An office formerly used as such is being offered with a furnished sleeping area. You wish to live there permanently. For the purchase decision, the cosy impression must not obscure the question of what use the existing foundations permit and what changes would still be necessary for your desire to live there.
State the current situation and the purchase objective separately
First write two clear sentences: How is the property described in the relevant documents, and how do you intend to use it? Make a clear distinction between buying a dwelling use that has already been resolved and deliberately intending a project to change the use. A new fit-out does not decide this question.
In the case of condominium ownership, §16 WEG also deals with changes of designation (Widmungsänderungen). The provision ties changes that may affect the legitimate interests of other condominium owners to their consent and, under certain conditions, provides for judicial substitution. [AENDERUNG] That is not a blanket promise that any commercial premises can be converted into a dwelling.
Two lines of enquiry for the same desire to live there
Ask your specialist adviser to explain the condominium-law position on the basis of the relevant deeds. In addition, the locally competent authority or an appropriate specialist must assess the public-law use and the procedures required. This article does not provide a uniform nationwide checklist of building-law documents.
A positive statement on one track should not quietly be transferred to the other. Ask in each case what was actually examined and on what basis the statement is made. Specify the desired scope concretely: permanent residence, planned structural works and, if applicable, any additional use.
Hypothetical case: a flat floor plan is not yet a resolved residential use
A buyer receives a newly drawn floor plan with kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. In the condominium agreement the unit continues to be described as commercial premises. The seller’s side insists that the plan clearly shows a flat.
The buyer has the existing designation and the required route for change examined. At the same time, it is clarified which local permits or certifications are required for his implementation. Until then he treats the drawing as a depiction of a project. He does not treat it as evidence that all legal prerequisites have been fulfilled.
Decide on effort and prospects of success before the price
If residential use is indispensable for you, its unresolved feasibility is one of the fundamental purchase conditions. Ask for a professionally assessed feasibility, concrete outstanding steps and a realistic cost basis. A lower price for commercial premises is no compensation for a residential use that may later prove impossible to implement.
Have the contract advice explain how this starting position is to be reflected in the purchase. Do not invent your own blanket approval condition and do not rely on later being able to withdraw free of charge. The effect of a declaration must be clarified before you are bound.
Your decision outcome must match the acquired condition
After examination you can consciously take on a change project or demand an already resolved residential use. These are different purchase decisions. In the first case you also need a viable solution for the time until the intended use; an unresolved move-in date remains open.
In the end the offered legal status, the intended use and the steps still outstanding should be described in the same version of the documents. Only then can you assess whether you would be buying a suitable home or a conversion project that is too uncertain for you.