Buyer portal new development: what it must include for homebuyer communication during construction

Why an Erwerberportal is more than a folder of documents

In the DACH region, a buyer of a new-build home is not purchasing a finished product but an obligation that develops over months or years. Between the notarised contract and handover of the keys come stage payments, Bemusterung, changes and acceptance. At every step it must be clear who approved what, and when.

A buyer portal for a new development is therefore a working environment shared by the developer (Bauträger), the project manager, the sales team and the buyer. It gathers project status, documents and open questions in one place and cuts the number of repeat enquiries by phone and email. The condition is that the content is accurate and that someone maintains it regularly.

Stages: what the buyer sees from signing to moving in

The portal should follow the actual course of the project, not the company's internal organisation. Each stage has a status, a responsible person and a list of actions expected from the buyer.

In Germany, payments are usually tied to construction milestones under the MaBV, while in Austria the BTVG governs them and prescribes a form of security for the buyer. The portal does not replace legal advice, but it can show which milestone has been reached and attach the relevant certificate.

• Before signing: reservation, draft contract, Baubeschreibung and unit plans
• After the notary: copy of the contract, payment schedule, confirmations of registrations and securities
• Construction: progress reports, photographs, milestones reached
• Ausbau: Bemusterung, selection of fittings and finishes, Sonderwünsche
• Handover: Vorabnahme, Abnahme, Übergabeprotokoll
• After handover: defect reporting, warranty certificates, user instructions

Documents in a buyer portal for a new development

Documents are the core of the portal, but only if they are organised by unit and version. The buyer should see only the documents for their own unit and the shared building documents, each with a date and a note on whether it supersedes an earlier version. Access and viewing rights must comply with the DSGVO, so each user's role and an access log matter.

The scope differs between Germany and Austria and from contract to contract. Agree the list with your lawyer and notary, regardless of what the technology allows.

• Purchase contract with annexes and payment schedule
• Baubeschreibung and plans: floor plans, sections, area calculation
• Teilungserklärung and Gemeinschaftsordnung (DE), or Nutzwertgutachten for condominium ownership (AT)
• Energieausweis and other compliance certificates, once available
• Quotations, confirmations and minutes for Sonderwünsche and Bemusterung
• Übergabeprotokoll, user instructions, warranty certificates

Sonderwünsche: a process that must be traceable

Special requests from buyers are a frequent source of disputes, because agreements get lost in emails and phone calls. The portal should therefore handle each request as a separate case with a description, a quotation, the buyer's confirmation and an installation status. A cut-off also matters: for each Gewerk there is a deadline up to which a change is still possible without delaying the programme.

If the developer uses a fittings configurator, the selected options can flow into the portal as a structured list that the contractor checks later. This is how ARHIX links choices made during sales with documentation during construction, so the buyer never has to enter the same decision twice.

• Description of the change and the unit concerned
• Quotation with a description of the works and a validity date
• Buyer's confirmation in the form the contract permits
• Impact on the programme, if any
• Status: approved, ordered, completed, included in the final account

Homebuyer communication during construction: appointments and messages

Homebuyer communication during construction works when it is predictable. The buyer should have a calendar in the portal showing the dates for the Baustellenbegehung, Elektrobemusterung, tile selection, Vorabnahme and Abnahme, with the option to confirm or propose an alternative date. Reminders should arrive before the appointment, not after it.

Messages should be sorted by topic and unit, not run as one long chat. Regular progress reports with photographs are useful when they also explain any changes to deadlines. For a closer look at this area, it helps to link the portal with construction monitoring, which supplements it with data from site.

Handover: Abnahme and the period after it

Handover is the moment when many open items in the portal are closed. Have a draft Übergabeprotokoll ready, along with a record of meter readings, keys and documents handed over. Defects found during the inspection are entered as a Mängelliste with a photograph, the location within the unit, the responsible contractor and a deadline for rectification.

After handover the portal stays available for reporting defects and for warranty documents. Gewährleistung periods differ between countries and contracts, so state them only once your legal team has confirmed them.

Common mistakes when introducing a portal

Most problems stem not from the technology but from the process. A portal with no content owner quickly becomes an outdated archive.

Before launch, check the following points:

• Documents are uploaded without versions or dates, so the buyer does not know which one applies
• Sonderwünsche bypass the portal, so there is no single record
• Appointments are listed, but there is no confirmation or reminder
• All users have the same rights, and access is not separated by unit
• It is not defined who answers messages, or how quickly
• The portal is not connected to the CRM and sales data, so information is entered twice

What you can do next

Start with a single project: write down the stages from reservation to the warranty period and, for each, define the documents, the responsible person and the deadline. Then check with your lawyer which documents and confirmations must be in the portal because of the contract and national regulations in Germany or Austria.

Only then choose the technical solution. If you are assessing it alongside digital sales, consider which sales data, for example the selected unit and fittings, should pass into the portal automatically. ARHIX plans such connections together with the developer.