Are the structural engineer costs reasonable?

Hello everyone We are currently planning our basement single-family house with 120 sqm and are a bit shocked by the offers from the structural engineers. The offers ranged from 10,000 euros to 20,000. Our architect said the costs are so high because all companies are currently extremely busy. Do you think the costs are reasonable? Best regards Anna

So my sister and her husband recently obtained several offers from structural engineers for a somewhat larger house, also with a basement, and the prices were around 5000 but I have no idea about the possible content differences.

Hello Yosan,
Thank you very much for your reply.
5000 definitely sounds more realistic
than 20000 euros.

How many quotes have you gathered and when do you want to start building? We renovated in 2017 and it had to happen quite quickly, and we also received quite a few outrageous (Abwehr) offers.

Structural engineers calculate their fees according to HOAI, i.e. it is standardized to some extent. Take such a calculator from the internet, then you can understand the fee.

Based on a normal single-family house with 120 sqm, a four-digit amount should normally result.

Have you already spoken with the structural engineers? There might be hidden cost drivers that you are not aware of. Have them explain and break everything down for you. The communication may have gone through the architect, but you have to commission it, so they should explain it to you as well. Find out whether these are genuine rejection offers or not. If in doubt, contact more structural engineers. Even from farther away. No idea how committed your architect is, but he’s not the one paying the bill. Take initiative yourself.