Condition of the plot when purchasing land from the municipality in a new development area

Hello everyone,

we are currently about to purchase a plot of land in a new development area in a municipality in Bavaria. Therefore, I will very likely become more active here in the forum in the not too distant future.

Since the development work is now completed and one can now admire the building plots in their “full glory,” I have noticed a few things where I would like to get your expert advice: Especially compared to other new development areas in the region, I find that the plots here have been left in a very poor condition. Specifically, it looks like the company has removed the topsoil throughout the entire area, probably for reuse elsewhere, and replaced it with much inferior soil. Furthermore, many of the plots have not been left level at all, but are very wavy and jagged + additionally heavily and waist-high overgrown with weeds.

Please don’t get me wrong, I am also aware that you cannot expect a perfectly even English lawn here, but there must be certain standards regarding the condition in which a plot is handed over. As I said, especially compared to new development areas in surrounding municipalities, the condition here is noticeably worse. I recently saw plots that were reasonably level, properly provided with topsoil, and mulched.

Does anyone know if there is a certain handover standard that one can expect here, or is it worth getting in direct contact and addressing the condition? Especially the missing topsoil + the disposal of the other soil that was more or less dumped there is also a financial aspect that will eventually come into play, right?

Thanks in advance

Best regards

Sorry but that is completely normal as you describe it and also completely irrelevant. The excavator comes and then it flattens everything anyway. You just have a bit of topsoil brought in again by a farmer or something. How much is the m² and where exactly is it in Bavaria? Let me know

There must be standards here regarding the condition in which you receive such a plot of land.

There are no standards. The condition of the plot is defined in the purchase contract, as YOU negotiate it with the seller. Buy or leave it. Please note the comment by . The grassy plot from the municipality looks like a battlefield from WWI once construction starts. So basically like it does now.

If the municipality is supposed to prepare the ground accordingly, the plots will be correspondingly more expensive. Since you will have earthworks anyway, it wouldn't help you much if you already had the perfect soil beforehand. For us, it was called "bought as seen," so the neighbor's excavation would have belonged to us since the purchase.

Specifically, I mean that the company appears to have removed the topsoil throughout the entire area, presumably for other use, and replaced it with far inferior soil. Furthermore, many of the plots were not left truly level but rather strongly undulating and rugged, and additionally heavily overgrown with man-high weeds.

Preparing the site so that each parcel is neatly cleared of bushes is not part of a housing development project. I find it much more interesting to see how closely the actual elevations match those recorded during the survey of the site’s heights, which were integrated into the planning of the paths and possibly also formed the basis for the height specifications indicating the maximum level your "eaves" may reach. This can also be relevant for border garage wall heights.

It doesn't matter whether the ground is flat or wavy, the excavator removes everything during the earthworks anyway and piles everything up again on the sides. Later, you don't really need that much topsoil, unless the plots are several thousand square meters large, and topsoil isn't that expensive anyway. You should rather be happy that you are among the lucky ones and can buy a plot; here with us there are no plots at all and if one is ever offered, then for more than half a million euros.

LG
Sabine