I don’t do nice reports. I do honest ones.
Your point of contact when a property purchase comes down to substance, risk and what the repairs will actually cost.
Alice Carpenter is an independent Bausachverständige in Berlin, DESAG-tested and recognised (seal B/250907) with an RICS-accredited BSc (Hons) in Building Surveying from London. She has inspected property across the DACH region since 2015, works in English and German, and acts only for buyers and owners, never for sellers or contractors.
Why I do this work
I started ABC Experts because I watched too many people sign on the dotted line without anyone in their corner who spoke their language.
Berlin property is exciting. It is also full of hidden costs, structural secrets and legal traps that do not translate well from German. What motivates me is being useful in exactly that moment of uncertainty: structured, clear and realistic. Without exaggeration, and without glossing over.
My role
Most of my work begins with a viewing or a set of sale documents. For many clients it does not end there. I get asked what the building will need in five years, whether a layout can be changed, what a Sanierung would realistically cost.
So I am not only the person who inspects. I estimate repair budgets, explain the technical background so it stays understandable, and stay involved through the purchase where that helps.
What matters to me
I work independently, with no commercial interest in the renovation, the sale or the purchase. Never for the seller, and never for the contractor whose work I am assessing.
I do not only look at the condition today, but at what is possible: structurally and financially. Sometimes the honest answer is to walk away. Often there is value nobody has noticed.
British training, continental practice.
I hold an RICS-accredited BSc (Hons) in Building Surveying from London, and I am DESAG-certified for Schäden an Gebäuden and Wertermittlung.
Before ABC Experts I worked for boutique technical due-diligence firms across the DACH region, assessing existing buildings rather than designing new ones. That is why every finding in my reports carries a number rather than an adjective.
Since going independent my focus has been the same: the independent assessment of property during the purchase process, for owner-occupiers and investors alike.
Measured, not guessed.
I inspect every property personally. I arrive with a thermal camera and moisture meters, I go into the cellar, I get onto the roof, and I read the minutes of the Eigentümerversammlung, because the most expensive thing in a German purchase is rarely the crack you can see.
Then I tell you, in plain English, exactly what you are buying: the good, the bad and the expensive. No subcontractors, no junior staff.
- Capacitive moisture mapping and infrared thermometry on every inspection
- Thermal imaging included in every inspection, endoscope on request
- Documents checked: Teilungserklärung, Hausgeldabrechnung, Protokolle, Energieausweis
- Every defect photographed, rated red / amber / green and costed
- Written report within 24 hours, in English or German
What the certification actually means.
DESAG tests and recognises building experts, and maintains the Sachverständigenrollen. It is assessed, numbered and publicly verifiable, which is not true of every title used in this market.
- DESAG-zertifizierte Baugutachterin, Schäden an Gebäuden & Wertermittlung · B/250907
- BSG e.V. Sachverständige · DE-B-18092507
- RICS-accredited BSc (Hons) Building Surveying, London
- Reports prepared to DIN 276 and ImmoWertV
- Professional liability insurance on every inspection
- Practising across the DACH region since 2015
DESAGDeutsche Sachverständigen Gesellschaft. Verify →
Expert seal B/250907Personal certification seal, valid through 09/2026.
BSG e.V. DE-B-18092507Berufsfachverband für das Sachverständigen- und Gutachterwesen.Send me the listing.
From Prenzlauer Berg to Potsdam, Kreuzberg to Köpenick. I will tell you honestly whether the property is worth your time, before you spend anything.