ᐅ Architect Did Not Deliver – Who Bears the Costs?

Hello dear forum,

House planning should be something enjoyable, right?

Unfortunately, I feel that choosing our architect was a total mistake, and apart from wasting time, money, nerves, and lost child construction allowance, nothing has come of it. :-(
As the title says, after almost ten months, we realized that our architect has led us in a completely wrong direction. Last week, I terminated our contract, and now it is uncertain whether we will agree on the installment payments already made.

I am interested if anyone here in the forum has had similar experiences and how they resolved them.

Our issue is that from the start, a construction budget was set, which also appears in the contract.
After ten months of collaboration, it is still not being adhered to, despite several reminders.
I have now paid installment payments amounting to 11,000 EUR (around 11,000 USD) – foolishly – out of a total of 18,000 EUR (about 18,000 USD) for service phases 1 to 4…

Here is a brief timeline excerpt:
- 01/20 – Architect contract states a maximum construction budget of 450,000 EUR (about 450,000 USD) – excluding building site, architect, special features (this should have been enough for a nice single-family house)
- then design planning until April – first installment payment
- 04/20 – Architect’s cost estimate 546,000 EUR (about 546,000 USD)
- redesign of design planning
- reminder of max. 450,000 EUR (about 450,000 USD) budget – second/third installment payments
- 09/20 – Cost calculation 593,000 EUR (about 593,000 USD)
- confusion, as we realized we were moving in the wrong direction
- revised calculation 539,000 EUR (about 539,000 USD) – mainly due to adjustment of price per square meter and smaller windows
- loss of trust and termination of the contract by us

Looking forward to your feedback!

Best regards,
Johann

Yes, it’s difficult. You will have to pay the full price for the completed work classes. Write a bit about the house; with 450,000 (approximately 450k), you won’t get too much. Certainly no garage or basement.

Also, many architects tend to underestimate costs, and in the end, it catches up with the homeowners. From that perspective, it might actually be quite good and provide some security.

Hello Johann,
It’s unfortunate that things aren’t going smoothly.
We experienced a similar situation with our architect during the planning phase. Here’s how it happened: The costs for the truly excellent and desirable design were estimated based on common sizes in the preliminary design. When the architect gathered and totaled actual quotes, the result was quite different. Additionally, as demanding clients, we had several special requests (such as glass partition walls). Everyone was initially shocked, and of course, we thought, "the architect should have seen this earlier," and so on. So, after the meeting, we paused the project (but didn’t terminate it) to reconsider our approach. At the next meeting, we discussed how to best align the design with our wishes and involved local tradespeople in the planning phase to collaborate creatively as a team. In the end, we arrived at a very good and workable solution with a design that exceeded our expectations.
Now, I don’t know how you have been communicating with the architect.
From your post, it’s not clear how involved you have been in the design development process, what requests you made during that process (e.g., extra-large windows or special home technology), and which of these were incorporated by the architect. Cancelling the contract may have been a bit premature. Reconsidering the design together would likely be the more pragmatic approach. If the architect now refuses to continue because they take your cancellation decision personally, your money is probably lost—and this is likely protected by the contract and law.

Bookstar schrieb:

Yes, it’s difficult. You will have to pay the full agreed-upon service classes. Write a bit about the house; for 450,000 (approximately $450,000), you won’t get too much. Certainly no garage or basement.

Also, many architects underestimate the costs, and in the end, the homeowners catch up with it. From that perspective, he might be quite good and provides some security.

Yep – I was aware from the beginning that you can’t expect too much with this budget. That makes it even more important to stick to it. And because I understood the risk of unexpected cost increases, I included a buffer.
No matter if it’s a large or small house, with or without special requests. He planned past us… at least that’s my impression… :-(

hampshire schrieb:

Terminating the contract may have been somewhat premature. A more practical approach would have been to reconsider the design together. If the architect no longer wants to continue because he takes your decision to terminate personally as well, your money is probably lost, and this is very likely protected by contract and law.

Well – it depends on how you look at it. We had a fresh start in April and reminded him of the budget. Since the second attempt also failed, and the cost-reduction measures were more the opposite of confidence-building, I thought that was the smartest idea...

Didn’t you have an idea beforehand of what you could expect for roughly €450,000? I understand that you’re upset, but with a bit of perspective, €450,000 no longer matches the higher expectations of today’s homebuyers. You could have roughly calculated it yourself. €2,200 per square meter (approximately $205 per square foot) of living space, additional construction costs excluding the slope, garage, and electrical installation of €50,000, an ideal basement at €70,000, an optional garage at €30,000, and architect fees of €40,000 according to the fee schedule. That doesn’t leave much left for the house itself, does it?

Now tell us, what were your wishes?