Architect commissions surveyor without the homeowner's consent.

Just listen to the comparison first. After that, you can still decide.
GD

The above mail goes to nordanney;)

And with the reminder, I knew he wanted to rip me off.

No, that you must have misunderstood each other and you should have acted urgently now!

It would simply be nice to get some sensible advice, or just answers to my questions, instead of many more questions that don't help.

Sensible advice often requires answered follow-up questions. Answers that "help" by telling you "You are right, take trick 17, and the bad dream is over" you will unfortunately not get (be able to get).

The above post is for nordanney;)

He is not responsible for this fact and is also trying to help you here as best as possible!

I chose the most renowned law firm in the area because I can’t read a person’s mind. How should I know if the lawyer is the right one? [ / ] P.S. You don’t change horses in midstream! And if a lawyer turns out to be a tailor, then I have to supply his fodder!

You can easily recognize the biggest idiots among the star lawyers (by the largest entries in the industry directory). But even a really good lawyer can’t work miracles, and in your case many mistakes would have had to be corrected. So this is a can-only-lose case, which even I as a senior partner would not assign to the best horse in my firm.

Do (see follow-up questions / notes) your homework to send your lawyer into battle with less bad ammunition, and/or make peace with a settlement. If you get somewhere between 5 and 7 k EUR plus procedural costs out of the matter, you have been very lucky in my estimation.

You have to separate this from the grief over a wounded sense of justice, otherwise it will be much, much more expensive (full grant of your opponent’s motion plus costs caused more by your stubbornness than by the behavior of the architect angering the presiding judge plus renowned law firm surcharge for what I unfortunately have to call avoidable tuition fees).

We had the surveyor here four weeks ago. We had scheduled the appointment for that day. So I was aware of it. The boundary survey took less than 15 minutes. However, the surveyor did of course ring our doorbell before starting his work to announce himself. Otherwise, I wouldn't have noticed it at all. So my question would be why the surveying office did not register with the owner at the on-site appointment.

The survey protocol says nothing, it can easily be manipulated... I wanted to know if the surveyor would have to contact me

Clear answer: No, he doesn't have to. He doesn't need you for his job. It often happens that the surveyor simply does his work and does not disturb the client/house owner.

And I write "alleged" because I live in the house and did not see the people there.

10 minutes in the bathroom may already be enough. Or you were briefly shopping or wherever.

An architect contract was presented to me, but I did not sign it. Nevertheless, the lawyer claims I have to pay the architect ;(

What kind of lawyer...

I had not signed a contract with the architect; nevertheless, I ended up in court with the surveyor's invoice because I refused payment and referred to the architect who acted prematurely.

Yes, you only have yourself to blame for ending up in court. Whoever just puts invoices aside and assumes it’s a mistake gets reminded and/or sued. But you know that (unfortunately) now yourself.

I have to provide him with the arguments, otherwise he wants to settle.

The lawyer does not settle. You do. He only prepares everything, but you still make the decision.

P.S. You don't change horses in midstream! And if a lawyer turns out to be a dressman, then I have to feed him!

By the way, my lawyer has contributed nothing to the matter so far,

Nope. You know the saying about riding a dead horse? And you are currently riding the dead horse but say that you don’t change lawyers. In fact, you have no lawyer and are defending yourself. Now I’m going to be harsh and say you don’t change because you haven’t been legally represented so far.

By the way: criticizing me does not get me any further! And it's unfair!

We are not criticizing you for the current situation. We are just pointing out some mistakes you have made. You have to accept that and learn from it.

But I stick to it. If you are not legally represented, then find a lawyer.

And if a lawyer turns out to be a dressman, then I have to feed him!

No, because you are a complete layperson and he is the trained professional. You also don’t want to build a house and then brick the walls yourself or repair your car in the workshop yourself if the "pros" don’t deliver, right?

Addendum: Just throw the lawyer off balance with a €3,000 settlement offer. Deadline 5 working days to accept it. Let's see what happens. I can tell you from experience that such "proposals" with pressure often work wonders. I'm currently accompanying the insolvency of a project company involved in the construction of a large property. From the customer's €15 million offer (who would buy the insolvent project company and thus replace us), we made €30.7 million with a 14-day deadline to go to the notary. The appointment is tomorrow – the buyer still makes a good margin and we come out without loss.