Buy land separately from the developer

Hello,
we are planning to buy a plot of land + a house.
We will buy the plot of land separately from the developer, who will then build the house on it.
What are the advantages and especially the disadvantages of such a construct?
What do we need to pay attention to?

Thank you in advance!

If the tax office recognizes a dependency, then the real estate acquisition costs must be paid not only on the land but also on the house. A connection is recognizable with a developer, but not (always) with a general contractor. It may be possible to circumvent this with two independent contracts and a time sequence, e.g., purchase of the land in this year and the construction contract or start of construction only in the next year. However, it also depends on the tax office itself, some assume a connection more readily, others less so.

Hello and thank you for the quick response. I am already including acquisition costs for both, the question now is apart from the tax disadvantage, what else should one pay attention to? Are there already any negative experiences? What do we need to pay attention to contractually and what kind of construction contract is that then?

Yes, in this case the [Baugrundrisiko] comes back to you.

If it really is a developer, there could be disadvantages for the developer regarding the value-added tax, which he will pass on to you.

The developer is not allowed to reclaim the value-added tax from the tax office on the purchase of materials. In return, he does not have to pay value-added tax on the sale.
Basically, the value added does not fall under value-added tax.
The larger the services provided by the developer himself are (e.g. construction of the shell + calculated profit), the cheaper the developer contract should theoretically be compared to the contract of a general contractor.
With the structure you have chosen, he (as general contractor) then has to pay value-added tax on the added value. That means the price should increase by 19% on the created added value at the same calculated profit. At the same time, you still have to pay property transfer tax on the total price.
Thus, this is actually the most expensive option you can choose.

Furthermore, to my knowledge, a developer contract is very heavily regulated.
([Payment plan, notarization, etc.])
This can definitely be advantageous for the inexperienced buyer.

Advantages of a contract for work and services compared to the developer contract, I see if something should go wrong during construction (e.g. insolvency) because the property does not yet belong to you. Whether there are any safeguards, perhaps others can say. I am not very familiar with that.

Is there actually a reason to choose a contract for work and services instead of a developer contract?

If you take over the burdens of the property, you must also pay for (die Straßen, Ausgleichsflächen, Kanal, Straßenlaternen, Spielplätze) development charges (if not yet paid and not otherwise regulated).