Shell construction with an expired building permit

So,

just a little time and I’m happy to give you some feedback. I subjected the shell to a mold test, which was quite severe, and I also contacted a civil engineer (through contacts) who gave a (rough) estimate (positive) based on pictures etc.

It was a 2-family house on about 1200 sqm of land in a recreational area. The only pictures I can provide are aerial shots:

All huts from the same builder, only 2 were completed. This was the middle lower (elongated) building. The market value was €214,000, in December the bid was only €130,000, but the operating creditor rejected that. I missed the December auction and only became aware at the 2nd date. Talks with the creditor showed they would have been satisfied with 7/10. That was roughly my expectation. My calculation with around €90,000 that still needed to be invested if you want it done properly was already okay. That rightly influenced my limit.

At the auction there was suddenly significantly more interest, unfortunately...

In the end, a builder who happened to (?) be from the same town as the indebted builder bought it. A knave who thinks badly about this. The hut was burdened with €260,000 overall, so some banks are left sitting on their loans. Well, the aforementioned builder finally offered the market value. The hut was not worth that to me, especially since I had concerns a) great recreational area (nice sailing lake), BUT constant leisure congestion from holiday home residents, motorcyclists, convertibles, the road you see there is a through road where the mopeds happily rev up, then the commute to work with at least 45-60 minutes each way (currently 2.5 minutes), the distance stretches out. Then the planning flaws in the house (upper apartment roof window too high, room layout too strange (shower in guest bathroom, but so tight), no service room for heating etc. The living room with the huge panoramic window overlooking the large garden was nice, but no. Therefore, my wallet probably also tightened considerably. Security deposit transferred, a bid placed, but then it took off. It was just the beginning of the Corona time, so there was also planning uncertainty (orders expected in Jan/Feb only now leading to turnover, these were supposed to make the turnover increase).

I stopped by there a short time later and the house was already scaffolded, so much for "building permit will be difficult". I then also recently found the house in sales ads, offered for €399,000 (in my opinion, even more would have been possible if the builder hadn’t sold it as a 2-family house, but had sold the apartments separately). What I could discover from the pictures, the builder finished the house cheaply (e.g. cheap radiators, cables in the skirting boards, entire driveway not paved but only filled with gravel, cheap laminate instead of tiles, the bathroom looked terrible (planned once according to the building file with en-suite bathroom with sauna and walk-in shower (already prepared and he’s hammering a shower tray in there), no garage added, I doubt he even did mold remediation! He invested a maximum of €40,000-50,000 additionally there. And? It’s no longer listed, it’s sold.

This strengthens my resolve to rather buy an existing property (preferably old and run-down) than for example such (new) rubbish.

Now a new project is coming up, hopefully it will work out, maybe, we’ll see ....

yes all good or did you want to have a moldy house?

A builder finds such projects easier because he is a professional and has contacts.

Thank you for the continuation, interesting story. But it shows that this project was for professionals - and what you might end up buying there for a lot of money..

I believe it worked out well for you that someone else now has the poorly finished house. If you had wanted to finish it properly according to your standards, in my opinion you would have had to invest more than the assumed 90k, but others have already elaborated on that more than enough.

Overall, I found the way people dealt with things here in the thread unpleasant. I had the feeling that as soon as someone said something against the project, the original poster’s mood was ruined, while the commentators only had their best interests in mind. If you specifically seek opinions here on a risky undertaking, then you also have to be able to live with opinions that do not correspond to your own perception. That’s why I get neutral opinions, to check my own perspective (which may already be clouded by wishes and wants).

What I also find difficult is the latent everyday racism present here. I have noticed this not only here but also in other threads. Expressions like "Estrich Achmed" or similar strike me as disrespectful, generalizing, and reflect a very current problem in society. Racism is not only the burning of asylum homes. No one would call a dark-skinned person on a construction site "excavator bimbo," so other population groups should not be labeled with such derogatory terms either. I simply find that broadly inappropriate. The trivialization of such things in everyday life is certainly not great for the affected groups; sometimes I feel there is a lack of empathy for these people.

I think it worked out well for you that someone else now owns the poorly finished house. If you had wanted to finish it properly according to your standards, in my opinion you would have had to invest more than the assumed 90k, but others have already explained that in detail. Overall, I found the interaction in this thread unpleasant. I had the feeling that as soon as someone said something against the project, the OP's mood was spoiled, even though the commenters only had his best interests in mind. If you explicitly seek opinions on a risky undertaking here, then you have to be able to live with opinions if they do not correspond to your own perception. That's why I get neutral opinions, to check my own perspective (which may already be clouded by wishes and desires). What I find difficult, however, is the latent everyday racism present here. I've noticed this not only here but also in other threads. Expressions like "Estrich Achmed" or similar I find disrespectful, generalizing, and reflecting a very current problem in society. Racist is not only the burning of asylum seekers' homes. Nobody would call a dark-skinned person on a construction site "excavator bimbo," so you shouldn't also label other population groups with such derogatory terms. I simply find that generally inappropriate. The trivialization of such things in everyday life is certainly not great for the affected groups; sometimes I miss empathy for these people.

I like your post! Regards Serben-Bänger

A construction contractor finds such projects easier because he is a professional and has contacts.

Or because he does not want to repair defects for eternity like the owner-occupier, but is content if they do not resurface during the warranty period

I find expressions like "Estrich Achmed" or similar disrespectful, generalizing, and reflecting a very current problem in society.

I would not quote this nice term from Karsten if I were not a) convinced that Karsten means it lovingly and b) that he would reflect something other than reality. In construction areas where pragmatic skilled workers without a German union background are in demand, Western Europeans are rare. The screed layers who also dare to do the brick laying and grouting are typically Turks, Kurds, or Albanians – you rarely find Greeks or Spaniards there, and I have not encountered any Indians there at all. The "deutsche Michel" is not racism, Michael is not an uncommon name for a German man; in the past Fritz or Helmut were similarly synonymous names for Germans. Achmed is as common in the countries of origin of the screed crews as Stefan or Jürgen are with us. What you call a "problem in society" probably consists, if anything, in the fact that our labor market in the lower income groups is more open to skilled workers of foreign origin than in the upper ones. Many an Achmed is pushed, due to the non-recognition of his professional qualification acquired in his country of origin, to earn his bread as a "semi-skilled worker" in trades without master craftsman requirements. It is no different for the Olgas and Svetlanas in nursing (and they also come from countries where the girls are not named Stefanie, Michaela, or Susanne).