ᐅ Stopping or pausing a home construction project? Costs too high

Created on: 23 Nov 2021 12:06

Good morning,

My husband and I want to build a house.
We already have the plot of land. We are now facing an unpleasant situation.

We planned the house roughly with an architect, which went very quickly.
No building permit / planning permission has been applied for yet, and no detailed execution plan has been made.
The architect provided a cost estimate that surprised us a lot.
Of course, we had previously asked acquaintances, friends, and family members about the costs of their construction projects.
Obviously, we only considered recent projects.
The architect’s estimate is more than double what we initially expected—around 4500-5000€/sqm (420-465 USD/sqft).

After this, we consulted a few others locally and two from a bit further away. Everyone seems to agree on the construction costs.
I’m not allowed to share the documents here, but there is really nothing unusual. It’s a KW40+ house with 198 sqm (2132 sqft) of living and usable space, plus a double garage attached to the left side of the house. Of course, no basement.
The specifications given to the architect were average and typical. No marble floors, no smart home features. A simple house like my uncle’s, just new.

It looks like the house will cost around 1 million euros. On top of that, of course, there are additional costs such as fees for the architect, landscaping, etc. Together with the land, the total is so high that we neither can finance it nor afford to pay it.
Unfortunately, the architect had to do quite some work before he could estimate the costs.

Now we are worried that if we cancel the project, the architect will want 15,000 to 20,000 euros for the work he has already done.

What would you do in our place?

Best regards,
Coffee82

hampshire24 Nov 2021 10:42

#91

Coffee82 schrieb:

We were not asked about the budget, nor did we bring it up ourselves.
From the way it came across, he first wanted to understand what we want to build.
After a rough draft, we pointed out several issues, and the second draft already included the right design along with a cost estimate.

This approach is basically fine. Understanding what the client wants is often overlooked. For this reason, I give the architect criticized here a big plus initially.

Coffee82 schrieb:

Unfortunately, we have no experience with this. We both come from the IT sector.
This involves a lot of money; I can imagine we might get ripped off several times over.

Do you have a friend with good people skills and management experience? Take them along one or two times. That greatly reduces the risk of being overcharged.

Coffee82 schrieb:

Saving stress is new to me; I thought the architect was exactly there to take on the stress.

Yes, that is the architect’s role, but still, for an effective project, the client must keep the process within the desired framework.

Coffee82 schrieb:

It would be unfair to pass on his documents (which he explicitly states must not be shared with third parties).

I find that very fair and appropriate.

11ant schrieb:

The budget, like the plot of land, is inevitably one of the fundamental aspects to be determined in the planning phase.

Absolutely right, the budget question should have been clarified after understanding the client’s needs and before agreeing on a design.

Tassimat schrieb:

Or was it accidentally implied that money was no object? Perhaps that actually happened and a phrase like “we’ll talk about costs later” was said.

That can indeed happen – it should be clarified during the conversation.

@Coffee82 : Please don’t let the forum’s judgments about your architect influence you too much. Approach the next meeting openly but with a clear objective. Despite all the worries about construction costs, there is still no cause for panic.

A few incomplete notes from me to prepare for your discussion:

Consider: What would be the best outcome from your meeting with the architect? (For example, receiving your “normal large dream home” within your budget.) State your goal clearly at the start of the meeting (for example: “Today, we want to discuss how we can build our ‘normal large dream home’ within our budget with your help.”) (Who spots the trick?)
You obviously like the design very much. Use that as an opportunity to sincerely express your appreciation to the architect. This improves the atmosphere, which is essential for reaching agreement (a good result).
Provide a budget limit figure that is 10-15% below your maximum tolerable limit – it will likely cost a bit more.
Define partial goals for the meeting (for example: The architect recognizes that the budget limit has been exceeded; the architect accepts some responsibility for the lack of budget clarification beforehand; the architect thinks with you about how to build the house more cost-effectively; you agree on a binding and transparent fee arrangement for continuing collaboration – or for ending it…).
Prepare specific questions and formulate them openly and constructively:

On what basis did you estimate the house construction costs?
Which parts of the house design are particularly expensive?
What alternatives do you see to build the specifically mentioned cost-intensive aspect more affordably?
How can you help us gain certainty for our further decisions – including your fees?

Take written notes that you can share after the meeting with the architect.

Stay focused on your goal. You want to achieve something positive rather than just avoid something negative, right? Good luck!

In der Ruine24 Nov 2021 11:51

#92

hampshire schrieb:

"It would be unfair to share his documents with others (he explicitly states that it must not be passed on to third parties)."

I think that is very fair and the right approach.

If you have photos taken by a wedding photographer, are you then not allowed to show them either?

Myrna_Loy24 Nov 2021 11:55

#93

In der Ruine schrieb:

If you have photos taken by a wedding photographer, are you then not allowed to show them?

This is regulated by contract. The photographer grants the client the usage rights for the images.
Similarly, an architect owns the copyright to the design unless otherwise specified in a contract.

In der Ruine24 Nov 2021 12:13

#94

Myrna_Loy schrieb:

This is regulated by contract. The photographer grants the client the usage rights to the images.
And an architect naturally holds the rights to the design drawings, unless this has been contractually arranged otherwise.

How is it supposed to be possible to obtain quotes if you are not allowed to show the plans to anyone?

Myrna_Loy24 Nov 2021 12:23

#95

In der Ruine schrieb:
How can you get quotes if you are not allowed to show the plans to anyone?

That is different from posting pictures online, which counts as publication.

hanghaus200024 Nov 2021 12:27

#96

In der Ruine schrieb:

How can you request quotes if you are not allowed to show anyone the plans?

You are allowed to, once you have the approval. If that is required, you first need to obtain the permit for the design. Usually, the architect handles the tendering process. I assume the original poster didn’t only commission the planning up to the building permit stage. In that case, that condition should not apply.

@Coffee82 Have you already sent the architect’s name to @ypg?

ᐅ Stopping or pausing a home construction project? Costs too high

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