Should the house be planned by a general contractor or architects?

Isn't it the general contractor who is generally liable, since you have a contract with them? How the situation looks if the general contractor were insolvent is then questionable.

The contract can provide for an assignment of claims as security. This means the general contractor/trade contractor assigns claims they have against their subcontractors to the buyer. The buyer can then directly approach the subcontractors. Important: This should be designed so that one preserves their claims against the general contractor/trade contractor. A warranty bond helps against insolvency.

Ok, thank you very much. However, I believe a construction company that goes bankrupt in the current times must be very bad.

Hi,

Ok, thank you very much. However, I think a construction company that goes bankrupt in these times must be very bad.

No, it doesn’t have to be bad, it can even be very good. Someone just has to want to cash out. This works like this:

[*]make a big profit
[*]transfer everything to the wife
[*]let the company go bankrupt with shady actions, but the money is protected from creditors' access
[*]all complaints and warranty cases are settled, since the company is bankrupt

[*]either enjoy the money in peace or reopen the business under a new name after a few months

No idea if this still works today, but in the 70s and 80s this procedure was apparently common in the construction industry. Entire districts were built this way in the Münsterland!

Best regards,

Andreas

Back then, however, there were not so many sources of information.
In addition, at least on paper, a new managing director is needed or better yet, one who is responsible for the insolvency in the first place.

Ultimately, after a long, intensive search, we decided on a renowned local general contractor.

Does the architectural service also come from the general contractor, or did you have a design plan made by an architect and then contacted various general contractors?

I am currently facing the same question because the first designs from the general contractors are not very promising. There are still a few open, but somehow I am now leaning towards the design planning from the architect. Another advantage would be that you then have a uniform plan and can better compare the offers from the various general contractors.

We had drawn up a plan ourselves and then requested quotes for it. All the GCs did the same; some had only made minor adjustments...