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
Show us the self-designed example you wanted to prepare for your architect last time. You received so much information back then that your design should reflect this both in the square meters and the layout design. You can’t just say you have a budget of 450,000 euros but want this and that. You can manage a complex building on a slope by including the fireplace, KNX system, reducing the photovoltaic system size, or cutting 10 square meters (108 square feet), but it won’t be much cheaper. It doesn’t work that way, especially if these items were not included in the budget from the start.
…and here I agree with you, the architect should have told you right from the initial meeting that what you wanted was two sizes too large.
…and here I agree with you, the architect should have told you right from the initial meeting that what you wanted was two sizes too large.
JohannFugger schrieb:
Our point is that a construction budget was set from the beginning, which is also included in the contract. How is the budget fixed in the contract? We intended to do the same at the start, but not a single architect agreed to it. How could they, since the significant additional costs usually only arise after design phase 4?
In the floor plan thread, I just read that this would be the second architect you’re letting go. Well, no offense intended: where can anyone still offer help at this point?
N
Nice-Nofret10 Oct 2020 16:18I have reread both threads; in my opinion, the issue is not primarily with the architect, but with unrealistic expectations on your part. This has already been explained to you from different perspectives in this forum, with new arguments repeatedly. You simply do not want to listen.
It is quite outrageous that the architect even starts drawing based on such expectations. But you were also very naive to expect 450k for that. 450k is a small house without a basement, without a garage, and without extras.
So, there are definitely many issues on your side as well.
So, there are definitely many issues on your side as well.
R
rennschnecke10 Oct 2020 18:01I can understand that his expectations are quite high. But some statements here, like for $450,000 you only get a doghouse, without a garage and, it almost sounds like, without a front door, are really detached from reality.
As I said, friends are currently building a city villa, including a garage and a carport, with good standards, corner windows, underfloor heating, etc., for $330,000 plus $50,000 in additional costs.
It’s almost like in the car forum here—everyone seems to be in the top 3%, and a car with a list price under $80,000 is barely enough to just run errands.
As I said, friends are currently building a city villa, including a garage and a carport, with good standards, corner windows, underfloor heating, etc., for $330,000 plus $50,000 in additional costs.
It’s almost like in the car forum here—everyone seems to be in the top 3%, and a car with a list price under $80,000 is barely enough to just run errands.
rennschnecke schrieb:
I can understand that his expectations might be too high. But some of the statements here, like saying you only get a doghouse for 450k, without a garage, and, as it almost sounds, without a front door, are definitely unrealistic.
As I said, friends are currently building a city villa, including a garage and carport, with good standards, corner windows, underfloor heating, etc., for 330k plus 50k in additional costs.
It’s almost like in the car forum here, where everyone belongs to the top 3%, and a car with a list price under 80k is only good enough to get bread. Nobody is saying that. In the other thread, Jochen is building 120 sqm (1,292 sq ft) with a basement for 330k without additional costs (probably excluding earthworks and other usual expenses), and even then, I personally think 400k (all-in) will barely be enough or won’t suffice. Johann has almost 120 sqm (1,292 sq ft) spread over 3.5 floors and finds that just enough for 3 people. Of course, you can debate here about who is out of touch with reality... or not.
Similar topics