Approach for Initial Contact with Property Developers & Prefabricated Building Suppliers

Hello everyone,

I have been browsing this forum repeatedly for several weeks now, but I haven’t really found anything concrete yet.
Specifically, we are still two people (three in autumn) looking for our own property in the Berlin surrounding area. Net income is solid, equity for land is available...

Existing properties - not so easy, as hardly anything reasonable seems to be on the market (neither too old, nor a garden where you can hardly turn around – after all, that’s one of the reasons we want to “get out” of Berlin).
So the topic of house construction (single-family house) came up.

For this, we are already searching for a plot of land in the eastern Berlin area (Erkner, Rüdersdorf, etc.) or the north (Oranienburg, Bernau) or also around Potsdam/Falkensee. A good connection to the center of Berlin by public transport is important and nothing near BER (we already notice airplane noise even though we are officially not even in the flight path).
My gut feeling tells me that for a construction layman, a construction project with an architect who takes responsibility is better than working with a large company. Or in other words, as an inexperienced home builder you basically have to rely blindly on them?

But then we come to the "core of the problem": Almost all plots are sold through turnkey construction providers.
The posts here in the forum and also elsewhere in the vastness of the WWW all warn about "bondage contracts" that only allow changes against disproportionately high surcharges, and offers where it depends on the fine print.
If I understand correctly, it is always recommended with these full-service providers to involve an external appraiser/site manager before signing the contract.

However, we are still one step before that: How can you recognize the bad apples at the first appointments? What are important questions in an initial conversation?
These companies probably all know how to sell themselves, but what are the questions with which you can separate the wheat from the chaff?

And of course always welcome: What experiences have you had with general contractors in Berlin, who do you recommend? Who does their work well even without a constant additional external site manager?

Many thanks and best regards
Stephan

It is important to have good public transport connections to the center of Berlin and nothing near BER (we already notice the aircraft noise, although officially we are not even in the flight path).

Welcome to the forum,
what you are planning sounds good.
The beginning is the search for a plot,
your wishes are shared by many, also with the quoted conditions.
Drive to the desired areas and start searching, there are for sale signs, real estate agents and also your notices on lampposts, visibly uninhabited houses, talk to people who work at the fence

You have rather muddled together two aspects here instead of just linking them, namely the property search (possibly tied to a developer) and the laymen’s traps in the construction and service descriptions on the other hand.

My gut feeling tells me that for a building layman, a construction project with an architect who takes responsibility is better than with a large company. Or in other words, as an inexperienced homebuilder you basically have to trust blindly? [...]
If I understand correctly, it is always recommended with these overall providers to involve an external expert/site manager before signing the contract.

I generally always recommend an architect, except of course with a developer, but with one small exception: if you yourself, the property and the development plan are "easy to maintain to unchallenging" and the references of the general contractor come from a reliable source, then the risk of a catalog house may well already have been survived. A medium-sized company (owner-managed with for example about three dozen permanent own staff) is better than a small shoebox with a franchisor with large marketing and legal departments (and otherwise often rather little) behind it.

Then we come to the "core of the problem": Almost all plots are sold through prefabricated building providers.
The posts here in the forum and also elsewhere in the vastness of the WWW all warn against "onerous contracts" that only allow changes against disproportionately high surcharges, and offers where it depends on the fine print.

My warnings regarding the "property service" offer apply both to the construction contracts required for it and to speculative sales. However, there are indeed also reputable developer offers (no proof, but a strong indication is when the provider can name the exact property address). If the property is truthfully claimed to be in their ownership, there is no reason for evasions here.

With the keyword "11ant Barthel" in the forum search you will find my tips on how to find the "backdoor" property yourself.

If one has (A) found a property oneself, one can plan with an architect and should also commission them with the detailed planning and tendering following the building permit as well as later the construction management. Even with tendering, you can deal with a general contractor, but with a self-appointed architect you then also let them manage the construction. If one has (B) found a property tied to a developer, a building supervision expert is recommended – but beware: some developers reject that. If one goes (C) with a self-found property to a general contractor and finds it appropriate to dare to build one of their catalog houses with them, then a building supervision expert is also recommended. So I see at least three ways as suitable, only from the fourth I advise against: namely (D) the combination "GC and individual design, but with their in-house planner aka draftsman". Because: "small sins the dear God punishes immediately" – in this case with plasterboard boxes around pipes placed arbitrarily in corners following the motto "allowed is what is not forbidden," completely aesthetics-free.

The posts here in the forum and also elsewhere in the vastness of the WWW all warn against "lock-in contracts" that only allow changes against disproportionately high surcharges, and offers where the fine print is important.

No. These are not lock-in contracts, but tied contracts. It is not a warning either, but rather a notice that a higher real estate transfer tax must then be paid.

If I understand correctly, it is always recommended with these overall providers to involve an external expert/supervisor before signing the contract.

This applies generally to any house purchase or construction: get an expert if you don’t have the expertise yourself.

But we are one step before that: How can you recognize the black sheep at the first appointments? What are important questions in an initial conversation?

Basically intuition: a well-organized seller who promises nothing and does not pressure, but can competently answer questions, can already be put on the positive list.

In Berlin, I have already had quite a few experiences, but not with GUs. ;) There will also be providers operating on a supraregional level there, and they are not all bad either.

If I had to name a single point concerning the GU or here probably rather the actual developer, when land and house belong together, then it is transparency. The good ones have a meaningful building specification, possibly even meticulously prepared surcharge lists, which then also become part of the contract. Something like reputation/reviews should of course also be checked if possible - but that doesn't really need to be mentioned separately.

Otherwise, I would like to point out that when the land is tied to a GU, in general, the real estate transfer tax must also be paid on both land and house. Therefore, you should take a second look at this in your calculations, as it can quickly lead to additional costs in the five-digit range.

No. These are not tying contracts, but linked contracts. There is also no warning given beforehand, but rather the note that a higher real estate transfer tax must then be paid.

Yes – I think the OP did not mean the circumstance that when purchasing a future existing property from the developer, real estate transfer tax is also paid on the building. This arises from the nature of the contract object that is inseparable in this case. As a linked transaction, this is only structured if the developer offers the buyer the land and the construction contract separately (but linked, so that the land alone cannot be taken). However, reputable developers often offer properties where nothing needs to be linked first, but rather the finished overall object "developed land" is sold as usual — even though nowadays the construction is delayed for two reasons until the buyer has committed. What the OP meant, as I understand it, was very much a tying contract, namely that you have to open access to the "free" "land service" by signing a construction contract and can only cancel it again for a hefty compensation. The speculation here is that the customer overestimates their chances in Russian roulette (they might be lucky that the land tied as a condition to the building contract would not be found and they could exit the contract without compensation). Because this will only rarely succeed — the "Boanlkramer" may be fooled by the Brandner Kaspar, but the devil rather less so.

The good ones have a meaningful construction description, possibly even meticulously elaborated surcharge lists, which then also become part of the contract.

I suspect you mean special equipment catalogs, as sometimes mentioned here in the forum e.g. by Wengerter. However, to my knowledge, Wengerter builds almost exclusively in Hesse, and I found projects by Werner only in Berlin — but currently none — and nothing in Brandenburg. At the end of January, we had a project by Brale here on the docket, which was in Petershagen, and they are probably currently active in other parts of the Berlin / Potsdam area as well.