Approximate costs for building design by an architect

Addendum: In an older letter from the building authority in Bavaria, 140€ gross per hour is considered appropriate for the architect. That would then be 42k.

This looks like a very thorough plan to me. The architect is probably of an older generation; he envisages masonry walls in many places where lightweight walls would actually be the preferred choice today. Show me pictures (drawings or photos) of the current state, I can’t quite imagine some of the components, i.e. the "as is and remains" (= black) doesn’t quite add up.

The value of the plan for you depends, not least, on the approval status of the design. If this is given, I see no reason for a fee lower than the market/table rate. I would take the table value for a new building as the standard; that would already be a friendly price compared to renovating an existing building. Also appoint the architect as site manager!

However, the significant increase in building volume and height makes me doubt that this design will be approved. Where is the parking proof (I am missing seven spaces here)? – and the share of new construction will also invalidate the protected status of the original building year, i.e. GEG2025 (it is hardly going to start this year) would have to be met, including photovoltaics. What has the architect done about this? – if it was only phases 3 and 4, then my above suggestion obviously does not apply for phases 1 to 4.

We need more powder, the [Klammerbeutel] is empty...

The hourly rate of an architect must cover:
Office rent, salaries for employees, insurance, work materials, own salary, social security contributions, depreciation...

The costs for an architect in retirement for their work are:
Well, the [Aquarellstifte Albrecht Dürer von Faber Castell] for 99 EUR.

It is completely, truly completely absurd to give an architect in retirement 30, 40, or even 50k EUR because they sat down for 300 hours and probably spent 250 of them staring out the window and drinking coffee.
That would be like handing the painter [schwarz] 75 EUR/hour in cash; then you might as well just order it on invoice.

If I were satisfied with his work, I would ask him what he wants for it and pay that without grumbling and maybe even add a little extra. If I were, in my opinion, justifiably dissatisfied, I certainly would not pay full price or even overpay compared to other services. Both sides have missed the mark or merely postponed the problem; it will not work without "pain" on one or both sides. If I am satisfied, he should have no "pain" at all; conversely, neither should I. Open a bottle of wine in private and ask clearly! Even with the aforementioned suggestions, you can be completely wrong. What would your idea be, which you surely already have?

I assume that some people here have overlooked that this is about a retired architect who does not want anything at all. Why not just invite him to dinner and then communicate that you would like to honor the appreciation? Maybe something will come of it that you can agree on. If [Inr] continues to work with the draft, then it already has value for you, but not least you also don’t want to cheat a favor with too much compensation for expenses. But 1000€/5000€ would be the value of the draft. The architect, of course, doesn’t have to issue an invoice, but simply reports the income in his tax return. Two or three sentences from an experienced person on how to best do this can help. Neighborhood help, for example, even if regular, is by no means undeclared work. Whoever then has a cost-covering hourly wage of 5€ rarely has anything to fear if it is not a regular source of income.

I think it's great that you are thinking about appropriate compensation.

How about offering the retiree - who doesn't want any payment - to donate to a charity of his choice? Whether it's [Tafel], [Rotes Kreuz], [Caritas]... They could do a lot of good with, let's say, 10,000 euros as an example. And you could also give the retiree an additional gift with a restaurant invitation.

Just a thought, Christmas is coming soon.