House contract signed

Thank you very much for your response.

We have already compared quite thoroughly. Unfortunately, the other provider is cheaper. And I don't think there is any room to negotiate the price anymore, since we have already signed.

By the way, we have not yet used any services. Could that perhaps be somewhat helpful in this case?

I have just read about a similar case (also with the same company or group) and this gentleman got out of the situation "unscathed."

If you give a plausible reason why you no longer want to build with the company, it would work.

Suppose I claim that I currently do not want to build after all, because I am not so sure about my financial situation and want to wait before getting into debt (I am 25 years old).

In any case, I would like to thank everyone in advance for their competent responses. I have already had many sleepless nights.
One thing is certain, I have learned from this and will NEVER again sign anything beforehand that I am not 100% convinced and informed about.

Hello,

as a layperson in legal matters, I would first do nothing and then refer to the financing deadline, as it was not met. Otherwise, as the colleagues say, whoever signs should know what... but that has now been resolved anyway.

By the way, the 10,000 euros cheaper option is not necessarily the better one, you must of course compare the construction descriptions point by point.

Hello,

I just read a similar case (also with the same company or group) and this gentleman came out "unscathed" from the matter.

Then I would suggest contacting the "gentleman" via pm and asking which conditions led to him being released from the contract.

Suppose I claim that I do not want to build at the moment because I am not so sure about my financial situation and want to wait before indebting myself (I am 25 years old).

In my experience, such a claim would have to be based on a right of withdrawal in case the financing did not materialize; for ÖMIs it is even mandatory to have a free right of withdrawal, except for the items provided by the provider up to the submission of the building application.

Often—apart from ÖMIs—it is the case that the small print regarding the right of withdrawal contains clauses enabling the contractor (provider) to make their own efforts to secure financing. Either way, it always depends on the provider’s attitude: whether their company policy insists on signed contracts and enforces them in court if necessary, or whether correspondence via a lawyer/courts is not part of their company policy.

One thing is for sure, I have learned from this and will NEVER again sign anything beforehand that I am not 100% convinced of and informed about.

One more note—even if the currently submitted provider is 10,000 EUR below the concluded contract, this does not mean that the construction project will actually be cheaper by that amount. As a rule, you can assume that services have been cut, the equipment is different, or other reasons... in the worst case, it concerns services that you will have to order from the builder anyway.

Kind regards

@Bauexperte: thank you very much.

I have just sent my sales "advisor" an email with, among other things, the following questions:

"During our phone call about 1 week ago, we also talked about the house contract and whether it was already binding. You said it would only become binding when we request an architect appointment. By reading the contract more carefully, I was able to understand that it is already valid or binding and that a cancellation would only be free of charge if our bank does not approve the loan application. In case of cancellation, you would receive a compensation of 15% of the total value? Is this correct?

- Would a free cancellation of the house contract be possible? During our phone call about a week ago, you said it was still cancellable; according to the contract, this does not seem to be the case.

- The agreement of the cancellation reservation for the house contract states a deadline until 12/13/2010. What happens after that? I have not yet submitted the offer to the bank, as I still have a few questions. What if I do not present your offer to the bank by 12/13/2010? Could an extension be granted here? Please clarify this for me."

Here came his answer:

"Dear Ms. ****,

thank you for your questions. The answer will probably be given by Friday, 11/26/2010. In advance, my statements regarding the contract are naturally correct. It is a conditional contract which, as a standard practice at Okal Haus company, is only carried out after further confirmation and commissioning of the architect. If necessary, I can recommend you to our sales management for an extension of the 4-week conditional period. Another 4 weeks seem quite possible to me here."

How should I interpret this answer now? To me, this answer somehow seems vague.

Hello Madonna,

thank you.

You’re welcome

Fundamentals and generally valid for all contracts for work and services: a contract for work is only valid once it has been countersigned and thus confirmed by the contractor (here Okal Haus) within the statutory period of 14 days (unless another period has been agreed for a specific/reasonable cause) => order confirmation.

If you let the period you were contractually granted, obviously 13.12.2010, for withdrawal expire through your own fault – you have not yet held a loan discussion with your bank within this period – the contractor is not obliged to release you from the contract; depending on the fine print in the contract/company policy, the options from my previous answer apply – the seller’s offer is, in my opinion, pure goodwill.

So the question is: what does the seller mean by “repeat” confirmation?

Kind regards

Again, thank you for the quick response, I can’t thank you enough.

My advisor said to me on the phone a week ago that the contract becomes valid once an appointment with the architect has been requested. I didn’t quite want to believe that, because he can say a lot on the phone.

The statement (see above quote) from our advisor is really confusing me. He neither addressed the question of whether I can cancel free of charge, nor the question about the right of withdrawal. What exactly happens after 13.12.?

Does that mean that I have the option to cancel until 13.12.2010 and that afterwards a valid contract is formed? I thought that the date referred to the bank’s confirmation. I’m afraid that Okal Haus, if my bank has not yet been informed or has not made a financing commitment, will choose a bank of their choice and forward my data to them in order to obtain a loan.

How and what exactly can I ask my advisor now to get a meaningful answer? His answer somehow sounded very noncommittal... and I felt very awkward.