Dream plot, but TAFF house - first mistake already made

Good morning dear colleagues,

I am in the fortunate situation of having found our dream plot for our first own little house. However, I only decided to finally build four weeks ago and started searching two weeks ago – and now I have to act quickly, otherwise the plot will be gone! I am a bit overwhelmed because everything is happening so fast, have already made a mistake and would therefore be extremely grateful for professional help and experience.

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1st Question about the builder:
We would like to build with TAFF-Haus or have to, because the mediating real estate agent was still on the management board until two weeks ago and has been an independent broker since February (during the viewing it was said that he only works for the owner... at that time this was true, but it already leaves a bit of a bad taste). Now there is no information or experience reports about TAFF-Haus or the other companies of the parent "Uwe Köhn Unternehmensgruppe" such as ALLEGRO-Haus (only two negative reports about ALLEGRO here in the forum). Which is not very surprising, because the commercial register shows the following about the whole company structure:

[*]VSC Vertriebs Service Consult GmbH has existed since January 2006.
[*]Meißner Bau Management GmbH was founded just like Allegro-Haus GmbH in December 2012.
[*]TAFF-Haus GmbH has only existed for two years, May 2015.

So basically there is zero experience in house construction! Or am I mistaken??
Fortunately (?) TAFF does not try to do it themselves but employs a whole bunch of local subcontractors for the individual trades. One could almost say they only organize. But I’m not sure, the walls are patented (prefab house/wood frame construction).

This does not worry me too much yet, although I would have preferred a company with many years of experience. But I probably just have to make sure that every smallest detail is fixed in writing from the beginning – as it should be with contracts involving such sums.

-> What do you think? Can TAFF-Haus be trusted?

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2. About my mistake: I, a trusting fool, of course told the seller my budget. Quite surprisingly, our desired house now fits exactly within the budget, what a wonderful coincidence! To somewhat make up for it and to create a basis for negotiation, I am considering, as mentioned above, to have each individual position precisely broken down and then compare it on the internet. Also best to get reference projects with addresses/contact details and compare prices with them. It can’t have been that long ago since they built...

-> What should I absolutely pay attention to now?
Is there a checklist or something similar here in the forum? I will definitely read the section "Buyer assistance before contract signing" here on the left in the house-building guide, but maybe there is more or something that fits my situation.

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3. Alternative for the hard-boiled:
The plot is a dream and we really want to have it. I was able to find the owner and am seriously considering making him an offer. In case, I just pay the "hidden" broker commission, but then own the plot and am no longer bound to TAFF. We would also like to have the possibility to change one or two things on the house, which TAFF cannot offer us with their fixed floor plans.

-> Would you also consider this in this situation? Are there risks?

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Normally I am someone who reads up on many things quite extensively, but in this case I simply lack the time. I am grateful for any answer, as the next appointment with TAFF is still this week, when the house is to be planned. Feel free to bombard me with helpful links (as far as allowed) or similar topics, as I simply do not have the time to search and sort right now – mea culpa!

Hmm difficult... in any case, you would also save the property transfer tax on the house if you buy the land directly from the owner...

However, he has to sell it to you then... we had a similar situation and the owner only sold through the [GÜ], no other way... in other words, we had to bite the bullet... but the house turned out well... and those few thousand more really don’t matter...

In any case, you would also save the real estate transfer tax on the house if you buy the land directly from the owner...

This was assured to me anyway, since the realtor is independent and I will sign two completely separate contracts for the land and the house. However, since the realtor has personal connections to TAFF, he will not release the purchase contract until I have signed with TAFF. I don't know how much this differs from a classic developer-bound plot of land...

This was assured to me anyway, since the broker is independent and I am signing two completely separate contracts for the land and the house.

But the tax office doesn’t really care about that...and even if you have 10 contracts...a linked transaction is a linked transaction...

Buyer pays double real estate transfer tax
The Munich Fiscal Court ruled in favor of the tax authorities. Real estate transfer tax must be calculated both on the land price and on the construction costs, since there is an objective factual connection between the purchase and construction contracts (FG Munich, ruling dated 23.7.2014, case no. 4 K 1039/2). The judges referred in their decision to principles from the jurisprudence of the Federal Fiscal Court (BFH). According to these, the objective factual connection becomes especially clear when the land buyer is no longer free to decide on the “if” and “how” of the construction at the time of signing the land purchase contract. The judges pointed out in this context that the construction contract was concluded even before the land purchase contract was approved. Furthermore, the land seller had offered the buyer a specific building on an exactly specified plot of land at an almost fixed price in a planning stage that was practically ready for construction before the purchase contract was signed, and the buyer had accepted this offer practically unchanged.

Conclusion: If you want to save real estate transfer tax, the acquisition of the land and the later construction measure should not be connected in time or contractually.

Firstly: Mycraft is right. The brokers promise a lot.... Secondly: Plan 3) of your approach is the best. Karsten

Oh, okay, I wasn't aware of that. You really shouldn't rely on anything that is said there... that makes bypassing TAFF even more attractive. Thank you very much for the clarification!!