ᐅ Who has built a house with an architect? Any experiences to share?
Created on: 13 Aug 2015 21:29
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xycrazy
Hello everyone,
Until yesterday, we were basically agreed that we wanted to work with a reputable local builder for a turnkey project. However, after receiving the new price update yesterday, we were shocked. It is €30,000 to €40,000 (about $32,000 to $43,000) higher than what was initially quoted to us in the last conversation—even though we are now saving several thousand euros on other costs like excavation, disposal, and the basement due to new circumstances. We are looking at costs of around €1782 per square meter (about $165 per square foot) of heated living space, including the basement and all additional construction costs, but excluding utility connection fees and a double garage for €25,000 (with rooftop terrace). This seems quite high to me. Of course, the builder has an excellent reputation, which we verified, but I’m afraid we are paying a premium for that.
That said, we are now so frustrated that we are considering whether it might be better to work with an architect instead. The advantages in our view would be full cost transparency in the offers, more flexibility, and a better house design tailored to our preferences in terms of appearance. The disadvantages would be the architect’s fee and the lack of price certainty compared to a fixed-price contract. However, there is some hope that it might turn out cheaper—or at least that for the same budget we would get a higher standard, such as a full basement instead of just a partial one, and so on.
I would therefore appreciate hearing about your experiences with architects. Have you worked with them, and if so, how did it go? Did you stay within budget? If not, what was the reason? And if you decided against using an architect, what led to that decision? Perhaps some of you had contact with architects but some aspects put you off? I am open to all feedback.
Thank you!
Best regards
Until yesterday, we were basically agreed that we wanted to work with a reputable local builder for a turnkey project. However, after receiving the new price update yesterday, we were shocked. It is €30,000 to €40,000 (about $32,000 to $43,000) higher than what was initially quoted to us in the last conversation—even though we are now saving several thousand euros on other costs like excavation, disposal, and the basement due to new circumstances. We are looking at costs of around €1782 per square meter (about $165 per square foot) of heated living space, including the basement and all additional construction costs, but excluding utility connection fees and a double garage for €25,000 (with rooftop terrace). This seems quite high to me. Of course, the builder has an excellent reputation, which we verified, but I’m afraid we are paying a premium for that.
That said, we are now so frustrated that we are considering whether it might be better to work with an architect instead. The advantages in our view would be full cost transparency in the offers, more flexibility, and a better house design tailored to our preferences in terms of appearance. The disadvantages would be the architect’s fee and the lack of price certainty compared to a fixed-price contract. However, there is some hope that it might turn out cheaper—or at least that for the same budget we would get a higher standard, such as a full basement instead of just a partial one, and so on.
I would therefore appreciate hearing about your experiences with architects. Have you worked with them, and if so, how did it go? Did you stay within budget? If not, what was the reason? And if you decided against using an architect, what led to that decision? Perhaps some of you had contact with architects but some aspects put you off? I am open to all feedback.
Thank you!
Best regards
Häuslebau3r31 Aug 2015 13:26That actually makes it even easier for me.
1. Option: through an architect and individual subcontractors.
2. Option: through an architect and a general contractor.
3. Option: through a subcontractor who offers everything under one roof.
Something else that comes to mind, which might be slightly off-topic ("small OT"):
To what extent is a planner, whether an architect or one integrated within a subcontractor, allowed to design similar houses, for example based on model homes or others (copying)? Are there any regulations regarding how design, shape, and so on are protected?
1. Option: through an architect and individual subcontractors.
2. Option: through an architect and a general contractor.
3. Option: through a subcontractor who offers everything under one roof.
Something else that comes to mind, which might be slightly off-topic ("small OT"):
To what extent is a planner, whether an architect or one integrated within a subcontractor, allowed to design similar houses, for example based on model homes or others (copying)? Are there any regulations regarding how design, shape, and so on are protected?
No, there isn’t, unless it has been patented. Which is the case in 99.9% of all situations.
Regarding your earlier reply: who says that working with a developer means you can only build standard model or prefab houses?
You can often build custom designs, not just off-the-shelf options. That’s how we do it, too. You decide the degree of completion... and therefore also which tasks you want to handle yourself. A piece of friendly advice: I strongly recommend you try a search engine to first find out about local developers. I’m sure there are several in your area who offer exactly this. You don’t necessarily need an architect for that. And if it is important to you that an architect designs your house, you can do it as Bauexperte suggested: simply hire the architect for services 1-4 and then have the developer carry out the construction. I just suspect it won’t be cheap if you don’t give the architect clear budget guidelines for your future home.
Regarding your earlier reply: who says that working with a developer means you can only build standard model or prefab houses?
You can often build custom designs, not just off-the-shelf options. That’s how we do it, too. You decide the degree of completion... and therefore also which tasks you want to handle yourself. A piece of friendly advice: I strongly recommend you try a search engine to first find out about local developers. I’m sure there are several in your area who offer exactly this. You don’t necessarily need an architect for that. And if it is important to you that an architect designs your house, you can do it as Bauexperte suggested: simply hire the architect for services 1-4 and then have the developer carry out the construction. I just suspect it won’t be cheap if you don’t give the architect clear budget guidelines for your future home.
Häuslebau3r31 Aug 2015 20:16To know which local developers are available, I don’t need a search engine. As mentioned above, I am already aware of them, and if it seemed that I believed they only build standard designs, that was my mistake (probably due to unclear definitions or descriptions). However, I thought it was clear or at least did not give that impression.
My intention was to receive pros and cons as well as decision-making support from homeowners and professionals. As we can now see, there are countless options for how to proceed.
Regarding the question about patents, thank you for the response.
Why should clear budget information not be possible? This should be clarified together with the architect or homeowner in advance during the planning stages (phase 1–3).
My intention was to receive pros and cons as well as decision-making support from homeowners and professionals. As we can now see, there are countless options for how to proceed.
Regarding the question about patents, thank you for the response.
Why should clear budget information not be possible? This should be clarified together with the architect or homeowner in advance during the planning stages (phase 1–3).
S
Sebastian7931 Aug 2015 20:24You should make sure that the architect has recent experience in the single-family home sector—this way, their estimates will be realistic (and of course include a buffer). Also, your design and equipment preferences should be as detailed as possible during the planning phase.
I can recommend architect-led construction combined with hiring subcontractors directly only if you want to coordinate and manage some of the work yourself—you won’t get this level of flexibility with any other construction method.
There are no extra charges like “$100 for a double socket,” for example.
By the way, we didn’t give the architect a specific budget target—there was of course a budget. However, the architect never crossed that invisible line, and it matched our expectations. From that point on, I felt confident…
I can recommend architect-led construction combined with hiring subcontractors directly only if you want to coordinate and manage some of the work yourself—you won’t get this level of flexibility with any other construction method.
There are no extra charges like “$100 for a double socket,” for example.
By the way, we didn’t give the architect a specific budget target—there was of course a budget. However, the architect never crossed that invisible line, and it matched our expectations. From that point on, I felt confident…
S
Sebastian7931 Aug 2015 21:20Almost 250 m² (2,690 sq ft) including a basement living area plus a double garage – I won’t share the costs yet, as we are still in the construction phase.
However, the price per m² (sq ft) often mentioned here does not match our experience, even though we built to a high standard with many corners and projections.
Though we also carried out some of the work ourselves...
However, the price per m² (sq ft) often mentioned here does not match our experience, even though we built to a high standard with many corners and projections.
Though we also carried out some of the work ourselves...
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