Obtain an expert report on the house and building fabric from the expert committee?

Hello

The following situation:

My parents own a single-family house with a 750 sqm plot.

My parents would be willing to move into a suitable senior-friendly rental apartment in the foreseeable future.
In this case, my parents would transfer the house to me through a "gift," and I would pay my only sister half of the value with the help of a construction loan.
Market value of the house under €400,000.
Since we want to carry out some modernizations in the house, we would like to set the loan amount higher for the roof, windows, floor coverings, possibly through KfW.

To get the whole thing started, my parents want to "gift" me the house as the first step so they can later move into a suitable rental apartment without delay.
The gift contract should state the value of the house or the payout amount to my sister. The notary as well as my financial service provider (Interhyp) told me on the phone that we do not necessarily have to obtain an expert opinion on the market value through the city’s appraisal committee, which would cost €1,000 + 0.2% of the determined market value. Instead, the notary only needs the value that my parents consider "reasonable" (their idea of the sales value), and the bank determines the value itself anyway.

How should we proceed here? I think the most realistic market value can only be obtained through an appraisal from the appraisal committee, right?

My parents will retain the right of residence as long as they have not found a suitable rental apartment.

Are there any suggestions, tips, or advice you can give us?

Looking forward to responses etc.

That probably depends a lot on your sister - but to avoid bad blood, try not to shortchange her. Market value is also something different from appraised value, I would say... just check if there are comparable properties in a similar location (on the numerous portals) and what they are being offered for. It's easier if the house is only worth scrap value and the real treasure is the land ... you can then simply assess that using the standard land value.

If I get angry now and the right of residence is also registered in the land register, I’m telling you that the market value is almost zero ;)

But seriously, either you and your sister agree, then you don’t need an expert opinion. Otherwise: open your wallet and hire an appraiser. By the way, every appraiser will determine a different value, they have large scope. However, the building fabric itself is not assessed, the appraiser can’t do that either (obvious defects or backlog of maintenance are of course taken into account).

Hello PiepsBecks,

in the purchase agreement or the anticipated inheritance, the tax office only roughly checks whether inheritance tax might be evaded by undervaluing the house. This is not apparent based on the information you provided, but the notary who draws up the contract will be able to explain this to you.

The crucial question is whether you can agree on an amount with your sister, and for that, you both need to at least roughly estimate what the house is worth. A guideline could be a loan inquiry at a bank; the bank calculates a lending value for the property, which you and your sister could use as a reference.

If you cannot agree, I would fix in the purchase contract that the value is to be determined by expert xy, who will also check the building fabric so that you can estimate what renovation work will be coming up.

The building fabric itself is not, however, assessed, the expert cannot do that either (obvious defects or deferred maintenance are of course taken into account).

The building fabric is of course assessed, and suitably qualified experts can do that. There are, of course, also two-sided "expert reports" consisting of a cover sheet, 30 lines of flattery, and a resulting number. But these are not expert reports; they are just soiled paper.

Best regards Dirk Grafe

The building fabric is of course assessed, and suitably trained experts are capable of doing this. Of course, there are also two-sided "expert reports" consisting of a cover sheet, 30 lines of sugarcoated praise, and a resulting figure. But these are not expert reports either; they are just defiled paper.

Regards
Dirk Grafe

In a pure market value/economic value report, the building fabric is not assessed; a separate or supplementary investigation is necessary for this. Therefore, reports often contain formulations such as "The building fabric was not examined, as this was not the task of this market value report. Further investigations are necessary. It is assumed that... (e.g., no genuine dry rot is present, no defects not visible are present, etc.)"

As I wrote, the obvious condition of the property is assessed with the recognizable (possibly typical for the year of construction) condition. No more, but also no less.

In a purely market/sales value appraisal, the building fabric is not assessed; a separate or supplementary investigation is necessary for this. [...] As I wrote, the obvious condition of the property is evaluated with the visible (possibly typical for the year of construction) condition. no more, but also no less.

Yes. These are the kinds of "appraisals" I mean. Even there, though, a comparison of the obvious/basic building fabric is included, because the market value is derived from the comparative value method with other comparable properties or at least should be derived. However, this kind of "price determination" does not cost €1000 or one should ask what one is paying €1000 for.

What I find much more worrying, however, is your claim that an appraiser cannot assess the building fabric, although you admit that an appraiser can be commissioned with exactly this task. That is contradictory.

It must also be made clear here, for the sake of other readers in the forum, that it is indeed possible to have well-founded appraisals prepared. Likewise, laypersons should be informed that there are different types of appraisals – which type of appraisal is appropriate in each individual case must then be decided by each person themselves.

Best regards Dirk Grafe