Time of contract signing for house construction

Hello Lat, we were in a similar situation - the plot will not be developed and sold until next year and our sales manager of the general contractor also advised to sign the contract already, as the price will then be secured for at least 1 year and a price increase is to be expected soon. We actually did it, with the clauses that the financing works under OUR desired conditions and that the plot we WANT is indeed purchased. At first, we felt a bit uneasy, BUT: to this day the catalog prices have actually increased by about 10-15%! We are very happy about not having to finance 20,000 euros more when the time comes. Because the interest rate increase alone will unfortunately have some impact by then. And if you already have to make a binding commitment when buying the plot, I personally do not find signing with the general contractor - with the appropriate clauses for a free withdrawal - reckless. After all, they will have already invested money in the form of planning for you.

If the contract with the farmer clearly regulates that it depends on the plot of land currently reserved by you, then I don't see a problem with that. I would also include the dependency on the financing being secured.

But if you have to decide on the plot by the end of the month and the contractor gives you time until the end of the year, then that works as well.

You can also get a written offer from both (contractor and bank) stating that it is valid until 31.12.17, so you can accept both offers at any time.

However, I wouldn't let myself be pressured. If the contractor doesn't understand that you want to secure the plot first, then he simply won't get a signature.

Thank you for the answers. The property as well as the bank are actually not the problem. Everything should be clear there, but we do not want to sign the contract for the financing yet, since the first funds must flow at the earliest in March.

Have the fixed price agreed upon for longer than one year as well, so that the general contractor cannot increase the prices for trades after 11/2018.

ok, thanks. I will make sure that the offer is valid for a longer period...

simply agree on a sufficiently long provision period. Interest on provision is only charged after the end of this period.