How secure are you when buying off-plan property in Germany?

Buying Off-Plan Properties, i.e. properties that are not yet as they are supposed to be according to the purchase contract, can be seen as risky. This could be a family house or a condo yet to be built or renovated. There is a building specification and some material samples trying to describe what the property should look like when it is finished.

In an ideal world for the buyer, no money changes hands before the project is finished and the result is satisfactory. For the developer, there is the worry if the buyer can and will pay once the project is finished.
In the German legal system, there is a regulation with a monstrosity of a name: Makler- und Bauträger Verordnung (MaBV),  which can be translated as Agent and Developer Ordinance - not much better. I will ignore the part dealing with agents for this purpose.
This ordinance regulates when and under which conditions a developer is allowed to take money from a buyer or the buyer's bank. Yes, this is right, he can not only not ask for the money if the conditions are not fulfilled, he is not even allowed to take it if you offered it - who would?
The regulation defines 13 instalments of the purchase price related to the building progress. Only up to 7 instalments are allowed, meaning that the developer will provide a payment plan which will bundle some of these instalments.

Here is an infographic about the 13 instalments:

Instalments according to MaBV

To receive the full-size infographic and detailed information about all aspects of the security system for Off-Plan Property buyers in Germany including a translation of part of the actual regulation regarding the payments please leave your information below. After the usual confirmation email, you will receive an email with the download link and an extensive report.

How secure are you when buying off-plan property in Germany?