Joint building ventury (Baugemeinschaft)

Last Updated on September 28, 2023

The joint building ventury Baugemeinschaft is a popular form of organizing the construction of apartment buildings in Germany.

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How can you find joint building ventury?

You can find it by looking at advertisements on real estate sites – communities drop advertisements among ordinary sale advertisements. You may well declare your interest – even if you are not satisfied and you will not join there, your interest will be recorded and you will be included in the lists that are selected by architectural firms.

It is also recommended to ask at the town hall – they are also interested in this form of building.

Major cities have online offers of societies open to membership – for example, Munich or Hamburg.

Why is Baugemeinschaft so popular?

Baugemeinschaft is supported by local authorities – it is easier for such societies to obtain land for construction.

In addition, it is assumed that in this society you do not have to pay a percentage to the developer – that is, the apartment will come out 10-20 percent cheaper for you.

It is especially beneficial if the Joint building ventury has its own specialists-members – architects, builders, at least gardeners.

The joint building ventury gives you the opportunity to make your ideas about ideal housing come true – rooms will be planned according to your wishes, if possible according to building codes.

What can be wrong?

It would seem solid pluses.

But there is also a fat minus – somehow you have to negotiate with your “brothers”. And this is very, very difficult, I can tell you, knowing what a condominium looks like from the inside. When solving financial issues, all sorts of stubborn donkeys wake up in homeowners. It takes a couple of hours to decide what color a condominium member can paint his garden house on. And still there are a couple of people who are against for reasons of principle or “just in case.”

And one more minus. The developer gets his interest not for nothing – he often saves your nerves. Building your own home requires a significant amount of nerve investment, and when you are also dependent on other people, it can be very, very difficult and lead to overpayments that you were trying to avoid, or, much worse, legal disputes.

Organizational form

The joint building ventury is organized in most cases in the form of the GbR – Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts (Civil Rights Society). This is an association of citizens, which may include, however, as members and firms.

GbR is very simple to organize, even a notary is not needed (although it is recommended), it is not a company. However, its members are financially responsible for all debts of the association and are responsible for all bureaucratic procedures. That is, if one of the members of the society goes bankrupt and cannot pay his share, the rest will be responsible financially for his debt.

Kündigung (resignation) of membership of one of the members leads to the dissolution of the whole society. But a member of the society can leave it with the consent of three-quarters of the other members of the society if he has good reasons such as moving. Usually, members of the joint building ventury agree to this if the person leaving finds a successor.

Of course, if 10-20 teachers decided to build an apartment building without any idea of construction, then it could end in disaster. But they really want to organize the Baugemeinschaft, because otherwise in some cities it is almost impossible to get their housing. All the same architectural and construction firms that offer “support” come to the rescue. Thus, the financial contribution increases, and the nervous one decreases, as does the freedom of decisions. It will then be called gesteuerte Baugemeinschaft.

Construction stages

1. So, our 10 teachers got together and decided to build an apartment building. They hired an architecture firm and tasked her with coming up with what it would look like. It is recommended to have a separate project coordinator, and not to entrust the coordination to the architect. It is not so good, if the architect is also supervised.

The greatest difficulties at this stage arise with the search for a construction site. Let’s say we got lucky and the city gave the joint building ventury a piece of land. The city fixes the construction site for the society for a certain period, for which the architect must submit his project. And the society must prepare all the documents for construction, draw up a financial plan.

2. At this stage, the composition of the participants may change. Participants must prove to the joint building ventury that they are solvent and resolve all basic issues. It is recommended to discuss all the details, for example:

• the playground (it requires a TÜV and liability insurance in the future),
• parking,
• bicycle parking,
• refueling for electric vehicles (now very important),
• the degree of environmental friendliness at home

– and fix them in writing. The preparatory phase ends with the filing of the Bauantrag (building application) at the Bauamt.

3. From this moment all financial and reporting obligations begin. A joint building ventury agreement is concluded, land is bought, a notary is involved. Leaving society at this stage will not work for free.

GbR concludes contracts with an architect, builders. Some of these contracts must / can be notarized, which also requires additional costs for a notary. It is recommended to involve a lawyer who specializes for drafting such contracts.

Every member of the society is recommended to necessarily conclude a Rechtsschutzversicherung.

More about Rechtsschutzversicherung.

4. At the end of the construction, the participants close the GbR and transfer further rights to comply with the guarantee to the owner’s society, into which it is transformed – Wohneigentümergemeinschaft.

Financing

There are two main financing options:

• One bank runs the entire GbR, negotiating separately with each of its members from the very beginning.
• Or a loan is issued only for construction, and the purchase of a construction site is carried out at its own expense.

As well as for individual home buyers, there are government benificial loans for Baugemeinschaft.

More about financing of home purchase.
Home purchase. Part 1