Contract review land purchase

Hello people,

have you had the draft checked by the notary or not? We're considering whether to do that.

We had read the contract thoroughly, googled a bit where we were unsure, scanned it as a PDF and sent it to our architect, and kindly asked an admin here in the forum to have a look through it.

In the end, it was a standard contract.

would have had nothing against the status quo.

He could have pointed out the hidden risk in the contract to the potential buyer. The buyer could then have made an informed decision (increase the risk buffer in euros, withdraw from the project, or no risk, no fun; in any case, this minimizes risks [= unforeseen events]).

Central:
Who is the seller (city, company, or private person)?

As already mentioned above:
It depends...

Cities, for example, have hardly any leeway when the new development area is sold off.

Notaries read aloud during the notarization appointment...
"Consultation" is a different fee item – and generally does not take place at this point (and also not beforehand). However, detailed inquiries are possible – first to the seller, then possibly to the notary.

However, this does not include, for example: Where are the "pitfalls for me in the contract"?
The liability shoe is rather and better put on by a (specialist) lawyer – for a fee and with insurance.

Only your own obligation to verify (before purchase) protects you from "environmental hazards" & co. on the property (unexploded ordnance, poison), since regularly (and lawfully) the warranty for defects in quality (not legal defects) is likely to be excluded. One may wish this to be changed. But no seller does...

Don't try to construct something where there is no need. Do you seriously believe that 'Baustelle2016' would have then withdrawn from the contract?

Just because you are an overly cautious person - which, although I gain nothing from it, is still more likeable to me than the opposite - does not mean that distrust must be preemptively directed at every profession.

Rhenish greetings from on the road
Construction expert

: I can't tell you whether we would have withdrawn from the contract, probably not. After the contract was concluded, of course, a lawyer could not have changed the status quo. But maybe we could have had a withdrawal clause included in the contract for exactly this case, so that unlimited time wouldn't pass until the sale becomes legally binding. But whether such far-sighted risk assessment can be expected from legal advice (for every eventuality like: "what happens if one of the interested parties who all signed letters of intent backs out") — in my feeling, you actually can't. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Thank God, now it’s over...

Do you seriously believe that 'Baustelle2016' would then have withdrawn from the contract?

That doesn't matter at all. What matters is whether you know the risks you are taking or not.

Just because you are an overly cautious person — which, although I get nothing from it — is still more likeable to me than the opposite, does not mean that every profession must be met with mistrust in advance

If you know no more than what is described in the opening post ("Want to buy property"), advice like "No inspection needed, standard contract, everything is fine" is IMHO negligent. The answer must rather be "it depends" (the lawyer's standard response, see also #9).

I am writing all this on the assumption that the typical forum user buys a property exactly once in their life and uses most of their lifetime-earned assets for this (in connection with building a house). Often the respective contractual partner will even be a professional (property developer, broker, municipality/city), so uneven partners face each other. That does not mean that at every corner only crooks and shady characters lurk — on the contrary: the vast majority of architects, craftsmen, construction companies, (probably even — just kidding) brokers, ... do solid and honest work. But the lines are fluid and clauses flexible and the risks especially in the property area are multifaceted (payment terms? handover date? freedom from encumbrances?). Why should one — as a layperson — skimp on the inspection?