Hello everyone,
We are currently in the process of planning our house. We already have a clear idea of how we want it to look. We found a great house online with some modifications.
Now we visited a builder who is requesting a deposit of 4,000 EUR. The reason behind this is understandable: they put in the work, and in the worst case, we might take the drawings to another builder.
However, to me, the amount seems quite high! 4,000 EUR is easily at least half a month’s salary for a draftsman. Or am I mistaken in this?
Basically, I would like to have at least two offers to be able to compare prices.
I have contacted another builder who provided me with a first draft over the weekend without any charges.
What do you think? Deposit yes or no? And if yes, how much?
Best regards,
Antonio
We are currently in the process of planning our house. We already have a clear idea of how we want it to look. We found a great house online with some modifications.
Now we visited a builder who is requesting a deposit of 4,000 EUR. The reason behind this is understandable: they put in the work, and in the worst case, we might take the drawings to another builder.
However, to me, the amount seems quite high! 4,000 EUR is easily at least half a month’s salary for a draftsman. Or am I mistaken in this?
Basically, I would like to have at least two offers to be able to compare prices.
I have contacted another builder who provided me with a first draft over the weekend without any charges.
What do you think? Deposit yes or no? And if yes, how much?
Best regards,
Antonio
For a detailed quote, you need a clear cost breakdown, a description of the scope of work, and proper floor plans that can be worked with. These tasks are clearly sales responsibilities for client acquisition.
But what if the guy only delivers junk? Then the money is gone for nothing. If you notice that after 1 to 3 meetings everything is moving in the right direction, you can start discussing further planning and costs. However, in this way, you bear all the risk alone; he can present whatever he wants, but he already has the money secured.
For me, that would be an absolute deal-breaker. We also spoke with 6 or 7 companies, and if it became clear it wasn’t going to work out, we didn’t waste anyone’s time and canceled already after the first meeting.
But what if the guy only delivers junk? Then the money is gone for nothing. If you notice that after 1 to 3 meetings everything is moving in the right direction, you can start discussing further planning and costs. However, in this way, you bear all the risk alone; he can present whatever he wants, but he already has the money secured.
For me, that would be an absolute deal-breaker. We also spoke with 6 or 7 companies, and if it became clear it wasn’t going to work out, we didn’t waste anyone’s time and canceled already after the first meeting.
If you purchased the land separately from the municipality, then it is not a developer from whom you typically buy both the house and the land as a package.
In that case, you do not own the land until the entire project is handed over.
What you are referring to is a general contractor or main contractor.
For a planning fee like that, I would expect more than 8 hours of drafting by a technical draftsman. There should be intensive (several hours long) planning meetings, multiple rounds, and various planning options included.
In that case, you do not own the land until the entire project is handed over.
What you are referring to is a general contractor or main contractor.
For a planning fee like that, I would expect more than 8 hours of drafting by a technical draftsman. There should be intensive (several hours long) planning meetings, multiple rounds, and various planning options included.
seat88 schrieb:
You have to pay it anyway. Whether as a down payment and then a smaller balance, or a small down payment and a larger amount later, it doesn't really matter in the end 🙂 Do you handle your money that casually as well?
