ᐅ Architect or developer? Which is more cost-effective?

Created on: 3 Jun 2017 12:37
W
Wildrose
W
Wildrose
3 Jun 2017 12:37
Hello dear home builders,

We are currently gathering quotes for prefab houses and solid (masonry) houses from general contractors. The plot of land is already available.
140 m² (1,507 sq ft) with a basement costs around 340,000 euros.
This is excluding additional construction-related costs, landscaping, carport, and the land.

In our family, a large new house was built with an architect two years ago, where, through a lot of personal effort from the owner in organizing, obtaining multiple quotes, negotiating directly, etc., a great price-performance ratio was achieved.

Our current thought:
What if we also build with this architect and use a so-called "follow-on approach," meaning we ask the same affordable and reliable tradespeople if they would do the same work again with, for example, only a 4% price increase?
Do you think this would be a good idea?
I believe we could benefit from the previous experience, basically just picking up and working through the established process...
It would be easier than starting completely fresh and inexperienced with such a project.

Of course, it would also be possible to put individual trades out to tender anew.

I am thinking that if I (on parental leave) and our fathers (retired) help with organizing, such as handling quotes, paperwork, resolving issues with utility providers, etc., these costs could be saved.

How much does a general contractor typically earn for their "all-inclusive" service? About 20%?
And roughly, what does an architect charge if you provide them with some assistance wherever possible?

Thank you very much for your brief assessment!
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Nordlys
3 Jun 2017 12:43
Discuss this with the architect. It might be possible, but 4% will probably be too low. Expect closer to 10%.
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Wildrose
3 Jun 2017 13:36
Do you mean such a high price increase since 2014/2015? Really crazy... :-(
N
Nordlys
3 Jun 2017 13:42
Not in Eggesin or Pasewalk, definitely in Wiesbaden.
RobsonMKK6 Jun 2017 15:34
If the builders are good, they are usually fully booked. But just make a non-binding inquiry with one or two of them – maybe it will work out and you can proceed that way. If not, go with a general contractor.

And the margin is certainly not going to be 20%. When searching quickly, it’s more like 5-15%. From that, the commission for the seller still has to be deducted.
andimann6 Jun 2017 16:18
Hello!
Wildrose schrieb:
Are you talking about such a big price increase since 2014/2015? Really crazy...:-(

It’s 2017 now and you’ll be building in 2017 / 2018. That’s three years. Forget about a 10% increase and be glad if you get away with less than a 20% increase.

At the moment, contractors are making a fortune of their lives; if they’re not fully booked for months in advance, they must be either poor quality or completely clueless.

By the way 1: 340,000 euros for 140 sqm (1,507 sq ft) is quite expensive.
By the way 2: If you’re thinking about managing some tasks yourself, please make sure to understand the legal differences between developers (you definitely won’t be building with a developer anymore, that’s no longer possible!), general contractors, and main contractors. This is important!

Best regards,

Andreas