What happens if my new build project is delayed?

If your new build project is delayed, you may have to pay additional fees called "Bereitstellungszinsen" or commitment interest fees. If your loan amount is not disbursed within the agreed timeframe called the "bereitstellungszinsfreie Zeit", the bank will start charging you commitment interest fees of 0.15% to 0.25% per month on the unpaid portion of the loan.

Thus, the bank compensates for the loss resulting from the lack of interest income for the already guaranteed net loan amount. As a rule, these fees only accrue after a certain period of time, the "Commitment fee-free period".

There are big differences in both the commitment fee-free time and the level of commission fees between banks: while some banks require fees after only two months, other institutions offer a zero-commitment fee-free period of up to 12 months without any additional charge. In some cases, up to 24 months are possible without such fees.

Thus, these commitment fees can make a seemingly cheap loan more expensive or an expensive loan cheaper, as you can see in our example (see below). These costs should be scrutinized when selecting your mortgage product. Our mortgage expert will help you optimize this and can provide you with our special calculator that allows you to simulate different scenarios of delay.

We help you calculate if you need an additional buffer to pay both your rent and any mortgage fees during building delays.