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
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
Hello Gerddieter, I’m following along with interest here because we are currently in a similar phase.
We have also already had several discussions and received offers. With turnkey providers, it’s the case that they all have hundreds of floor plans available. Moving a wall here or there on the computer, changing a window, or planning a bay window isn’t a big deal. (At least not for an initial rough design – since these are basically pre-made building modules.)
Regarding whether you still have to pay for this: I would say yes. But only after signing the contract. The people who are negotiating with us and, of course, want to sell us a house receive a considerable commission.
We have also already had several discussions and received offers. With turnkey providers, it’s the case that they all have hundreds of floor plans available. Moving a wall here or there on the computer, changing a window, or planning a bay window isn’t a big deal. (At least not for an initial rough design – since these are basically pre-made building modules.)
Regarding whether you still have to pay for this: I would say yes. But only after signing the contract. The people who are negotiating with us and, of course, want to sell us a house receive a considerable commission.
Maybe you could—after I saw you actively participating in several other threads on Saturday evening—also respond to questions in your own thread:
?
Exactly, and this effort is included in the acquisition cost. The meter runs regularly from the moment a design contract is signed.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
Judging boldly from your first name (?), you might even be older than I am and therefore already have some living experience. What are your reasons for building, and above all: what has anyone asked you so far before they told you they already have solutions in mind?
?
Lycka21 schrieb:
Moving a wall here and there on the computer, changing a window, or planning a bay window is not a big deal. (At least not for an initial rough planning—because these are pre-made building blocks.)
Exactly, and this effort is included in the acquisition cost. The meter runs regularly from the moment a design contract is signed.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
G
Gerddieter16 Nov 2020 22:3511ant schrieb:
Maybe you could respond to questions in your own thread as well—especially since I saw you active in several other threads Saturday evening:@11ant - of course I can.
I’m looking forward to sharing initial ideas with you and incorporating your feedback. This forum is great!
Then there will be the full introduction, the questionnaire (which you regularly remind me about), and much more...
But I still need a few days before that—I don’t want to show up in the main thread empty-handed.
Best regards, GD