New development area - Plot from the municipality

Hello everyone!

I am completely new here in the forum and look forward to exchanging ideas with you.

It concerns a plot of land in a new development area that is being sold by a municipality and where the development work is currently underway. We have received the good news that a plot has been allocated to us. Now the smaller and larger "problems" are also starting. I am writing about 2 topics that are closely related. The first topic is the draft contract we received. After a brief research here in the forum as well, we wanted to conclude this without the support of lawyers. Now we are no longer so sure. Are there general points to be considered in the case of a new development area and purchasing directly from the municipality? We have noticed some things we are not entirely happy with. First, the contract states that it is not yet foreseeable when the development will be completed. What could be added here so that we do not have to wait 5 years for the handover of the plot? Is it even common not to mention the completion date in the purchase contract? Furthermore, the municipality assumes no liability for the plot: "no liability for a certain size, quality, and condition of the contractual object, especially the building ground." However, traces of nickel were found in the soil report of the development area and the soil was partially classified as Z1. Under these circumstances, we as buyers have to bear the additional costs, according to the contract, right? Is that also usual?

There is also the second topic. We have a development plan that shows the height of the plot (copied below). Yesterday, we were on site at the construction area. There is a construction road that corresponds to the course of the final road. Based on that and the already existing sewer connections, we were able to locate our plot. And look, we stood in front of a 1.5m high wall of piled-up? earth. Could it be that the plot will be handed over to us like this? It looks as if the entire height difference that originally ran on the plot is no longer there and a lot of material was piled up so that the lower part of the plot is much higher than the street. We currently do not know at what height the street is planned, but we have seen the shafts, which were much deeper than the top edge of our plot. Is it even possible that the material excavated from the street was simply distributed? Are we allowed to be handed over a plot that is higher than in the development plan? The municipality assumes no liability for material defects. How could we insure ourselves in the purchase contract against such a situation?

So, if we were on 9gag, I would paste a Potato here because the text got much longer than planned. But I hope the description gives you a good picture of the situation. I look forward to your feedback.

Best regards,
Kasia

What could be added here to avoid waiting 5 years for the transfer of the property?

Nothing the municipality would agree to.

Is it even common not to mention the completion date in the purchase contract?

Yes.

Under these circumstances, we as buyers have to bear the additional costs

Yes.

Is that also common?

Yes.

Is it possible that our property will be handed over to us like this?

Yes. However, I still see room for negotiation here.

Could it be that the material excavated from the street was simply spread around?

Yes.

Is it allowed for us to be handed over a property that is higher than in the development plan?

Yes.

How could we insure ourselves against such a situation in the purchase contract?

Provided the municipality agrees to conditions, one could agree on a desired handover condition, e.g. condition before development work (would then need to be researched) or actual condition or precisely described condition (target heights).

Sorry Kasia, there is only one thing to add to Escroda's concise statements: Buy the property if you like it. Otherwise, many other interested parties are waiting.

Hello! Thank you very much for your messages, they help us a lot! We will try to slightly adjust the contract through the notary, let's see where we end up. We have waited 3 years, we will not give up the piece that easily.

There is nothing more to add.

Furthermore, the municipality assumes no liability whatsoever for the property: "no liability for a specific size, quality, and condition of the contractual object, especially the building ground." However, traces of nickel were found in the soil survey of the construction area, and the soil was partially classified as Z1. Under these circumstances, we as buyers have to bear the additional costs, according to the contract, right? Is that also common?

The property will only be determined later after the survey. Therefore, the municipality cannot specify before the completion of development whether the property is exactly, for example, 650 sqm or 653 sqm...
Regarding the construction road: reference points should be requested later, as they can still change again: for us, the correct street was paved onto the construction road. The manhole covers, which serve as reference points, were also raised.
Your own soil report should also include the toxic contamination (is that also the term used for properties?) due to the nickel.

That's all completely normal. In our new development area, there was no topsoil left anywhere, so better budget around €10,000 more for landscaping. I also can't imagine that the municipality will agree to any special requests, after all, there are still plenty of others on the waiting list!