General questions about house construction

Hello BehaElja,

I hope my quoting attempt works.... -> sorry for the user error if it doesn’t... ;)

It probably depends a bit on who you are building with... you are already accusing the entire construction industry of a certain meanness ;-)

I just browsed a bit in the forum, hence my "meanness" ;-) . Nah, just kidding. I just want to make sure that I’m not being fooled and since I am a layman in the general topic of "house building" I want to avoid being completely taken advantage of.

Many things are possible contractually - withholding the last 5% until all defects are fixed is not uncommon at all. There is also certainly compensation payment if the warranty period is exceeded. Just keep in mind that these are also costs for the contractor and he’ll somehow make sure he gets paid for that too.

What exactly is meant by "compensation payment if the warranty period is exceeded"?

Payment according to construction progress is common - there are even certain "templates" for this from numerous associations. But keep in mind that the risk goes both ways in construction - if the contractor fronts the entire roof cost and the client doesn’t pay, he basically has to pay for the whole roof out of his own capital first... if he’s unlucky several clients behave questionably and soon he’s left with a quarter of a million - that might not matter to a big company, but to a small contractor building 10 houses a year it does. Result? He files for bankruptcy and your house is standing in shell construction - congratulations.

Generally: if the offer seems too good to be true, look for the catch - even if it’s a bit worn out: good planning and good craftmanship costs good money (or better fair money).

That’s clear to me, but one could possibly provide the contractor with confirmation from the bank that if A) there are no defects up to this construction stage and B) the building expert has no objections, the payment to the contractor is made automatically (the money is thus ready and if the work is done correctly and quickly, the contractor also gets this partial payment faster in his account).

Best regards

that I am being completely ripped off.

.. but you will be if you don't have a good, independent, and trustworthy expert by your side

Hello Hausqualle,

In my opinion, you have to commission a building expert for this and/or involve them several times in advance (possibly planning TEUR 3-5 for this in order to minimize the risk
A) of having additional costs that are not planned (e.g. due to "interpretation issues" of the construction service description) and thus the budget being exceeded -> basically your own client's fault
B) to ensure that the services are carried out properly and
C) to protect yourself in case of insolvency of the contractor and your own building is already 70% paid, but service only 50% performed (consequence: again additional costs and thus possibly budget overruns)

I mean no harm to anyone and am willing to spend my money on reasonable work, but want to avoid being "completely taken advantage of..."

Regards Hauke

but avoid being "completely taken advantage of....."

.. it just means finding the right company and drafting the right detailed construction contract, for that you should have a specialist on your side if you have no knowledge of the subject ..

Construction time guarantee... e.g. €50 per day of delay (I made up that amount). You make the contract with the bank and separately the contract with the BU. It is unclear whether the BU and the bank want to have a contractual relationship - I fear that will fail with the bank. Certainly, you can authorize an architect to take care of these matters for you; he will most likely also do the expert activities - but that costs money. Better spend a little more time researching providers, choose one who has been in business for a few years, one with a "reputation" who, in case of doubt, does not give a €10k discount and also gives you the fireplace for free and because it is Sunday the €3k kitchen voucher... Even the best construction expert is no guarantee that no mess will happen - you should be aware of that. Often it is also things that are not executed 100% and that then lead to legal disputes and that are then "functional" with restrictions and for which you are then awarded a discount of €600 - but you were in court for a year and still live in the rental apartment. always says "relax" - probably not so wrong :D (I look at our construction with very critical eyes and often encounter incomprehension with the craftsmen - but on Fridays they sometimes get sandwiches).

Construction time guarantee... e.g. €50 per day of delay (I made up the amount).

.. forget it, you will never be able to enforce that in court in your life ..

but it costs money.

.. that's exactly what they want from you :D