. Without financing, a financing confirmation is at least impossible...

Thank you all for the replies! I was planning to call the local authority in the next few days anyway, but this already gives me a better idea of what to expect.

Hausbau-Sandy schrieb:

On the neighboring plots to the left and right, there are newly built or still under construction houses, at least one of which has no basement, whereas we plan to build with a basement. According to the development plan, "no mining-related impacts are expected." The plot is not on a slope (30cm (12 inches) height difference over 25m (82 feet)). To us as non-experts, it looks unremarkable in every respect – rectangular, flat.)

Ask the neighbors to allow you to review their soil investigation reports; six weeks would be a very tight schedule for permission to drill, scheduling the sampling, and obtaining the analysis results. The note about no expected mining-related impacts means that there are no seams, tunnels, or old mine workings beneath the development area that could cause subsidence on the property.

Hausbau-Sandy schrieb:

Is it correct that we don’t need any kind of loan approval or similar from a bank if we can pay for the land entirely with equity?

Proof of equity is actually the best kind of financing commitment, not the absence of one.

---

https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/