Payment of final installment and acceptance

Thank you SirSydom. You really seem very competent in this matter. If you want, I can email you the complete contract (PN) (if you're interested). Many thanks also to everyone else, it has really helped me a lot here.

Tell them that your lawyer said this clause is invalid and therefore void

Offer (cautiously phrased, not in writing, without your lawyer) to provide the guarantee *nevertheless, although you do not have to* if they (the construction company) cover the costs entirely. Check with your bank beforehand what it costs and how it can be done practically. Insist on receiving the contract performance bond from the contractor first. Or simply withhold 5% of the total amount from the first installment.

Good morning,

The payment schedule is as follows:
For a house with a basement, the installments become due for payment as follows:
• 5.0% upon handing over the building application/building notification;
at the latest with the issuance of the building permit
• 10.0% upon completion of the foundation slab
• 10.0% upon completion of the basement ceiling
• 10.0% upon completion of the ground floor ceiling
• 10.0% upon completion of the load-bearing walls
• 20.0% upon completion of the roof structure, roof covering and metalwork (13%) and installation
of the windows (7%)

Up to this point 65% of the contract sum. I would have always advised you against accepting this, let alone signing it! In this respect, the statement of the lawyer confirms:

You only pay for the service that has actually been provided, if it is free of defects. Where is the problem in that?

once again my impression of the company. Should it - in the worst case and which I wish no builder - turn out that on your part cooperation is no longer desired after completion of the shell (you can terminate at any time), you will not be able to properly carry out the interior finishing with the remaining 35% of the construction sum. With this payment schedule, I can really only wish you that your trust in the supplier is justified.

I would gladly post everything here (the contract without names) but that is certainly not allowed

That initially has nothing to do with the forum rules. I am just not sure whether publishing the contract requires the consent of your supplier. Maybe a reader/writer with legal expertise can comment on this.

I would be interested in how many euros you have to pay for how much house. I would also like to know what a contract review by the Bauherren-Schutzbund costs these days.

Rhenish regards

I have dealt a lot with the topic, we also had problems with §632A. Bauexperte is right, it might be that the copyright of the contract creator opposes uploading it here in the forum, I didn't consider that. Better leave it.

In the worst case - and what I wish no builder - it might turn out that you no longer want to cooperate after completion of the shell (you can cancel at any time), then you will no longer be able to properly complete the interior finishing with the remaining 35% of the contract sum. With this payment plan, I really can only hope that your trust in the provider is justified.

I have a question about this. It is undisputed that, of course, it is better not to have paid the money.

But: if the contract for work is terminated, then only the work performed is to be paid afterwards, right? This then has to be determined and settled in a final invoice. And here *should* one then receive back any money paid in excess? Am I seeing that correctly? Clearly, it is not that simple. If the contractor prepares the statements, he can manipulate them in his favor, since no cost breakdown was seen beforehand. Also, one might have to sue for the money and is fundamentally subject to the risk of insolvency.

But there is a small chance that one gets the money back, right???

You only pay for the service that has actually been provided, as long as it is free of defects. Where is the problem with that?
.....

This sentence refers to the service provided by the lawyer. In other words: HE only reviewed, but did not point out any risks (e.g. 65% for shell construction), missing passages, or even give tips. I would have wished for a detailed consultation. This lawyer charged 300€ for the review. Afterwards, he wrote a short report by email. Talked on the phone 5 minutes later. And wrote the 3 emails (see my posts) after my "complaint."

Our house will be a KFW-55 with 42.5 cm Poroton brick. 2 full floors and a heated basement.
9 windows (1x1.30m), 1 lift-and-slide door system (3x3m), 4 double-wing windows, 11 floor-to-ceiling windows (mostly Travertine glass on the upper floor), 4 basement windows (all windows triple-glazed, 7-chamber profile, U-value 0.6). On the ground floor all windows with additional anti-lift protection. Aluminum entrance door. Vaillant 88/4 geothermal heat pump. Decentralized ventilation system from Inventer or Lunus with heat recovery.

Soil survey, earthworks, drainage including earthworks up to 10m distance, inspection shaft and sewer connection. Construction power and construction water. Basement as a white tub.
All interior walls solid Poroton. Floor ceilings as filigree ceiling with cast-in-place concrete.
All roller shutters electrically operated. 2 bathrooms, 1 guest WC, hallway, utility room and kitchen tiled up to 30€/sqm for covering. 2 concrete staircases with granite covering. LAS chimney. Underfloor heating.

Not included are:
- House connections from utility providers for electricity, gas, water, sewage, telephone, cable
- Removal of excavated soil or delivery of suitable backfill material
- Outdoor facilities, driveway to the house, paths, platforms, fences, terraces
- Lifting, pumping, and backflow prevention systems as well as water retention and drainage
- Construction of a construction road (transportable access to the building site)

House dimensions 11.90m x 9.90m. Attic not developed.

The price for this: 357,000€

Hello,

But: if the contract for work is terminated, then only the performance rendered is to be paid afterwards, right?

Sort of. The contractor is entitled to the agreed remuneration. However, what he saves in expenses as a result of the contract being terminated and what he earns by otherwise using his labor must be deducted.

If the contractor prepares the invoices, he can manipulate them to his advantage, since no cost statement was seen beforehand.

Then he would be very foolish, because there are delivery notes for almost everything; usually the construction status can therefore be estimated quite well.

But there's a small chance of getting the money back, right???

Normally there is a consideration on the property; any defect remediation does not end with the termination either. Then there are the successor contractors who file claims if a contract suddenly (through no fault of their own) is missing from their books. The cases I have witnessed ended so differently that I could not describe a definitive modus operandi; it depends. Such disputes often end in a settlement because the proceedings take an agonizingly long time. This further results in the lawyers of each party charging not only their final fee but also a settlement fee.

In these cases, I regularly ask myself about the sense of it all. Two to three years of wearing disputes—additionally with changing judges at the labor court—to ultimately leave the court with the expensive experience that an early end with a shock would have been cheaper.

Rhenish regards