ᐅ Is it possible to determine the deductible costs with a rough estimate?
Created on: 28 Mar 2017 14:06
M
mertmk3
Hello everyone,
Now that the land is almost definitely secured and we have had initial talks with architects, one of them appeals to us quite well. Only one question remains unclear: How high will the fee be? According to the architect, he will provide a detailed fee breakdown before each work package. However, this doesn’t help me because I need to know the approximate costs BEFORE commissioning in order to properly calculate the overall project budget. After using the HOAI calculators, I arrived at a fee of 61,000€ for a total sum of roughly 400,000€ despite the minimum rate! If that is really the case, I will quickly reconsider the idea of building with an architect. I assume that the 400,000€ total cost does not include all billable items and that I am probably making a mistake in calculating the fee. The question is: How can I estimate an architect’s fee based only on an approximate total amount without a detailed breakdown of the individual construction costs, so I can include it in my overall budget?
Can I ask the architect for a fee offer in advance, specifying what the fee would be based on the corresponding total amount?
Thanks for your advice!
Best regards
Martin
Now that the land is almost definitely secured and we have had initial talks with architects, one of them appeals to us quite well. Only one question remains unclear: How high will the fee be? According to the architect, he will provide a detailed fee breakdown before each work package. However, this doesn’t help me because I need to know the approximate costs BEFORE commissioning in order to properly calculate the overall project budget. After using the HOAI calculators, I arrived at a fee of 61,000€ for a total sum of roughly 400,000€ despite the minimum rate! If that is really the case, I will quickly reconsider the idea of building with an architect. I assume that the 400,000€ total cost does not include all billable items and that I am probably making a mistake in calculating the fee. The question is: How can I estimate an architect’s fee based only on an approximate total amount without a detailed breakdown of the individual construction costs, so I can include it in my overall budget?
Can I ask the architect for a fee offer in advance, specifying what the fee would be based on the corresponding total amount?
Thanks for your advice!
Best regards
Martin
S
Steffen8029 Mar 2017 08:51That won’t work for you. You have a fairly fixed budget, and that’s probably where building with an architect will fail. The architect will only give you an approximate cost estimate. Either you have a really large buffer from the start (50,000 to 70,000) or you find a miracle architect who can actually manage it. But I’m not really convinced of that. In conclusion: when building with an architect, you should be financially flexible and/or have significant reserves. A 20,000 buffer might be okay when building with a general contractor, but with an architect, that’s really not much.
This is about the architect’s fee. And I find a 20k buffer quite large. The question is not what the entire construction with the architect costs, but how much I roughly have to pay for their work. In that sense, an estimate with a 20k margin seems rather inaccurate. I would avoid an architect if their fee exceeds €60k (over 65,000 USD), considering the fees mentioned here.
I’m quite sure that no one here, including you, planned for a 20k (€20,000) buffer specifically for the architect’s fee. Maybe 50–80k (€50,000–80,000) in total costs, because you tend to spend more due to additional services, but definitely not because the architect’s costs suddenly increase by 50%.
I’m quite sure that no one here, including you, planned for a 20k (€20,000) buffer specifically for the architect’s fee. Maybe 50–80k (€50,000–80,000) in total costs, because you tend to spend more due to additional services, but definitely not because the architect’s costs suddenly increase by 50%.
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Goldi0911129 Mar 2017 09:21If the architect is someone who designs and supervises more than just one house per year, then the cost estimate should be fairly accurate.
In our case, it matched within about ±€5,000 (±$5,500). You should consider your own expectations and what exactly you want the architect to plan.
It’s possible to spend a lot more on various trades during the construction phase afterwards.
In our case, it matched within about ±€5,000 (±$5,500). You should consider your own expectations and what exactly you want the architect to plan.
It’s possible to spend a lot more on various trades during the construction phase afterwards.
That means with total costs of 400,000€ (about 440,000 USD), I deduct approximately 20% taxes and a flat 50,000€ (about 55,000 USD) for items not accounted for, which brings me to realistic fee costs of 30,000€ (about 33,000 USD) at an 11% fee rate.
I'm curious to see what the two architects I contacted will say.
I'm curious to see what the two architects I contacted will say.
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Deliverer29 Mar 2017 10:23Steffen80 schrieb:
Conclusion: When building with an architect, you should be financially comfortable and/or have real reserves. A 20,000 euro (about $22,000) buffer might be okay when building with a general contractor, but with an architect, that’s really not much. I would say that any construction project can have ups and downs. We chose our architect because he was clear from the start about the maximum cost. In the end, it actually cost a bit less, even though we made changes and small upgrades along the way. He even included an additional conservatory in the plans.
Moreover, building with an architect was tens of thousands of euros cheaper than the lowest offers from general contractors.
Therefore, such statements should not be made in general terms.
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