Problems with KfW loans at the Investment Bank of Schleswig-Holstein

Hello everyone,

we have a problem with part of the financing.

Short version:

The Investitionsbank Schleswig-Holstein has a clause on one of the forms that does not suit our developer. Our developer has deleted this clause and signed the form because the rest is fine. Our developer has always done it this way and there have been no problems until now. However, the IB now refuses to accept the form as it is. Neither party wants to change their position.

Long and detailed version:

We are building a KFW 55 house and want to finance part of our needs through the Investitionsbank Schleswig-Holstein. It should be the program 153 "Energy-efficient Building."
The developer has to fill out a lot of papers and provide them to KfW. One of the forms is titled "Declaration of the Authorized Building Submitter/Designer." There is a spot saying "I commit to IB.SH to be liable for the accuracy of this certificate." This clause does not suit my developer. The clause ensures that in the worst case, my developer is personally liable and not the company. He deleted it and signed. He has always done it this way and until now it was not a problem. The IB now refuses to accept the form as such and my developer does not accept this clause. We have already ordered a land charge on the property and an invoice from the district court is also already there. So money has already flowed. Just switching banks is not acceptable for us.

I’m not quite sure what we should do now... We can wait a bit to see if one of the two yields, since the building application has not yet been approved.

Regards,
Alex

If your developer doesn't sign this, I would question their reliability. They surely don’t intend to build differently than planned and calculated... Put both together in a room and lock it up until white smoke rises.

Hello Alex,

I see 2 possibilities.

One of the forms bears the heading "Declaration of the authorized submitter/designer". There is a section that says "I commit myself to IB.SH to be liable for the accuracy of this certificate."

The "developer" is initially also not the designer, unless he is also the authorized architect. Architects are liable in case of doubt also with their private assets if, for example, their insurance refuses to cover a financial loss. By the way, the "developer", respectively his managing director, is also liable with his private assets, even if some mistakenly believe that the liability is limited to the amount of the contribution. In this respect, I don't really understand this fuss.

Possibility 1 is therefore to have the architect employed in the company sign the form. That architects are fully liable is not really something new either.

The 2nd possibility relates to the person (energy consultant) who prepares or must prepare the KfW certificate. He/she should presumably be willing and able to assume liability for their own calculations. Since the efficiency house status must be confirmed again upon handover of the house – delivery notes and invoices including insulation thicknesses and lambda values, delivery notes for walls (bricks) and Uw values for windows as well as the specialist contractor’s declaration of the heating system, the drawings with the details according to the thermal bridge catalog, and the certificate of the blower door test, and photos of the construction process showing the bricks and insulation to be installed as well as insulation under the screed, etc. are checked with the first calculation – he/she is only partially liable if he/she can prove that, for example, incorrect materials were used which invalidate the status.

From my point of view, it is completely neutral to argue with the financing hand of a builder; that should also be known to your "developer". Ultimately, any resulting additional costs would be charged to him; after careful consideration, he surely would not find that very appealing.

Rhenish regards

Hello abertram,

I simply find the statement from your developer to be unbelievable. Since when is it possible to make unauthorized deletions on forms for funding - which KfW loans essentially are? Maybe he has made such a deletion once before and it was overlooked. Then perhaps it was an isolated case. However, this is certainly not an acceptable method for IB-SH. Especially since it is a confirmation for KfW. IB-SH has no leeway in this matter, as they must ensure that the KfW requirements are met.

By the way: Why does someone want to avoid liability for their services here? Everyone does that. Everywhere in business transactions. That is a matter of course!

No matter how you look at it, it sounds extremely dubious.

I would question the developer rather than KfW.

Best regards
Andreas Wenzel