ᐅ Architect Did Not Deliver – Who Bears the Costs?

Created on: 10 Oct 2020 10:34

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

Snowy3611 Oct 2020 11:13

#31

Sorry, but shouldn’t the architect be honest with the client who wants the Ferrari from the very beginning and explain that it’s not feasible within their budget??? This can be done BEFORE the architect even picks up the pen...

Many people simply don’t know today’s costs. That’s what the architect is for, right???
They should be able to tell me that a granny flat is off the table immediately because it costs around 120,000 euros (about 130,000 USD)...

I don’t understand. It’s not like house prices can be easily pulled from a catalog like car prices from Mobile...

hampshire11 Oct 2020 11:20

#32

I am not familiar with the course of the discussions, so I cannot judge whether there was a clearly warranted price warning from the architect or not.

Snowy36 schrieb:

It’s not like you can just pick house prices as easily from a catalog as car prices from Mobile ...

But it’s not significantly more difficult either. A quick look at the forums, consulting model home prices, flipping through two or three current magazines with house features, and searching for new houses on relevant portals would have been enough to realize that expectations and budget are not in a reasonable proportion. Where is the responsibility of a client undertaking a large project?

ypg11 Oct 2020 11:49

#33

The thread from April reveals a lot, especially when reading between the lines. Outsiders don’t know how conversations or discussions actually took place. It can also happen that wishes and budget need to be communicated first. Usually, either a compromise is reached, with the budget increased slightly and some wishes scaled back, all wishes are dropped to stay within budget, or someone has to take out a big loan to realize all the wishes. The architect should ideally serve as a means to an end. The responsibility for the wishes lies with the client. Of course, the client may not realize that a granny flat (or accessory dwelling unit) costs money ( ), and maybe the architect hinted at or mentioned that it simply wouldn’t work within the budget. It’s always a difficult situation. I think if every architect immediately said “that won’t work,” they would be out of work. So, of course, the architect says nothing other than “let’s see, we can make it work,” with drawings and cost estimates to follow based on the client’s wishes, demands, and Pinterest inspiration. Then the client has to step in and prioritize their requests, in my opinion. At the latest, after the thread in April, the granny flat and an entire floor should have been removed. How the communication proceeded and how things were developed after that is also unknown.

ypg11 Oct 2020 12:20

#34

JohannFugger schrieb:

Regardless of whether it’s a large or small house, with special requests or not. He planned past our needs... At least that’s how I feel... :-(

You keep saying that you reminded him of your budget. What exactly was communicated between you? The architect isn’t a machine or a computer. If he were, your filter function with granny flat and so on would return “no search results found.” So what was discussed verbally? I don’t see anywhere that you adjusted your requests, or that the slope of the plot was ever addressed at the drawing table.

Bookstar11 Oct 2020 12:21

#35

If I want to spend 30,000 on a car or new vehicle, I wouldn’t go to a Porsche dealer. That simply wouldn’t make sense.

Alessandro12 Oct 2020 11:50

#36

Why do you keep focusing on the floor plan thread? It's outdated by now. As long as the original poster doesn’t share their ideas, everything here is just wild guessing.

And yes, I also believe that an architect should clearly state upfront if the budget is insufficient before charging the client. That’s really bold...
@Bookstar: Even if I go to a Porsche dealer, they have to tell me right away that a Porsche is not possible within my budget before charging me a hefty fee for consultations, test drives, and so on.

ᐅ Architect Did Not Deliver – Who Bears the Costs?

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