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
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
I strongly suspect that this is not unwillingness but rather the original poster's lack of knowledge.
I gather that they are not aware that a house over 260 sqm (2800 sq ft) is too large and exceeds the budget. I also understand that they considered a sloped lot desirable (perhaps affordable?), without having a real need for a granny flat (such as a multi-generational house), office, or similar. Missing natural light, awkward corners, and other issues were overlooked in the floor plan.
Does the original poster know that it is not necessary to go to an architect when building a house?
And could the link to the Pinterest board please be shared urgently?
I think this is where the problem lies. Photos showing the incoming light creating a great atmosphere coincidentally also feature 25 sqm (270 sq ft) long, narrow children’s rooms, bay windows, dormers, indoor fountains, and four garages.
I gather that they are not aware that a house over 260 sqm (2800 sq ft) is too large and exceeds the budget. I also understand that they considered a sloped lot desirable (perhaps affordable?), without having a real need for a granny flat (such as a multi-generational house), office, or similar. Missing natural light, awkward corners, and other issues were overlooked in the floor plan.
Does the original poster know that it is not necessary to go to an architect when building a house?
And could the link to the Pinterest board please be shared urgently?
I think this is where the problem lies. Photos showing the incoming light creating a great atmosphere coincidentally also feature 25 sqm (270 sq ft) long, narrow children’s rooms, bay windows, dormers, indoor fountains, and four garages.
Kundy schrieb:
Does the original poster know that it's not necessary to go to an architect when building a house?Just ask him.
Kundy schrieb:
Does the original poster know that it is not necessary to go to an architect if you want to build a house? You only need a licensed designer authorized to submit construction plans – this can be an architect, but other qualifications are also accepted. However, entrusting a sloped lot to an inexperienced draftsman would be a poor use of one’s (borrowed) money.
Kundy schrieb:
And could someone please urgently share the link to the Pinterest board? Better not – that would be an undesired external link here.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
G
Gerddieter23 Oct 2020 23:00Hello, I have been reading along here for several months and would like to share my first comment in this thread.
I can understand the original poster’s frustration—it’s annoying to spend time and money on a design that you can’t use at all. You will probably have to write off the money. Whether hiring a lawyer is worthwhile is very questionable. Consider it a learning expense and start consulting general contractors (GCs) with their own planners or prefabricated home manufacturers, who won’t charge you as much for the planning.
My most important advice: do NOT bring your existing plans to these meetings—if you do, they will immediately categorize you into a different price range than you actually want.
Good luck!
GD
I can understand the original poster’s frustration—it’s annoying to spend time and money on a design that you can’t use at all. You will probably have to write off the money. Whether hiring a lawyer is worthwhile is very questionable. Consider it a learning expense and start consulting general contractors (GCs) with their own planners or prefabricated home manufacturers, who won’t charge you as much for the planning.
My most important advice: do NOT bring your existing plans to these meetings—if you do, they will immediately categorize you into a different price range than you actually want.
Good luck!
GD
G
Gerddieter23 Oct 2020 23:13In addition to the above: I am currently in almost the same situation as you and have had 6 frustrating months with an architect – also one reason why I found this forum – I wanted to find out what alternatives I have.
Our architect learned about our wishes and budget limit during the initial meeting and said no problem. Then, after 4 weeks, he presented a plan that fit the budget – but it did not meet the layout requirements or anything from the discussion – probably an old project... Then we patiently put our wishes on paper again – this resulted in a highly inflated design, with the budget twice as high. We asked several times for optimization – then two more almost identical designs were presented – budget still not met... now he admits he cannot meet our program... constantly pushing us to increase the budget. No agreement on contract termination – lawyer involved.
OP sorry, I don’t want to hijack your thread – just as background info.
Gerddieter
Our architect learned about our wishes and budget limit during the initial meeting and said no problem. Then, after 4 weeks, he presented a plan that fit the budget – but it did not meet the layout requirements or anything from the discussion – probably an old project... Then we patiently put our wishes on paper again – this resulted in a highly inflated design, with the budget twice as high. We asked several times for optimization – then two more almost identical designs were presented – budget still not met... now he admits he cannot meet our program... constantly pushing us to increase the budget. No agreement on contract termination – lawyer involved.
OP sorry, I don’t want to hijack your thread – just as background info.
Gerddieter
Gerddieter schrieb:
In addition to the above: I am currently in almost the same situation as you and have spent 6 frustrating months with an architect – also one reason why I found this forum – I wanted to figure out what alternatives I have.
Our architect learned about our wishes and budget limit in the initial meeting and said no problem. Then, after 4 weeks, he presented a plan that fit the budget – but it did not meet the room layout nor anything from the discussion – probably an old project…
Then we patiently put our wishes on paper again – we received an extremely oversized design, with the budget twice as high. We asked several times for optimization – then came 2 more almost identical drafts – budget still not met… now he admits he cannot fulfill our program… constantly pushes us to increase the budget.
No agreement on contract termination – lawyer involved.
OP sorry don’t want to hijack your thread – just as background info.
GD The question for you as well is: what were your wishes and do they fit within your set budget? The architect’s job is not to squeeze the client’s wishes into a budget that might simply not be feasible.
Maybe the architect didn’t have the courage to tell you that the budget is not achievable and is trying to keep you as a client with a different idea. Which is definitely not okay. But all of this is just speculation. Therefore…
Please share your wishes and budget with us, preferably more detailed than the OP. The OP apparently does not want to or cannot.
For example, about 5 years ago I was walking around with the idea that it should be possible to build a “typical single-family house without architectural wonders” for 300,000€ (about $325,000) on a slope with 150sqm (1,615 sq ft) living space without a basement, “all in,” because at the time that was an unbelievably large amount of money (and my limit).
Just as influencers among kids/teenagers cloud the perception of budget with “beautiful living,” Pinterest and others also distort the ability to estimate a realistic budget.
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