Take the total construction costs including all additional building expenses as estimated by the construction company or the prefabricated house manufacturer, or the maximum total amount available to you after deducting the costs for purchasing the land including ancillary costs. Find an architect who comes recommended or whose design style appeals to you, and ask them what they could build for you with this budget, depending on your preferences regarding house size, building type, features, the plot, and building and planning regulations.
Prefabricated house manufacturers often calculate with the strong wish of clients to save on the so-called "additional building costs": fees for the architect, structural engineer, official charges, etc. These costs also occur for the manufacturer; they are either passed on or are indeed lower because a standardized product is offered.
The architect designs a house tailored specifically to you and manages the entire process, including construction supervision, acceptance of the construction work, billing, etc., acting as your representative. The prefabricated house manufacturer or general contractor supervises their own work (the “fox guarding the henhouse”), as most clients have little knowledge of building design and construction management. Unless you hire an independent expert or surveyor at an additional fee (additional building costs) to perform these monitoring and control tasks for you, which the architect normally takes care of in service phase 8 (construction supervision).
In short: building with an architect is not more expensive, just different. You need to express your wishes more specifically and provide the architect with active feedback on their design, details, and proposals for materials and features. In return, the house becomes truly "your house" rather than a standardized cliché from a supplier. Of course, there are also very high-quality prefabricated house providers with good architecture or those who build according to an architect’s design or have their own planning department. In these cases, the costs are comparable to those of an independent architect.
Prefabricated house manufacturers often calculate with the strong wish of clients to save on the so-called "additional building costs": fees for the architect, structural engineer, official charges, etc. These costs also occur for the manufacturer; they are either passed on or are indeed lower because a standardized product is offered.
The architect designs a house tailored specifically to you and manages the entire process, including construction supervision, acceptance of the construction work, billing, etc., acting as your representative. The prefabricated house manufacturer or general contractor supervises their own work (the “fox guarding the henhouse”), as most clients have little knowledge of building design and construction management. Unless you hire an independent expert or surveyor at an additional fee (additional building costs) to perform these monitoring and control tasks for you, which the architect normally takes care of in service phase 8 (construction supervision).
In short: building with an architect is not more expensive, just different. You need to express your wishes more specifically and provide the architect with active feedback on their design, details, and proposals for materials and features. In return, the house becomes truly "your house" rather than a standardized cliché from a supplier. Of course, there are also very high-quality prefabricated house providers with good architecture or those who build according to an architect’s design or have their own planning department. In these cases, the costs are comparable to those of an independent architect.
You can’t really make a general statement about this. We were very disappointed with all the prefab house suppliers. Several other building companies that advertise heavily and increasingly sell land themselves were not much better. You can quickly forget about the advertised individuality when you want to move more than 2 or 3 walls.
Problems arise quickly, for example, if you plan a basement; it becomes almost impossible if it is supposed to be a living basement. A garage might still work, but it becomes difficult if it is meant to be integrated into the house and also have a terrace attached. If you’re planning multiple living units, you’ll also quickly reach a dead end. We can share plenty of insider experiences here, having invested a lot of time and gone through a lot. One example was when we asked for an automatic shutter control just for the ground floor, since the shutters were already planned to be electric. The two required packages then suddenly cost an extra 12,000 euros, so we had them removed again.
Additionally, we always felt that they first wanted to push a lot of costs on us (they know the budget, of course). What you are actually paying for usually remained unclear. That was often our biggest problem. For us, building a house should be above all: trust, trust, and transparency.
It’s very helpful, of course, if you get a recommendation for an architect in some way. You can then test the waters and have discussions. As a rough guide, our architect plans based on enclosed cubic meters. From her experience and previous projects, she uses a benchmark of 350-400 euros per cbm (cubic meter).
Problems arise quickly, for example, if you plan a basement; it becomes almost impossible if it is supposed to be a living basement. A garage might still work, but it becomes difficult if it is meant to be integrated into the house and also have a terrace attached. If you’re planning multiple living units, you’ll also quickly reach a dead end. We can share plenty of insider experiences here, having invested a lot of time and gone through a lot. One example was when we asked for an automatic shutter control just for the ground floor, since the shutters were already planned to be electric. The two required packages then suddenly cost an extra 12,000 euros, so we had them removed again.
Additionally, we always felt that they first wanted to push a lot of costs on us (they know the budget, of course). What you are actually paying for usually remained unclear. That was often our biggest problem. For us, building a house should be above all: trust, trust, and transparency.
It’s very helpful, of course, if you get a recommendation for an architect in some way. You can then test the waters and have discussions. As a rough guide, our architect plans based on enclosed cubic meters. From her experience and previous projects, she uses a benchmark of 350-400 euros per cbm (cubic meter).
nistibee schrieb:
Is it really that much more expensive to build with an architect? Construction companies usually have one anyway, so who is actually planning the house with us? In my opinion, directly contracting the trades is the most cost-effective way to build properly. If someone gives you a fixed price for a package of services, they charge a premium for taking on the cost risk. They will almost certainly calculate in a way that ensures they end up with a profit. The services required for building a house are generally the same.
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