Hello,
I have a question about negotiating costs with architects.
We have a rough cost estimate of 450,000 euros for the eligible construction costs of the house. According to the table, 2% of that should cover the design planning, which is 9,000 euros. This corresponds to about 15% of the HOAI fees according to an online calculator, which is the maximum rate. We basically handled the basic assessment and preliminary planning ourselves, as those were adopted as is. The current design I submitted is almost exactly the same.
Therefore, it should be reasonable to negotiate the cost for the design planning, since it is at the maximum rate and a lot of the work was done by myself. In my opinion, this would only be fair, right? I am thinking about a rate of maybe 7-10%.
The approval planning is supposed to cost another 4,500 euros, which according to my research is even above the maximum rate, plus a flat fee of 1,000 euros for the drainage application and 500 euros for the landscaping.
Do you have any experience with something like this?
I have a question about negotiating costs with architects.
We have a rough cost estimate of 450,000 euros for the eligible construction costs of the house. According to the table, 2% of that should cover the design planning, which is 9,000 euros. This corresponds to about 15% of the HOAI fees according to an online calculator, which is the maximum rate. We basically handled the basic assessment and preliminary planning ourselves, as those were adopted as is. The current design I submitted is almost exactly the same.
Therefore, it should be reasonable to negotiate the cost for the design planning, since it is at the maximum rate and a lot of the work was done by myself. In my opinion, this would only be fair, right? I am thinking about a rate of maybe 7-10%.
The approval planning is supposed to cost another 4,500 euros, which according to my research is even above the maximum rate, plus a flat fee of 1,000 euros for the drainage application and 500 euros for the landscaping.
Do you have any experience with something like this?
This kind of thing should be agreed upon in advance. Good work deserves fair payment.
I hardly believe your design was submitted exactly as is. As a layperson, you can’t check and consider everything, let alone detailed plans. Or are you building under a notification procedure? How does that work without planning permission/building permit?
Architects are also very busy. By trying to negotiate afterwards like this, you risk “poisoning” the relationship.
How much of a discount do you want now? As you mentioned yourself, it’s about a total of 9,000€ (around $9,700). So we’re talking about a few hundred euros either way. It’s not worth it.
Of course, such amounts add up, but when building a house, even bigger issues will come your way.
Possibly things you didn’t anticipate despite careful planning.
For the next steps, you can discuss the price again.
Are you using the latest schedule (2021)? With that one, at 500,000€ (around $540,000) of eligible costs, you’re already in the lowest category (low requirements) across all service phases, totaling over 80,000€ (around $86,000).
I hardly believe your design was submitted exactly as is. As a layperson, you can’t check and consider everything, let alone detailed plans. Or are you building under a notification procedure? How does that work without planning permission/building permit?
Architects are also very busy. By trying to negotiate afterwards like this, you risk “poisoning” the relationship.
How much of a discount do you want now? As you mentioned yourself, it’s about a total of 9,000€ (around $9,700). So we’re talking about a few hundred euros either way. It’s not worth it.
Of course, such amounts add up, but when building a house, even bigger issues will come your way.
Possibly things you didn’t anticipate despite careful planning.
For the next steps, you can discuss the price again.
Are you using the latest schedule (2021)? With that one, at 500,000€ (around $540,000) of eligible costs, you’re already in the lowest category (low requirements) across all service phases, totaling over 80,000€ (around $86,000).