ᐅ Stopping or pausing a home construction project? Costs too high
Created on: 23 Nov 2021 12:06
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Coffee82
Good morning,
My husband and I want to build a house.
We already have the plot of land. We are now facing an unpleasant situation.
We planned the house roughly with an architect, which went very quickly.
No building permit / planning permission has been applied for yet, and no detailed execution plan has been made.
The architect provided a cost estimate that surprised us a lot.
Of course, we had previously asked acquaintances, friends, and family members about the costs of their construction projects.
Obviously, we only considered recent projects.
The architect’s estimate is more than double what we initially expected—around 4500-5000€/sqm (420-465 USD/sqft).
After this, we consulted a few others locally and two from a bit further away. Everyone seems to agree on the construction costs.
I’m not allowed to share the documents here, but there is really nothing unusual. It’s a KW40+ house with 198 sqm (2132 sqft) of living and usable space, plus a double garage attached to the left side of the house. Of course, no basement.
The specifications given to the architect were average and typical. No marble floors, no smart home features. A simple house like my uncle’s, just new.
It looks like the house will cost around 1 million euros. On top of that, of course, there are additional costs such as fees for the architect, landscaping, etc. Together with the land, the total is so high that we neither can finance it nor afford to pay it.
Unfortunately, the architect had to do quite some work before he could estimate the costs.
Now we are worried that if we cancel the project, the architect will want 15,000 to 20,000 euros for the work he has already done.
What would you do in our place?
Best regards,
Coffee82
My husband and I want to build a house.
We already have the plot of land. We are now facing an unpleasant situation.
We planned the house roughly with an architect, which went very quickly.
No building permit / planning permission has been applied for yet, and no detailed execution plan has been made.
The architect provided a cost estimate that surprised us a lot.
Of course, we had previously asked acquaintances, friends, and family members about the costs of their construction projects.
Obviously, we only considered recent projects.
The architect’s estimate is more than double what we initially expected—around 4500-5000€/sqm (420-465 USD/sqft).
After this, we consulted a few others locally and two from a bit further away. Everyone seems to agree on the construction costs.
I’m not allowed to share the documents here, but there is really nothing unusual. It’s a KW40+ house with 198 sqm (2132 sqft) of living and usable space, plus a double garage attached to the left side of the house. Of course, no basement.
The specifications given to the architect were average and typical. No marble floors, no smart home features. A simple house like my uncle’s, just new.
It looks like the house will cost around 1 million euros. On top of that, of course, there are additional costs such as fees for the architect, landscaping, etc. Together with the land, the total is so high that we neither can finance it nor afford to pay it.
Unfortunately, the architect had to do quite some work before he could estimate the costs.
Now we are worried that if we cancel the project, the architect will want 15,000 to 20,000 euros for the work he has already done.
What would you do in our place?
Best regards,
Coffee82
S
soneva201223 Nov 2021 17:13How is the relationship with the architect? You need to be able to have an open conversation with them – the costs are too high, where can we save? What is included? For example, our architect said that for a similar house size, you can save 50,000 (50k) by choosing plastic instead of wood-aluminum windows. For instance, the architect estimated 75,000 (75k) for the landscaping? How much does the attached double garage cost? And so on.
You need an architect with whom you can discuss everything. I wouldn’t immediately end the collaboration; maybe something can be redesigned or done differently.
However, I find it strange that the architect didn’t ask about the budget.
You need an architect with whom you can discuss everything. I wouldn’t immediately end the collaboration; maybe something can be redesigned or done differently.
However, I find it strange that the architect didn’t ask about the budget.
S
soneva201223 Nov 2021 17:17Tamstar schrieb:
Even though fees are now freely negotiable under HOAI, to my knowledge the architect can only charge up to the base rate specified by HOAI without prior agreement. For example, with 1 million euros in gross construction costs and service phases 1 and 2 (where the initial design is created), this would amount to about €10,000 in fees. I would also estimate around 10,000 euros – I have an HOAI invoice in front of me for under 10,000 euros for eligible costs of 825,000 euros (building, building structure, and technical systems), fee group III, middle rate.
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Oetzberger23 Nov 2021 17:24Clever architect, a high cost estimate increases his fee for the design… Maybe there was never any real intention to continue building with you? But that would be unlikely, so talk to him openly.
In der Ruine schrieb:
Since he wants money from you, you initially hold the stronger position. How do you figure? An oral contract without any agreement on deviations, project phase 9 for a single-family house is extremely unusual; usually, it covers HOAI (fee structure for architects and engineers) phases 1 to 8. He can only invoice for phases actually completed, and that’s where it gets difficult for him: apparently, he delivered some completely uncertain phase "2 or 3" *ROTFL*. Placing this mess within the HOAI framework is probably tough. However, that doesn’t mean that its application can be excluded; by default, it applies — and that already puts us into the regional court level because the dispute amount exceeds 5,000.
soneva2012 schrieb:
I do find it strange that the architect didn’t ask about the budget. Exactly this kind of gross unprofessionalism is the leverage to encourage him to settle.
soneva2012 schrieb:
I wouldn’t end the collaboration immediately; maybe some replanning or an alternative approach is possible. You don’t seriously want to let this *ahem* artist build a butcher’s house too, do you?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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hanghaus200023 Nov 2021 18:14Did you order a 3D model? The architect usually only creates one if specifically requested. It is not initially required for the building permit / planning permission. Sketches are sufficient for the cost estimation.
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