ᐅ Looking for Architects in Munich and Surrounding Areas (Recommendations?)
Created on: 8 Nov 2020 17:22
T
Tom_muc
Good evening forum community,
we hope you can help us with your experience regarding our search for an architect.
As described in other posts, we are currently planning the construction of a single-family house with the following main details:
In recent months, we have already used various programs to “design” our house with the desired room layout, etc., and discussed these plans (including 3D views) with the responsible building authorities. After lengthy back and forth, we have also reached an informal agreement regarding exemption requests.
Now we need an experienced architect to put the final touches on the plans, provide good detailed suggestions, and submit the building permit application with us (design phases 1 to 4) (optionally including construction supervision up to phase 8).
We have contacted several architects and had some meetings, but we were quite shocked by the fees, as so far each wants to charge according to HOAI and bill us approximately 25,000–38,000 euros net for phases 1–4. The full scope up to phase 8 would cost about 100,000 euros net...
We are genuinely surprised how some users here in the forum manage to get a building permit for about 10,000 euros and almost none charge according to HOAI. Is this perhaps a “Munich surcharge” in our case?
We might understand that pricing if we were starting completely from scratch and planning multiple house variants first. However, we already have a house plan that has been discussed with the building authorities, so many steps should be omitted or completed much faster.
We really hope you can help us and ideally even recommend an architect with “normal” pricing.
We look forward to your comments.
Best regards,
Sandra & Thomas
we hope you can help us with your experience regarding our search for an architect.
As described in other posts, we are currently planning the construction of a single-family house with the following main details:
- Location: northern suburbs of Munich
- Single-family house, 1.5 storeys (no attic conversion)
- Size: 200 sqm (2,150 sq ft) plus basement
- Building style/finish: modern with large glass surfaces
- Estimated house price: approximately 550,000–600,000 euros
In recent months, we have already used various programs to “design” our house with the desired room layout, etc., and discussed these plans (including 3D views) with the responsible building authorities. After lengthy back and forth, we have also reached an informal agreement regarding exemption requests.
Now we need an experienced architect to put the final touches on the plans, provide good detailed suggestions, and submit the building permit application with us (design phases 1 to 4) (optionally including construction supervision up to phase 8).
We have contacted several architects and had some meetings, but we were quite shocked by the fees, as so far each wants to charge according to HOAI and bill us approximately 25,000–38,000 euros net for phases 1–4. The full scope up to phase 8 would cost about 100,000 euros net...
We are genuinely surprised how some users here in the forum manage to get a building permit for about 10,000 euros and almost none charge according to HOAI. Is this perhaps a “Munich surcharge” in our case?
We might understand that pricing if we were starting completely from scratch and planning multiple house variants first. However, we already have a house plan that has been discussed with the building authorities, so many steps should be omitted or completed much faster.
We really hope you can help us and ideally even recommend an architect with “normal” pricing.
We look forward to your comments.
Best regards,
Sandra & Thomas
Tom_muc schrieb:
Over the past few months, we have used various software programs to design our house with the desired layout, etc., and we have discussed these plans (including 3D views) with the responsible building authority. After lengthy back-and-forth, we have also reached an informal agreement regarding exemption requests. Are we still talking about the same project as shown in
Tom_muc schrieb:
We designed our "dream house" and a possible gable roof structure, ?
Tom_muc schrieb:
Now we need an experienced architect to put the finishing touches on the plans, suggest good details, and submit the building permit application with us (phases 1 to 4 of the service schedule) (optionally including construction supervision up to phase 8). Hiring an experienced architect just to "fine-tune" a layman’s draft would be a complete waste of resources.
Tom_muc schrieb:
We have now contacted several architects, had some discussions, and were somewhat shocked by the offers, since so far everyone wants to charge according to the HOAI scale and bill us approximately €25,000 to €38,000 net for phases 1 to 4 alone. All phases up to 8 would total around €100,000 net... Charging according to HOAI (the official fee structure) doesn’t make the architect’s job any easier when the client comes with an “almost finished” design— even if preliminary talks with the building authority have already taken place. Starting from scratch or a blank sheet makes the architect’s work much simpler than having to add “just the finishing touches” on what is supposedly a near-final stage.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Tom_muc schrieb:
If you have nothing meaningful to contribute, just move on... That says the right person – if you had kept quiet, you would have remained a philosopher.
Tom_muc schrieb:
Sorry @11ant. Completely off-topic and I don’t have the time to respond to that. I did not consider my time too valuable to try to help you. A former manager of mine would have classified your ingratitude as “unnecessary.”
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
J
JuliaMünchen9 Nov 2020 10:05To the two who asked: We compared many construction companies and ultimately chose BradlBau (turnkey, based in the Augsburg area). Like with any builder, there are disadvantages, but overall we are very satisfied so far (though we haven’t started construction yet, that should be mentioned 🙂. Our architect is from the Thomas Wegmann architectural firm. He has also supported Bradl clients from the beginning and helped develop houses with them. With him, we certainly would have built a house that we liked just as much, but without some of the very expensive details. Giving a recommendation is always difficult because everyone is different personally, but Mr. Simon fits us perfectly: He respects my stubbornness on important details, provides very good advice, offers different options, independently points out weaknesses in the previous plans, and is a nice person with a subtle sense of humor.
We definitely would not have trusted ourselves with subcontracting individual trades, because—first of all—whenever something outside of the main schedule must be commissioned (fireplace, kitchen, landscaping, etc.), there is a significant surcharge common in Munich, and it really feels like no one has time to keep a reasonably coordinated schedule, which is a real mystery to me in Munich. However, if you really want to do this, I would strongly recommend making sure your architect is not too old (our first architect would not have taken over site management due to age) and is truly familiar with current prices in Munich and the surrounding area. Fortunately, the cost estimates from our first architect were debunked as unrealistic illusions before signing the contract with our general contractor, allowing us to prepare a realistic budget.
We definitely would not have trusted ourselves with subcontracting individual trades, because—first of all—whenever something outside of the main schedule must be commissioned (fireplace, kitchen, landscaping, etc.), there is a significant surcharge common in Munich, and it really feels like no one has time to keep a reasonably coordinated schedule, which is a real mystery to me in Munich. However, if you really want to do this, I would strongly recommend making sure your architect is not too old (our first architect would not have taken over site management due to age) and is truly familiar with current prices in Munich and the surrounding area. Fortunately, the cost estimates from our first architect were debunked as unrealistic illusions before signing the contract with our general contractor, allowing us to prepare a realistic budget.
As a native of Munich, I’d just like to say “hello” to everyone here. We are starting our new construction project in the new year.
We have completed phases 1 to 4 of the architectural services (and about three-quarters of phase 5) with our first architectural team. The project will now be handed over to a new team who will support us through to phase 8.
Our billing is also based on the HOAI (Official Scale of Fees for Services by Architects and Engineers). As mentioned here before, the amounts involved are significant. Of course, I’m aware that our project is far from a typical single-family home...
However, we are more than satisfied with our architects.
We have completed phases 1 to 4 of the architectural services (and about three-quarters of phase 5) with our first architectural team. The project will now be handed over to a new team who will support us through to phase 8.
Our billing is also based on the HOAI (Official Scale of Fees for Services by Architects and Engineers). As mentioned here before, the amounts involved are significant. Of course, I’m aware that our project is far from a typical single-family home...
However, we are more than satisfied with our architects.
Muc1985 schrieb:
Of course, I am aware that our project is anything but a typical single-family house... One important reason why I did not link to your project here.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Similar topics