Payment before or after completion of the construction phase?

But I already pay 3% after the contract confirmation. This means the signature under the construction contract. No building application has been submitted yet, no construction discussion has taken place, etc. What exactly am I paying 3% for here?

Preliminary planning, floor plan, creating and possibly adjusting the offer, customer consultations, preliminary review of the development plan, positioning the house on the site plan, etc. ...
You should be able to judge that yourself better than we can from a distance.

It is more common for payments to be made only when submitting the building applications / building notification.

And that is exactly the point we need to discuss again. Since no application has been submitted at the time of contract signing, and accordingly nothing has happened on the construction site, it can only be about a fee for the planning or it is seen as us, the customers, making an advance payment for the upcoming construction phases. That is also not awkwardly phrased; everything is introduced with the word [nach].

I am basically someone who believes that no one should have to work for free.

However, I do not find the possible argument that these first 3% are understood as a fee for planning very fortunate. Until contract signing, it is still a project business, and the total price of the house will include that many people gather information and floor plans and then decide against this contracting partner. That’s just how it is. When you buy a car, you presumably also go to several companies, gather information and have corresponding talks, and then do not buy a car everywhere. So I don’t think it’s the best advertisement to then stupidly say that you actually have to pay money for the consultation beforehand.

And in a risk like building a house, I generally find it more reassuring if, as a customer, I still have the leverage of an unpaid invoice in my hand and do not have to make an advance payment. And I think it is rather about this being an advance payment that has been cleverly formulated.

We will inquire about this.

Almost like an advance on your shell construction party.

Maybe it's just me, but many of your answers have a strange tone.

I suspect that you don't think much of our preferred provider. That is okay. As customers, we are aware that this provider invests a relatively large effort in marketing, and we are also smart enough to know that ultimately we, as customers, pay for that.

And that is exactly the point we need to discuss again. Since no application was submitted at the time of signing the contract, and accordingly nothing has happened on the construction site, it can only be about a fee for the planning or one sees it that we as customers are advancing payment for the upcoming construction phases.

I would appreciate it if you inquire and am curious to hear what they tell you.

However, I see it (not as a client, but as an entrepreneur) that all the standard houses, which are already finished and stored away, and on which the customer or the construction contract relies, have cost money to develop. These are all functional designs with - I assume - detailed planning including basic structural engineering.
Thus, the company has advanced expenses on behalf of its future customers. You have decided to build one of these standard houses, so you are now paying a calculated price that is roughly reflected in the 3%.
But I could also be wrong that a house-building company has other intentions.

I think the total price will definitely take these pre-planning measures into account, it simply couldn't be economically otherwise. Supermarket prices will also compensate for a small proportion of theft losses.

Nevertheless, it surely feels safer for the customer if these plans are reflected on the construction site as agreed in the contract and payment is only made afterwards. Apparently, other companies also promote this.

I
Nevertheless, it certainly seems safer for the customer if these plans appear on the construction site as per the contract and one only pays afterwards.

Again - what use is it to you ... today, after signing the contract for work? I am almost certain that you will find parts of Otus's possible explanations as a response to your question to your contracting partner.

How many payment steps have been agreed upon?

Rhenish greetings