Additional costs after the expiration of the price commitment

  • Erstellt am 2022-06-24 08:17:39

Sandro177

2022-06-24 08:17:39
  • #1
Hello dear forum,
I have read a lot here but still haven’t really made much progress.
We have the following situation. We signed a contract in 10/2020 for the construction of a semi-detached house with a fixed price guarantee for 24 months. The associated company also brokered a plot of land for us, which, according to statements, would be developed shortly. Well, that was not the case; we were too naive, but that can no longer be changed now.
The plots will reach building readiness in 10/2022.
We want to continue building and also agree with the builder (BU) on a reasonable basis, but the burdens due to increased interest rates and general inflation are of course very high.
Now some questions:

Does the price guarantee generally refer to the start of construction or the completion?
Is it correct that price increases may only be passed on to us if they arise after the price guarantee expires?

The latter was assured to us in a conversation in 2021, which took place when it became clear that the development would take significantly longer than planned.
In the meantime, the builder no longer feels bound to this statement because the situation has changed so significantly.
The company would like us to sign a new contract. Am I right to assume that we absolutely should not do that because it would basically only bring disadvantages for us? We are already building very basic, but have calcium silicate blocks instead of aerated concrete; that would be the only point where costs could still be saved. How should such a side agreement be designed so that the old contract is not suddenly affected? To give some numbers, a current calculation would be over 30% more expensive than in 2020. 10% would be manageable, somewhere around 20% would be a limit at which the project would really become difficult for us.
Thank you very much for any advice and best regards
 

Neubau2022

2022-06-24 08:23:52
  • #2


That depends on what is stated in the contract. Sometimes it states that the fixed price commitment begins from groundbreaking. In that case, it is sufficient if work begins by then. If the fixed price commitment was affected due to errors of the builder, then this should be documented because it should then be extended. We also signed the contract at the end of 2020. Work only started in 11/2021, as the building permit alone took almost 10 months. In the meantime, the builder had already ordered materials or reserved them at certain prices and has not charged us a single cent to this day.

You are familiar with the issue of real estate transfer tax when purchasing the plot and house from the builder, right?
 

filosof

2022-06-24 08:47:17
  • #3
Go to a specialist lawyer with the issue and your contract and have it clarified. There is too much money at stake to make decisions based on lay opinions in a forum. Of course, the lawyer costs a bit, but I see that as a good investment. It's not initially about coming at your contractor with legal letters right away. It's about a professional assessment of the legal situation as a basis for your further actions.
 

Neubau2022

2022-06-24 08:58:10
  • #4


Or ask at the Bauherren-Schutzbund/ Bauherrenhilfe if you are a member there.
 

Sandro177

2022-06-24 09:03:59
  • #5
Of course we will seek professional advice. For me, it is more about slowly being able to assess what is coming our way. The contract only mentions a price guarantee; it does not state any dependency on the building application or groundbreaking. On the internet, you read that in case of price increases, the calculation must be disclosed in order to understand what happened before and after the price guarantee period. That sounds quite unrealistic to me in reality. Do you have any experience regarding this?
 

Sandro177

2022-06-24 09:06:57
  • #6
The plot already belongs to us and has fortunately been financed before the current interest rate development.
 

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