Construction progress: Duplex with WU basement and developed attic

Unfortunately, it is the case that you actually have to take care of things yourself in such a court proceeding…. Google everything the lawyer suggests, you have to become half a lawyer yourself….

The outsider thinks: the lawyer does everything. He does nothing. He does only what you tell him, no more and no less. Only a few affected people have the nerves for that. Understandably.

It certainly depends on the lawyer. Some are like this, some like that. As everywhere, there are good and bad ones. And the good ones just cost more or don’t take people like us at all. And then you automatically end up with a bad one. What really pisses me off is our "legal system." The phrase lawyers learn in the first semester is: "You have to have money to get your rights." And I find that so shitty. How is the struggling homeowner supposed to afford these horrendous costs (lawyer, independently commissioned expert reports, court cost advances, advance payment for court-ordered expert report, etc.)? Example from my own experience. I don’t only have this "construction site," but I am firmly convinced to fight against the fooling around that is tried again and again. We have a 20-year-old Mercedes Vito with Westfalia equipment (rear seats convertible into a bed with table), an absolutely awesome thing we are very attached to. It has 7 seats but could be upgraded to 9 according to the registration. Meanwhile, these are collector’s vehicles that are hardly on the market, except as rusty heaps. In October 2020, a driver turning left ran into us. We were absolutely not at fault (as always :)). The other party didn’t have any papers with him, so we called the police. Accident report, alcohol test for both drivers. It was Friday, late afternoon, and I was fed up and just wanted to go home. Hardly arrived, the phone rang. The other party’s insurance. They wanted to help us quickly and uncomplicatedly and would like to send an expert first thing Monday morning. At the accident, it was so loud in the vehicle that I assumed everything in the rear was broken. Our damage didn’t look that bad, but the other party’s front was totally smashed. However, he had caught his front wheel on our rear wheel. Good thing we were much higher. So I assumed that the bang had to do with our rear axle and foolishly accepted the insurance’s offer because I assessed the vehicle as unroadworthy. The nice guy came and a few days later his expert report. The vehicle would be a transporter with 5 seats, retrofitted and with a torn glass roof and water damage and in below-average condition. Replacement value: €3,400, residual value: €400!!!!! Repair costs: €11,000 = economic total loss. I had a counter-expert report (400 €) done. Vehicle value: €7,000. I wrote to the other party’s insurance several times, with photos and the vehicle papers, that the 5 seats are not correct and the only "5" in my papers is the additional color code of the vehicle. Nobody cared. Two weeks ago was the conciliation hearing, which of course failed because no matter what you said, it was not accepted. The vehicle was standing on the street, right in front of the court, and I suggested to take a look at it. But no. A court-ordered expert report was commissioned, for which I now have to pay a €3,000 advance. Great legal state! Sorry for this detour.

Unfortunately, it is the case that you actually have to take care of things yourself in such a court proceeding... You have to google everything the lawyer suggests; you basically have to become half a lawyer yourself....

The outsider thinks: the lawyer does everything. He doesn't do anything. He does only what you tell him and no more and no less. Only few affected people have the nerve for that. Understandably.

Hahaha - it's just like with architects...

According to lawyer No. 2, our claims only arise from this extremely expensive expert report. Insofar as it determines what value the work of GU2 actually has. What claims for reimbursement do we have from paid but not or improperly performed services and what does defect rectification cost.

Here I would have expected a rough calculation or a rough estimate in advance. Otherwise, you don't know if it is all worth it.

Furthermore, it would have to be broken down what are execution errors and what are construction supervision errors, since the construction supervisor also completely failed here (I know, it’s always someone else’s fault, never mine).

I fully agree, that has to be clearly separated. Also do not forget and break down what you partially commissioned bypassing the people. It felt somewhat unclear, if my memory serves me right (sanitary for example, or the screed?). But what I wonder is, what did the construction supervisor do wrong? I read somewhere that he didn’t come anymore because he was seriously ill. Or am I mixing things up? Did he fail to recognize defects, or even declare defects as correct execution?? I couldn’t find anything else when quickly browsing.

The mandate with lawyer1 has not yet been terminated. That will be done soon by lawyer2. He doesn’t even know the accusation mentioned yet.
He was tasked with handling the compensation, with the goal of fast continuation of construction, preferably with this money, if an out-of-court settlement is possible. Apart from the termination, he did nothing and did that wrong as well.

I always try to understand what’s going on and searched through the first posts of this thread. I didn’t find much about the lawyer, but until the termination (which in my opinion might have been carried out correctly), it sounds like he insisted on defect rectification and contract continuation:

My construction consultant recommended a lawyer to me, who then filed the lawsuit for continuation of construction in March.

GU2 [..] My lawyer is currently preparing the lawsuit because of poor or non-performance.

In October 20 we were hit full force by a left-turning driver. We had absolutely no fault (as always :)). The accident opponent had no papers with him, so police was called. Accident report, alcohol test for both drivers.

You’re really unlucky. :(
In cases of no-fault accidents always immediately hire a specialized lawyer. The opposing insurance has to pay for him. No idea if that would still be possible retroactively, but from such lawyers I’ve only heard good things from colleagues. I don’t have more to report on that. Maybe we shouldn’t deepen that further here, since this is about the house. In car forums one can say more about the value of the car.

You are really unlucky. :(
Always hire a specialized lawyer immediately after accidents that are not your fault. The opposing insurance has to pay for that. No idea if that would still be possible afterwards, but I have only heard good things about such lawyers from colleagues. I don't have any more information on that. Maybe we shouldn't go into more detail here, since this is about the house. In car forums, you can get more information about the value of the car.

I wasn't concerned here about the value of the car, but rather to show what it costs to get your rights, even if you are truly absolutely and demonstrably innocent in the matter. The only mistake: being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

: Where did you get that from? In my opinion, it comes from the deleted thread. This was only about the butcher’s house here, or am I mistaken?

My construction advisor recommended a lawyer who then filed the lawsuit for continuation of construction in March.

This definitely concerned GU1. With whom we had settled the dispute in September 2019 and who, despite the settlement and obligation to continue construction, sold his property to a mailbox company. I was left with a piece of paper that is supposedly worth €130,000. I filed a criminal complaint against him and had access to his investigation file some time ago. So they have him by the balls. However, I am one of many victims. There probably won’t be anything left to recover. I’ll take care of that later. In any case, the two new managing directors have been wanted by the police for years. I also wonder why a notary doesn’t have to check something like that before signing his name under the sales documents. Oh yes, I forgot, we do live in a state governed by the rule of law. The question is, rule of law for whom? The saying "You need money to get your rights" takes on a whole new meaning here.

Where did you get that from? In my opinion, it comes from the deleted thread. This was only about the butcher's house here, or am I mistaken?

Everything from this thread. If you click on the quotes, you will get to the corresponding posts. At least the 2nd quote should refer to the butcher.