ᐅ Architect commissions a surveyor without the homeowner’s consent.
Created on: 25 Sep 2024 16:23
S
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.
Silvia T. schrieb:
Exactly, this is the kind of answer I was looking for;) I need to find a mistake, to prove some misconduct or error in the surveyor’s approach or work... What a smart strategy would be largely determined by what the legal case is actually about (who is suing whom and for what?). With each small piece of your statements, I understand less and less what the legal issue here really is, and at what stage the proceedings are. The only thing that is clear: the world is unfair, and you are right. That rhymes—and what rhymes is good (says Pumuckl). Cheers to that, I’m signing off now! (Anyone who wants to figure out the rest can do so on their own).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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chand198627 Sep 2024 04:38@Silvia T.
You yourself are not telling a consistent story:
a) You first claim to have ignored the architect's reminder because you thought it was a mistake. Then, in response to the reminder, you suddenly visited the architect in person and offered a "settlement."
b)
The architect had already commissioned the surveyor before sending you the draft contract? Is there any proof of this?
Anyone trying to cheat you would at least be smart enough to keep their own timeline straight!
c) According to your post #30, the extension costs €750,000 (about $810,000).
You can get an entire single-family house including the land for that.
Something is missing from your story here as well.
You want tips, opinions, and experiences from us, but you don’t provide relevant information or contradict yourself.
How is anyone supposed to understand the situation like this?
You yourself are not telling a consistent story:
a) You first claim to have ignored the architect's reminder because you thought it was a mistake. Then, in response to the reminder, you suddenly visited the architect in person and offered a "settlement."
b)
Silvia T. schrieb:
The architect commissioned the surveyor on 9.02.2022, received the offer on 10.02.2022, and the survey took place on 11.02.2022
Silvia T. schrieb:
On the same day the architect sent me the contract, I wrote by email that I needed to have the contract reviewed by my legal protection insurance! That was on 11.02.2022
The architect had already commissioned the surveyor before sending you the draft contract? Is there any proof of this?
Anyone trying to cheat you would at least be smart enough to keep their own timeline straight!
c) According to your post #30, the extension costs €750,000 (about $810,000).
You can get an entire single-family house including the land for that.
Something is missing from your story here as well.
You want tips, opinions, and experiences from us, but you don’t provide relevant information or contradict yourself.
How is anyone supposed to understand the situation like this?
F
Frechdachs27 Sep 2024 06:58@Silvia T. Without going into the details of the case, a well-meant piece of advice: Being right and wanting to be right are two different things.
From your posts, I sense that you are really eager to "show them all who's boss." You feel fooled, whether by the banker, architect, surveyor, or lawyer – and maybe soon by the judge and others as well. Almost like you’ve lost trust in humanity, it’s you against everyone.
I hope you find a solution that makes you happy. I think I would consider how much money I want to pour into the dispute – including lawyer fees, court costs, reminder fees, and the value of the claim. And sooner or later, pull the emergency brake and accept the lesson learned.
From your posts, I sense that you are really eager to "show them all who's boss." You feel fooled, whether by the banker, architect, surveyor, or lawyer – and maybe soon by the judge and others as well. Almost like you’ve lost trust in humanity, it’s you against everyone.
I hope you find a solution that makes you happy. I think I would consider how much money I want to pour into the dispute – including lawyer fees, court costs, reminder fees, and the value of the claim. And sooner or later, pull the emergency brake and accept the lesson learned.
N
nordanney27 Sep 2024 08:34Silvia T. schrieb:
Oral contracts can only be made between buyers!You know by now that this is not true—regardless of whether an architect is involved or not (see also the building code). But did you receive any pre-contractual information and a notice of your right of withdrawal? If not, you could have canceled the contract within 12 months and 14 days. Your lawyer could have told you this, unless you approached them too late. Then, the only issue left would have been a dispute over payment for services already rendered. Your lawyer could also provide you with relevant court rulings on this matter.N
nordanney27 Sep 2024 08:38Silvia T. schrieb:
Shortly afterward, I received an invoice from the architect for €18,000! I thought it was a misunderstanding and did not respond at all. Silvia T. schrieb:
I had already met with the architect before going to court to try to reach an agreement! At first, I thought he had made a mistake with the invoice, but when he sent me a reminder, I went to him and asked if he would agree to €5,000 considering that the extension was not carried out under these circumstances. That completely changes the story!!!
After six pages of discussion, the fact comes out that you visited the architect a fourth time and already tried to negotiate a settlement back then. Unfortunately, timelines, facts, and details don’t seem to be your strong suit. Sorry.
I would suggest that you carefully review and document all the communication evidence you have and the sequence of events, both for yourself and for the judge. It’s probably best to create a simple list with dates and brief descriptions (e.g., 01.01. Initial meeting with the architect, 2 hours, and so on). Gather and organize all your documents, including everything you have—especially email correspondence.
It only became clear here after pages of discussion that the contract draft, your email about wanting to review it, the supposed order to the surveyor, and the supposed execution all happened roughly at the same time. It would be very helpful if you could clearly outline the timeline to show when each step took place. You know the details, but make sure it’s understandable for others as well.
I have no legal knowledge.
It only became clear here after pages of discussion that the contract draft, your email about wanting to review it, the supposed order to the surveyor, and the supposed execution all happened roughly at the same time. It would be very helpful if you could clearly outline the timeline to show when each step took place. You know the details, but make sure it’s understandable for others as well.
I have no legal knowledge.
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