ᐅ Architect – Flat-Rate Quote Instead of Fee Structure for Residential Single-Family House

Dear community,

After careful consideration, we have now chosen an architect with whom we feel the best overall confidence. Yesterday, we had our final meeting with him.
Regarding the status of our project: We are currently preparing the land purchase with the notary. After that, a single-family house with a granny flat will be built.

The architect has now shared the following information with us:
1) His office focuses on design services. Therefore, he would be involved up to work phase 5. For the subsequent phases, he would recommend several site managers he has had good experiences with.

2) He does not bill according to HOAI (Fee Structure for Architects and Engineers). Instead, he offers a fixed fee from the start for the services. He explained that he prefers planning security for both parties and does not want to be motivated by a higher project volume.

I would like to prepare a calculation for the individual work phases to understand what range an HOAI-based quote would fall into as a reference. Could you support me with this calculation?
As an assumption, I would like to use project costs of €1.5 million (approximately $1.6 million) and set a normal single-family house complexity level (III or 4?).

Would you initially commission work phases 1 and 2 and then continue with further phases afterward? Is there anything else to consider?

Thank you very much!

A [B]HOAI calculator should help you get a better overview.

Take a look at my thread just below this one, as I have the same question right now. @11ant has explained it very well there and on his website. Our flat-rate offer (currently only for project phases 1-3) exactly represents the value you would reach based on the billable costs for Zone III (which generally applies to a single-family home, unless you plan to build a Versailles replica) using the mid-range rate. Accordingly, for project phases 1-2 and your billable (net) costs, you would likely end up around 15,000 euros. Only your architect can tell you which fee zone applies and, more importantly, within which range of fee rates they place themselves.

Araknis schrieb:

Take a look at my thread just below this one, as I currently have the same question. @11ant has explained it very well there and on his website. Our flat-rate offer (currently only for service phases 1-3) exactly reflects the value that can be achieved based on the billable costs for Zone III (which usually applies to single-family homes, unless you want to build a Versailles copy) in the middle range. Accordingly, for service phases 1-2 and your billable (net) costs, you should end up somewhere around 15,000 euros. Only your architect can tell you in which fee zone and especially within which range of fee rates they see themselves.

Thank you! I have read the entire thread, very interesting. I think I am really in nearly the same situation. Taking a step-by-step approach with service phases 1 and 2 first also makes a lot of sense to me.

I also found your thoughts on construction costs quite interesting. We are not under any time pressure, and it is a good option for us to wait a bit and see if construction costs improve again for builders.

gregman22 schrieb:

1) His office focuses on design services. Therefore, he would be considered up to work phase 5. For the phases after that, he would suggest several site managers with whom he has had good experiences.

Offering services up to work phase 5 suggests on one hand that he is serious enough to offer more than just up to phase 4. But if we put on the architect protection glasses of @Gerddieter, on the other hand, the phrase "only up to work phase 5" could also be interpreted as the planner possibly being one of those less precise cost estimators, which is somewhat supported by

gregman22 schrieb:

2) He does not bill according to HOAI. Instead, he offers a flat rate for the services from the start. He explains this by preferring planning security for both sides and not wanting to be motivated by a higher project volume.

because the real test (or fiction) comes in work phases 6 and 7, when the bids evaluate the cost estimates. Aside from that, the attitude of not wanting to profit from cost increases is commendable. A site manager (i.e., only for work phase 8) — whether architect or expert — would not help you much. I would not leave a gap between work phases 5 and 8!

Araknis schrieb:

Take a look at my thread right below this one; I am currently asking the same questions. @11ant has explained this very well both there and on his website.

This probably refers to https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/lp-1-3-mit-architekt-und-pauschalangebot-irgendwie-nachteilig.43436/#post-576971 — but I have also written about this topic in your thread here: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/Kostenschätzung-bau-architektenhaus-muenchner-umland.43379/page-3#post-575695, as well as here: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/ausschreibung-und-vergabe-lp6-7-architekt-oder-bauleiter.43360/#post-575155 (and you have undoubtedly already come across enough references to me, as well as to the house building schedule of the construction guide). Therefore, the

gregman22 schrieb:

Would you initially commission work phases 1 & 2 and then continue with further commissioning? Is there anything else to consider?

should be long answered questions for you :-)

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11ant schrieb:

Up to design phase 5, on one hand, this indicates that the person is at least professional enough to offer services beyond just phase 4. But if we put on the architect protection glasses from @Gerddieter, on the other hand, the phrase "only up to design phase 5" could also be interpreted as the planner possibly being among those who provide less precise cost estimates, which is somewhat confirmed because the real test comes in design phases 6 and 7, when the bids "evaluate" the cost estimates. Aside from that, the attitude of not wanting to profit from cost increases is commendable in itself. A site manager (which would only cover design phase 8)—regardless of whether architect or expert—wouldn’t help you much. I wouldn’t leave a gap between phases 5 and 8!!!

This probably refers to https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/lp-1-3-mit-architekt-und-pauschalangebot-irgendwie-nachteilig.43436/#post-576971 – but I also wrote about this topic in your thread at https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/Kostenschätzung-bau-architektenhaus-muenchner-umland.43379/page-3#post-575695, as well as here: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/ausschreibung-und-vergabe-lp6-7-architekt-oder-bauleiter.43360/#post-575155 (and you have likely come across enough references to me, as well as to the house-building schedule from the construction pilot). So these should already be answered questions for you 🙂

Did you mean a time gap when you referred to the gap? Of course, I will bring in site management at the appropriate time. The architect said he would recommend several site managers, who have previously worked well with his clients, after his involvement ends.

He also told me that he would continue to monitor the project after being commissioned—probably more passively...

11ant – I tried to read your HOAI guide. The link to part 3 did not work.