A plot with a partially constructed house is being sold. The previous developer wishes to withdraw in the current state; you are to commission the completion yourself. The visible building structure appears to be a large advantage compared with a new start. For your purchase decision, however, what matters is which usable and legally traceable existing work is actually being taken over and what complete undertaking will then lie with you.
First describe the offered deliverable
Our editorial recommendation: Have it recorded in writing which plots, existing building components, materials and documents are to be included in the purchase. Are further works by the seller included in the offer or is only the stated condition to be transferred? A picture of the finished house does not answer that question.
Have the entire contract model professionally classified. §2 BTVG describes the developer contract and also covers certain economic units arising from acquisition of rights from a third party and construction contract. [VERTRAGSMODELL] The words shell (Rohbau) and private sale (Privatverkauf) do not replace an examination of which agreements actually belong together. This article does not confirm either an application of the BTVG or a general exception for your acquisition.
Read the entire official history
Request the permit with the associated documents and any further decisions affecting the building project. Show the professional adviser which parts have actually been constructed. Explicitly ask about deviations, orders and still open official points.
§9 NÖ BO 2014 gives the decisions designated there effect also for legal successors and owners; it deals with rights and obligations. [BESCHEIDE] For the purchase, therefore, the desired building permit alone is not relevant. An existing order must not, without examination, disappear as a mere personal legacy matter of the seller.
Connect the achieved construction progress with the possible continuation
§24 NÖ BO 2014 deals with commencement, completion, expiry and extensions of the execution. [AUSFUEHRUNG] Provide the available evidence for this with the decision status and documented construction sequence. An earlier start is not a perpetual right to continue confirmed by this article.
The reference to the actual project remains important: Are you to continue building based on the existing documents or do you want to change rooms and execution? A possible new design will be treated as a separate need for clarification. This article does not calculate a specific deadline and does not turn a change of ownership into an automatic temporal new start.
Have the taken-over condition examined for completion
Commission a suitable technical expert with the clear question of which existing works can be assessed for your completion plan. Gather construction drawings, photos of concealed work, test reports and known deviations. Explicitly name gaps. A service already paid for is not automatically fully documented or confirmed for every desired continuation.
The inspection commission should state its actual scope and any further necessary investigations. Appearance, age and a general assurance by the seller are not turned by this article into a technical clearance. Likewise, presented remaining costs will not be adopted without comparison with the examined condition.
Turn outstanding works into a commissionable scope
Arrange remaining works, missing evidence and required specialist roles together. Which companies still have ongoing contracts, which services are to be newly awarded and which possible claims are to be legally transferred? Clarify the respective relationship, rather than treating every previous contract as automatically bought along.
If a change of site manager (Bauführerwechsel) is necessary, the existing Lower Austrian specialist article helps with the transfer of roles. For the purchase decision, it must also be evident who will prepare and carry out the entire completion project with you. Missing work packages do not receive an invented favourable lump sum.
Fictitious case: A remaining offer fits another set of existing work
A couple receive, along with the shell, an earlier offer for the remaining trades. It was prepared before an execution was changed; for an area now concealed the proof is also missing. Initially the couple treat the then total amount as today’s completion price.
Before being bound to the purchase they have the condition, documents and scope of work consolidated. The technical side explains the area still to be examined and updates the basis of the remaining works. Only this result flows into financing, schedule and their own purchase decision. The existing shell remains a possible advantage whose actual value for the project must be verifiably examined.
This article applies to Austria, for building law exclusively Lower Austria. It does not decide any specific decision or contract and does not authorise any construction works. Its result is the reliably prepared takeover of an unfinished condition together with one’s own completion task.