Heating not available - Who bears the costs?

Yes, of course. But in the end, it is a business decision to order later. And whoever hoped at the end of 2021 that prices would stay the same and delivery times would still be in the range of days... Things like roof tiles can also be easily stored on the property; we would have had enough space.

Everything is negotiable. Apple only pays its suppliers once the iPhone is sold. Sure, that's an extreme case and probably one of the most powerful companies in negotiations in the world, but a good general contractor of a reasonable size doesn't have to advance 100%.

The general contractor does not advance payments. The craftsman does that as a subcontractor.

Do you think we pay our subs in advance? Then we could have shut the place down long ago.

Just today I calculated a quote and finalized it. Just try to calculate the prices that are called for components in 2023 when the customer orders. Many manufacturers no longer provide price guarantees. You pay whatever price is called at delivery, not what was valid at order.

By the way, that’s also a warranty issue. You provide warranty from acceptance. The client doesn’t care that the components were sitting with you for 5 years and aging.

You’re making it look too simple.

Everything is negotiable. Apple only pays its suppliers once the iPhone is sold. Sure, that's extreme and probably one of the most powerful companies in negotiations worldwide, but a good general contractor of a reasonable size doesn't have to cover 100% of the upfront costs.

Apple roughly covers 20% of the global smartphone supply. If you find a home builder who can do that, then you'll surely get your heat pump tomorrow morning. But that doesn't exist...

I already said that this is an extreme. But they also have extreme payment terms. After the customer has purchased, it is 3-4 months after X-Factory. I didn't say it would be easy either, otherwise, anyone could do it. But "normal one to two" weeks after (ETD) should be possible. And in times of long delivery times, I also think that you can go ahead and order then (by the way, this also works with delivery target). There is not only a spot market.

Sure. But be honest. The general contractor does it to make money. The tradesman does it to make money. You do your job to make money... We all do our job not out of charity, but because we want to (well) make a living from it. And at the moment many tradesmen/general contractors hold back so that construction costs do not completely spiral out of control... And then the client also threatens with damages.