ᐅ Architect commissions a surveyor without the homeowner’s consent.
Created on: 25 Sep 2024 16:23
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Silvia T.
Hello, can someone tell me if a surveyor is supposed to notify me regarding a planned survey of my house for a proposed extension?
Background:
I wanted to build a larger extension onto my existing house to increase its size. The plans were created by my cousin, who is an architect. However, he was based in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and I live in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Both the financing and the planning were still uncertain when the bank informed me that I would need a local architect to carry out the construction project.
At the end of 2021, I contacted a local architect to ask if he would be willing to take over my cousin’s plans and, if the bank approved the financing, to submit the building permit / planning permission application and manage the construction under those conditions.
Between October 2021 and February 2022, I visited his office about three times, each meeting lasting around 30 minutes. He was not opposed to the idea but said he needed to review my cousin’s plans to see if he could adopt them. During the second meeting, he mentioned he still had the original plans of the existing house since his father had designed it and that he could simply retrieve them from his archives for reference.
The topic of the third meeting was the architectural contract, including which trades would be involved, etc. My clear request was that if financing was approved, no contracts should be awarded without my consent, and that I wanted my legal protection insurance to review the architect’s contract first.
At the same time, I received an offer from a local surveying company that the architect collaborates with, regarding a survey of the house. I ignored this as it was just an offer and I assumed it was non-binding.
About two weeks after this meeting, the bank declined to finance the project, which I immediately informed the architect about by phone, stating that under these circumstances I would have to forego his services and that the construction project was therefore cancelled.
Shortly thereafter, I received an invoice from the architect for €18,000 (around 20,000 USD)! I thought this must be a misunderstanding and did not respond.
Soon after, I also received an invoice from the surveying company for a supposed survey that was allegedly conducted on February 11, 2022. I live in the house and my windows face the area where the survey should have taken place, but nobody showed up.
Summary:
An architect, with whom I only had preliminary discussions (no contract in place) about a planned extension (without bank approval and based on another architect’s plans), commissioned a surveying company without my consent (order and offer dates: February 9/10, 2022; execution date: February 11, 2022).
My question is:
How can I prove that the surveyor was not there and that the surveyor and architect are trying to scam me out of a lot of money? Both invoices are in court, and I need to find a way to show that I had no knowledge the surveyor had been hired. In my opinion, the surveying company should have notified me before carrying out the survey, which did not happen.
Is there any other way to expose their attempted fraud?
I would be very grateful for any suggestions!
P.S. The most frustrating part is that local building regulations wouldn’t have allowed the planned extension anyway. A special application would have been required, and there was no guarantee it would have been approved. Unfortunately, I only found this out later.
Background:
I wanted to build a larger extension onto my existing house to increase its size. The plans were created by my cousin, who is an architect. However, he was based in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and I live in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Both the financing and the planning were still uncertain when the bank informed me that I would need a local architect to carry out the construction project.
At the end of 2021, I contacted a local architect to ask if he would be willing to take over my cousin’s plans and, if the bank approved the financing, to submit the building permit / planning permission application and manage the construction under those conditions.
Between October 2021 and February 2022, I visited his office about three times, each meeting lasting around 30 minutes. He was not opposed to the idea but said he needed to review my cousin’s plans to see if he could adopt them. During the second meeting, he mentioned he still had the original plans of the existing house since his father had designed it and that he could simply retrieve them from his archives for reference.
The topic of the third meeting was the architectural contract, including which trades would be involved, etc. My clear request was that if financing was approved, no contracts should be awarded without my consent, and that I wanted my legal protection insurance to review the architect’s contract first.
At the same time, I received an offer from a local surveying company that the architect collaborates with, regarding a survey of the house. I ignored this as it was just an offer and I assumed it was non-binding.
About two weeks after this meeting, the bank declined to finance the project, which I immediately informed the architect about by phone, stating that under these circumstances I would have to forego his services and that the construction project was therefore cancelled.
Shortly thereafter, I received an invoice from the architect for €18,000 (around 20,000 USD)! I thought this must be a misunderstanding and did not respond.
Soon after, I also received an invoice from the surveying company for a supposed survey that was allegedly conducted on February 11, 2022. I live in the house and my windows face the area where the survey should have taken place, but nobody showed up.
Summary:
An architect, with whom I only had preliminary discussions (no contract in place) about a planned extension (without bank approval and based on another architect’s plans), commissioned a surveying company without my consent (order and offer dates: February 9/10, 2022; execution date: February 11, 2022).
My question is:
How can I prove that the surveyor was not there and that the surveyor and architect are trying to scam me out of a lot of money? Both invoices are in court, and I need to find a way to show that I had no knowledge the surveyor had been hired. In my opinion, the surveying company should have notified me before carrying out the survey, which did not happen.
Is there any other way to expose their attempted fraud?
I would be very grateful for any suggestions!
P.S. The most frustrating part is that local building regulations wouldn’t have allowed the planned extension anyway. A special application would have been required, and there was no guarantee it would have been approved. Unfortunately, I only found this out later.
G
Gerddieter25 Sep 2024 18:23I’m familiar with the architect game – with the experience I have now, I would gladly pay the 5,000 and save my nerves...
The train has already left for you – now you’ll have lawyer fees and so on added. In the end, you pay the 18,000 – you settle with the architect for a lower amount, and your lawyer collects the rest.
If you don’t care about nerves or money, I would just go for it now...
Your legal expenses insurance paying would be unusual....
GD
The train has already left for you – now you’ll have lawyer fees and so on added. In the end, you pay the 18,000 – you settle with the architect for a lower amount, and your lawyer collects the rest.
If you don’t care about nerves or money, I would just go for it now...
Your legal expenses insurance paying would be unusual....
GD
H
hanghaus202325 Sep 2024 18:34Silvia T. schrieb:
Or to put it another way: shouldn’t a surveyor be familiar with the city’s development plan? Which extension is allowed and which isn’t? The surveyor only takes measurements, unless hired for something else.
They can even create a survey plan from existing base data without having been on site.
Why is an architect from MVP, who is only authorized to work in MVP, making a plan? They could have obtained the authorization to work in your BL. Also, as an architect, they have the duty to verify to what extent the extension requires approval.
If you hire the architect to review your acquaintance’s plan, you can expect a professional to ensure that the conditions for constructing the extension are met. The review itself takes some time, along with three meetings.
I understand your lawyer’s effort to reach a settlement.
The architect is probably arguing that they already received a verbal contract.
Do you have minutes from the three meetings? (only those who record remain), especially if it goes to court.
It’s clear that there is some behind-the-scenes dealing going on. Unfortunately, you can’t prove it.
H
hanghaus202325 Sep 2024 18:41I can understand you.
My suggestion is to prepare finalized minutes of the three meetings. Quote from the minutes during the negotiation. No one can remember exactly what was discussed two years ago.
My suggestion is to prepare finalized minutes of the three meetings. Quote from the minutes during the negotiation. No one can remember exactly what was discussed two years ago.
Silvia T. schrieb:
2.) I haven’t signed the contract yet, but my lawyer says the architect can represent me even without a signed contract! [...] 2.: Of all people, it’s a lawyer who claims that a power of attorney can be granted to an architect (!) verbally. That joke is really bad, and in my opinion, this guy should be reported to his professional association. It seems he does his job as “thoroughly” as your cousin.
3.: At the very least, when forwarding the offer there should have been a fax or registered mail indicating that there are apparently different views regarding your contractual relationship. A still polite but clear rejection would have been appropriate at this point.
4./5.: You should have already responded to the reminder, preferably with a protective statement submitted to the relevant court handling reminders. Instead of hiring the most expensive law firm, you would have been better off with almost any other firm, since expensive firms are known for poor work, often relying on employed beginners, and tend to be especially unmotivated when the amounts involved are low. A late business acquaintance once told me that if the law firm Smith & Wesson doesn’t do a good job, he goes to their colleagues Heckler and Koch. If you are indeed in a position where the burden of proof lies with you (probably because you allowed it to come to this by becoming the defendant), you should quickly consult a competent lawyer.
You have also made several mistakes which you cannot undo now. From subsequent appointments after you said you wanted to review the contract, the architect can be considered implicitly authorized (under the undisputed terms of the contract, which usually includes a power of attorney clause); even more so through each further acceptance of his services (including forwarding the offer).
Neither the architect nor the surveyor is expected to know your zoning plan by heart or to immediately see that the building project has no chance of approval. However, this investigation is part of the service phase 1 according to HOAI, for which 2/98 of the fee for service phases 1 to 8 is charged. €18,000 for service phase 1 (which normally involves commissioning a surveyor) is disproportionate. On the one hand, he must explain how this fee amount is derived—on the other hand, this “must” is actually a “should” (subjunctive), since you waited until you became the defendant (and counterclaimant, which is advantageous for your lawyer). This has resulted in a reversal of the burden of proof, which now lies with you. The architect has, as “evidence,” the undisputed draft contract, your subsequent visits, and your silence even after the reminder. If he can prove that you received this reminder, a settlement would be advisable.
Was there at least a conciliation hearing? (For such minor cases, hardly any judge would want to proceed to a full hearing if it can be avoided.)
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Silvia T.26 Sep 2024 00:35Hi,
thank you for your comment;)
1.) The survey report doesn’t provide any useful information and could easily be manipulated. I wanted to know if the surveyor was supposed to contact me before the alleged survey took place. I say “alleged” because I live in the house and did not see anyone there. Therefore, I suspect an attempted fraud.
2.) The architect contract was presented to me but was not signed by me. The lawyer insists that I still have to pay the architect;(
3.) I never signed a contract with the architect; nevertheless, I ended up in court over the surveyor’s invoice because I refused to pay and referred to the architect, who had acted prematurely.
4.) I am going to court because I know I will ultimately have to pay;) By the way, my lawyer has contributed nothing so far—I have to provide him with the arguments, otherwise he wants to settle. Right from the start, he told me I had to pay, even though I don’t have a contract with him;(
I called the architect and explained that the bank had not approved the financing. How am I supposed to feel about someone who then shortly after sends me an invoice? I thought he must have made a mistake! When I received the reminder, it became clear to me that he was trying to take advantage of me. After that, I contacted the lawyer and the whole thing took its course.
I’m very sorry for being emotional, this situation is very difficult for me!
By the way: criticizing me doesn’t help! It’s unfair!
It would be nice to receive a clear piece of advice or simply answers to my questions instead of more questions that don’t get me anywhere.
I chose the most reputable law firm in the area because I can’t read a person’s intentions. How am I supposed to know if the lawyer is the right one?
thank you for your comment;)
1.) The survey report doesn’t provide any useful information and could easily be manipulated. I wanted to know if the surveyor was supposed to contact me before the alleged survey took place. I say “alleged” because I live in the house and did not see anyone there. Therefore, I suspect an attempted fraud.
2.) The architect contract was presented to me but was not signed by me. The lawyer insists that I still have to pay the architect;(
3.) I never signed a contract with the architect; nevertheless, I ended up in court over the surveyor’s invoice because I refused to pay and referred to the architect, who had acted prematurely.
4.) I am going to court because I know I will ultimately have to pay;) By the way, my lawyer has contributed nothing so far—I have to provide him with the arguments, otherwise he wants to settle. Right from the start, he told me I had to pay, even though I don’t have a contract with him;(
I called the architect and explained that the bank had not approved the financing. How am I supposed to feel about someone who then shortly after sends me an invoice? I thought he must have made a mistake! When I received the reminder, it became clear to me that he was trying to take advantage of me. After that, I contacted the lawyer and the whole thing took its course.
I’m very sorry for being emotional, this situation is very difficult for me!
By the way: criticizing me doesn’t help! It’s unfair!
It would be nice to receive a clear piece of advice or simply answers to my questions instead of more questions that don’t get me anywhere.
I chose the most reputable law firm in the area because I can’t read a person’s intentions. How am I supposed to know if the lawyer is the right one?
S
Silvia T.26 Sep 2024 00:38P.S. You don’t change horses in midstream! And if a lawyer turns out to be a dressman, then I have to provide his feed!
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