Consumer construction contract, construction contract not executed - compensation for damages?

He is not looking for legal advice here, but rather "fellow sufferers" to exchange experiences with. I find that legitimate. Such a thing can make you sick.

How does that help the OP? This should be clarified with legal assistance. Otherwise, it really makes the OP sick. I was not aware that scammers work together with lawyers. "Net construction sum amounting to 170,000 EUR, we are being asked to pay 60,000 EUR within a few days" is quite interesting if that really happened like that. Who builds a house for 170k nowadays?

I was not aware that scammers work together with lawyers. "Net construction sum of EUR 170,000, we are asked to pay EUR 60,000 within a few days" is quite interesting whether it really happened that way. Who builds a house today for 170k?

Counter-question: which scammer would demand such a high amount right away? – I might have thought so if there had been one less zero, but not like this. Unless there was immediately a proposal for installment payments...

it might help to clarify if you posted the letter here anonymized (as plain 200 dpi scan images, no PDF and definitely no link), and answered the follow-up questions.

The sum of the claims is certainly exaggerated, but it will hardly be possible to get out of this situation without any compensation. One cannot seriously believe that signing a contract, saying "No" five times when the contracting party proposes a property, and then being released from the contract by just "doing nothing" is acceptable.

As long as the contract exists, the client can come around at any time and say, "I found a property, please build the house there soon." That means he must "block" a certain capacity for the contracts he still has to fulfill.

That may seem strange to some, and in practice, a craftsman probably will not be "blocked" for two years. But the contractor could take other orders during that time, with new prices. This means he actually loses profit if you believe you can dissolve the contract by sitting it out.

That as an explanation why, even if not €60,000, certainly 10-15% of the contract sum as damages is reasonable.

PS: Let’s consider the extreme case where 10 out of 20 people per year drop out in this way. Then he can basically close the business if he does not claim damages.

I think it really depends on the contract. If the exclusive property brokerage was actually part of it and the GU/GÜ really only offered junk properties that were not even exclusively secured, then he also did not fulfill his contractual obligations. Certainly, it was a mistake to simply not communicate further, and yes, I also consider legal advice advisable.

Hi,

since the OP only registered exactly once and this doesn’t add up here either:

At the beginning of 2023 we received a letter from a law firm informing us that the contract is considered terminated due to failure to comply with cooperation obligations, with the legal effects of a termination for cause in favor of the client.

Based on a net construction sum of EUR 170,000, we are being asked to pay EUR 60,000 within a few days.

I would place the whole story in the realm of myths and legends.... You can’t be that clueless to just let a lawyer’s claim of over €60k sit for 2 months, and no lawyer would remain inactive for so long if it were a legitimate claim...

Best regards,

Andreas

If the exclusive land brokerage was really part of the deal and the general contractor/reliable contractor really only offered junk plots that were not even exclusively secured, then he also did not fulfill his contractual obligations.

The con artists make sure not to make the "land service" an independent contractual content. The commercial offering of third-party land requires a permit, and only very few house sales agents have a broker license. The plots are regularly not exclusively secured because the providers do not want to invest in reservation fees. They usually also do not have brokerage contracts for them, see opening sentence. It is almost never a matter of outright junk plots. Often the owner does want to sell, but her sister does not want to sell her neighboring parcel, and then you would only have space for the house without a garage or something similar. Or the eaves height in the development plan does not match the customer's desire for a "city villa." Or the price in the ad would have fit, but the demand prompted the sellers to reconsider and ask for a moon price instead. Thus, a house sales agent can regularly not guarantee the availability of the land. The core of the scheme is actually only to make a specific model of pie in the sky the subject of a contract and thus the basis for calculating a contract termination compensation. Fraud is only punishable with proof; the burden of proof lies with the injured party. A short sale of properties in the offered form is not punishable under any legal code; injured parties must find a judge for each individual case. However, the injured parties regularly benefit from a legal loophole themselves: while theoretically every property – including that of a brain – is an obligation, the non-use of the latter is not practically prosecuted by the public prosecutor ;-) An exclusivity, however, regularly does exist in fact insofar as the "land service" only applies to those interested parties who sign a construction contract. This de iure constitutes a sufficiently significant preference over others.