General

The German Federal Ministry of the Interior, for Building and the Home Affairs (BMI) and the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) have launched the "10 Years of Efficient House Plus" theme competition with prize money totaling 60,000 euros. The competition is aimed at schoolchildren, students, trainees and other interested parties who are interested in the topic of...

If a property is foreclosed and the bank commissions a real estate agent to do so, it may not pay the brokerage fee from the proceeds of the foreclosure sale, but must pay for it itself. This is the result of a ruling by the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court (Case No.: 13 U 226/20). In the case at hand, the bank had hoped to achieve a higher commission by hiring a real estate agent....

Anyone who wants to buy a new countertop for their kitchen should seek advice from an expert in advance. Volker Irle, managing director of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Die Moderne Küche (AKM), advises this. Because according to AKM there are numerous designs, materials and possibilities, with which a buyer can lose fast the overview. For example, there are worktops made of laminate, wood,...

Real estate buyers and renters with medium to low incomes have found it even harder since the Corona pandemic. This is the result of a study by researchers at the International Real Estate Business School (IREBS) at the University of Regensburg, sponsored by the Hanns Böckler Foundation. The reason for this is that the slump in real estate prices expected for 2020 has failed to materialize and the...

A new strategy paper on "Vision, Innovation, Reconstruction. Rethinking building" was recently adopted at the Ettersberg Dialogue. Three demands are made in the strategy paper. First: "Vision - rethinking the built future", second: "Innovation - promoting and anchoring smart ideas" and third: "Remodeling - taking responsibility for the further development of the...

In a study entitled "Thermal Energy Storage for Neighborhoods," the German Energy Agency (dena) compares different energy storage technologies. The study concludes that thermal storage systems can be economically integrated into neighborhood projects and contribute to a climate-neutral energy supply. A contribution to climate neutrality can...

The occasional use of a second home does not constitute "temporary use of the rented property". This was decided by the Regional Court (LG) Berlin (LG Berlin Az.: 63 S 19/20). In the case at hand, a landlady terminated the lease of her tenant. As a reason, she cited a misappropriation of the apartment, since the tenant used the second home only occasionally and the tenant protection for a...

Cleaning supplies, water boxes, washing machine and dryer - all these utensils can be stored or placed in a utility room if necessary. The portal schoener-wohnen.de has compiled tips for interested parties on how to best set up such a utility room. Among other things, the portal points out that in a utility room with...

According to Bausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall, 39 percent of 25- to 39-year-olds would like to buy or build their own home within the next ten years. Corona is not changing this either. However, Ralf Oberländer, financing expert at the building society, assumes that real estate prices will continue to rise. He also expects that the supply of housing will not meet the high demand. The...

How can participants in building construction best work together? This question is addressed by the Working Group on Digitized Construction (AKDB) of the German Construction Industry Association in its paper "Successful collaboration with BIM in building construction". "BIM" stands for "Building Information Modeling." This is a planning and control concept for the planning, execution and management of...