A payment request for the new flat arrives. You have seen progress on the construction site, but do not know whether the exact instalment demanded is already due. The sensible preparation consists of three separate questions: which security framework has been agreed, which construction stage has been certified, and will the required funds be available at the appropriate time?
This article concerns Austrian developer transactions within the already appropriately clarified scope of application of the BTVG, in particular the land register model with a schedule of instalments. It does not examine any specific contract. Other security models must not be assessed solely on the basis of the same stage table.
An instalment needs more than an invoice number
§ 7 BTVG provides for various security routes. The recorded claims only become due when and to the extent that the purchaser’s agreed securities are in place. [SICHERUNG] In the land register model § 9 links adequate registration of security in the land register with payment according to the instalment schedule and deals with further prerequisites such as release from encumbrances. [MODELL]
Therefore do not merely file away the new invoice. Assign to it the actual contract, the agreed schedule of instalments and the information from the escrow handling. If it is unclear on which model the payment request is based, that question must be clarified before a seemingly completed percentage calculation.
Plan A and Plan B create different early cash needs
§ 10 specifies maximum shares for certain completed construction stages. For start of construction on the basis of a final building permit and thereafter shell including roof, Plan A provides 15 and 35 per cent, in Plan B 10 and 30 per cent. The provision also contains a special prerequisite for an agreed first instalment before the start of construction. [RATEN]
In the hypothetical calculation the price assumed is 420.000 Euro. The first two mentioned maximum shares would under A be 63.000 and 147.000 Euro, together 210.000 Euro. Under B they would be 42.000 and 126.000 Euro, together 168.000 Euro. The difference of 42.000 Euro concerns the early liquidity requirement, not a price reduction.
The mere comparison also does not decide which model suffices for the contract. § 9 paragraph 4 names for instalment schedule A, under the described residential-need prerequisites, an additional guarantee or insurance. [MODELL] Its examination is not replaced by the calculation example.
A photo from the site is not yet an appropriate stage confirmation
For the completion of a construction stage § 13 refers to the degree of completion of the main structure; where there are several independent buildings the one relevant to the purchaser’s claim is decisive. The provision also mentions the possible involvement of suitable experts by the trustee. [FORTSCHRITT]
In the case of an unclear request ask specifically about the confirmed stage and its allocation. A completed neighbouring building or a close-up of individual installations does not automatically declare the status of the relevant building. Conversely, a confirmation should not be understood as a certification here of the apartment’s complete freedom from defects.
Link the payment file with the financing
For each instalment collate the contractual item, amount demanded, stage confirmation, outstanding point to be clarified and intended payment route. Coordinate the provision of your own funds and the bank payout accordingly. A privately assumed monthly plan may differ from the actual construction progress.
In case of a dispute you need a prompt response from the responsible handling office and, if necessary, independent legal advice. Neither payment nor withholding is individually authorised here. The aim is a comprehensible decision with the same current documents held by purchaser, escrow and the financing bank.