ᐅ Turnkey Builders – Initial Guidance

Dear forum members,
I have been reading along for a while, have already made a few comments, and now I have a question about our general approach. I hope you can help.

1. We have purchased a plot of land and want to build a single-family house of about 190 sqm (2045 sq ft).
2. We thought the first step would be to go to an architect, but that went badly – the relationship was damaged, and the initial drafts were unusable for us.
3. After this bad experience, we did not approach another architect. Instead, I started researching here in this forum and elsewhere to see how others proceed.
4. We selected three regional turnkey providers (concrete and timber) whose information and phone contact seemed promising.
5. We now had appointments with all three – the process was always the same. I asked if I needed to find an architect myself. They said no – they asked about our ideas, and then they want to develop a design with their architect and prepare an offer.

Now my question:
I actually find it “strange” that several companies develop their own architectural designs and do this work after just one meeting without being sure they will get the contract. Is this common? I always asked if I have to pay for this, but they said it is included if I award the contract.
What could go wrong? Will I be pressured to award the contract afterwards? Will they want to charge for the planning services if I walk away?
How do you handle this – I don’t think I need a new design drawn up at every first meeting...
Or is this just standard practice?

Thank you and best regards,
Gerddieter

What you receive is often presented as very individual but usually comes from a standard template. Don’t be misled by that. An architectural design that is truly made for you will cost money.

First of all, you should tell us a bit about yourself. Make this thread your introduction thread and fill out the questionnaire pinned at the top of the floor plan section. Then tell us about your plot of land (zoning plan, cadastral map excerpt / aerial photo / pictures), because without a clear understanding of the site, it is not possible to assess how necessary an independent architect would be to manage these parameters. The so-called “draftsmen” you refer to here, who produce basic building permit / planning permission documents, are sufficient precisely when you, your plot AND your zoning plan have no special requirements. Judging by your first name (?), I boldly speculate that you might even be a bit older than I am and therefore already have some living experience. What are your building motivations, and above all: what have you been asked before anyone told you that solutions were already being considered?

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You will be allowed to view any drafts but not to copy or take them with you. This will only be possible after signing.

fab101 schrieb:

You will only be allowed to view any drafts, but not to copy or take them with you. This only happens after signing.

Well, not necessarily. We were allowed to take the plans with us, even though we eventually decided against that company.
As mentioned earlier, the plans mostly come from a "one-size-fits-all" source.

So, there isn’t as much work behind them as you might think. Especially since you don’t get a finished submission plan right away, but only rough drafts.

fab101 schrieb:

You will only be allowed to view any drafts, but not to copy or take them with you. This only applies after signing.

This is not generally true.
We requested quotes from two regional “turnkey providers” (one timber-frame, one masonry). With both, the drafts were free of charge; we even received them by email and were allowed one free set of adjustments each. Any further changes or alternative drafts would have incurred additional costs. The quotes were then calculated based on these drafts.