ᐅ Process: Land Purchase, Bank Financing, General Contractor Agreement – Does This Sound Right?

Hello everyone,

Our house building project is about to start.

We had considered it at the end of 2022 but decided against it due to all the uncertainties.

I’m a bit unsure about the process and whether I might have overlooked something important that could cause problems later on.

The plot of land is available – 1300 sqm (14,000 sq ft) in family ownership – according to the notary’s subdivision, my partner already owns the rear half. The land registry entry for 1/2 ownership has been completed.
The surveyor still needs to carry out the subdivision in connection with the building permit/planning permission application.
Subdivision and building permit/planning permission will proceed in parallel in Berlin. Development of the second row is approved – this was personally confirmed with the city planning department. The size complies with the regulations.
Bank financing was approved today.

Now the question: should we sign the construction contract (the offer is acceptable to us) and then start?

Do you have any advice or important points I should consider beforehand?

Thank you very much

Buddy0505 schrieb:

Now the question: Sign the construction contract now (the offer suits us) and then we should be able to get started.
Is there anything I should definitely consider beforehand?

Oh yes, you should keep in mind that the house still needs to be designed,
and a freelance architect is generally better suited for this than an included planner from a general contractor (GC).
A GC whose construction contract you agree with is only "half the battle," and in https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/bewertung-angebot-bauleistungsbeschreibung-neubau-bungalow.43930/ I haven’t seen anything about planning or found any mention in your thread history. By the way, I seem to recall from @Tolentino that he wouldn’t build again with a GC.

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

Thank you very much – by now, four acquaintances have built with this company and are quite satisfied.
Some luck is probably involved... do you think it makes sense to get information in advance from Creditreform? See HELMA insolvency.

Buddy0505 schrieb:

A bit of luck is probably involved ... do you think it makes sense to get information in advance from Creditreform? See HELMA insolvency

You can request it. But for a construction company, a) it’s difficult for a layperson to interpret the numbers, and b) due to the business model involving inventory/construction projects and later sales/payment receipts/capitalization options, even professionals can’t easily draw many conclusions.
A full annual report with a management report would be much more informative – for example, with Helma, you could read how badly things were going (on the earnings side).

Is there a planned house with all the details so that "the offer suits you"? Otherwise, please do not sign anything with the general contractor.

Buddy0505 schrieb:

By now, four acquaintances have built with this company and are quite satisfied.
A bit of luck is probably involved ...

This seems to reasonably suggest that the company does solid work. However, I was referring to design expertise, which cannot be inferred from simply clean workmanship. Planning is the architect’s responsibility, and general contractors usually take the "required" architectural services very literally.

Buddy0505 schrieb:

Do you think it makes sense to get information in advance through Creditreform? See HELMA insolvency.

The idea that credit agencies can and actually do analyze financial statements is almost a fairy tale. It’s much more useful for you to focus on aspects like the completion guarantee and the final payment. An insolvency may be just as irrelevant to you as your limited dealings with the property manager would be.

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