Construction costs were estimated far too low

Hello!

I wanted to know if it is simply "bad luck" when the architect calculates construction costs of, for example, €215,000 for a house and after the shell construction as well as a part of the finishing trades (heating, plaster, screed, sanitary, windows) the costs are already over €300,000. Doors, sewer, shutters, painter, drywall have not even been calculated yet. Not to mention the furnishing. We are really desperate because there are still further "cost traps" ahead that we as laypeople would never have thought of. The architect never pointed this out to us at any time. But he is already an old hand and has built dozens and dozens and dozens of houses in his life. It just can’t be that we might go bankrupt just because the architect miscalculated completely. Then we would have left it alone because we could not have afforded it.
Furthermore, he talks one way and then another. There is zero trust left, but now we still have to somehow get through this. Meanwhile, we can hardly sleep anymore. Even if we do a lot ourselves (the architect estimated about €15,000 here, which will also be met), we cannot take on any more money. For example, now there are high costs for refilling the house / disposal. The civil engineer says the architect should have seen from the beginning, based on the soil survey (which he has on hand), that none of the excavated material can be used for refilling. Etc.

Does anyone have advice?

Hansi

Can you still pull the emergency brake and cancel the construction? It would be sh..., but maybe better. Then plan another house (and have it calculated better). Maybe you can hold the architect liable - but I have no idea about that.

If you look at your other posts, Hansi02, there seems to be a general problem between you and the architect. The current result was probably only to be expected...

Hello

this is the typical example of I build a house for 200k and everyone else has no idea.

I am sorry for you!

At first, everything was going quite well. And no, we can’t call it off anymore. The shell is up, the windows are in, and next week the roof will be finished. The house is great and the work of the craftsmen is fine. They themselves have partial trouble with the architect because he apparently drew the plan incorrectly and more material was needed. But we had agreed on a fixed price. Measured out, it would have been much more expensive. The craftsman relied on the architect... Well. I am just a layman and precisely because the architect initially appeared so confident and is an old hand, I thought he was the right choice. And now? I mean, where does the responsibility of the architect begin here? After asking 10 times whether we would really manage with that amount, he told me not to worry about it. Meanwhile, he is wavering here and there. Whatever suits him at the moment. You can’t predict that. When I wanted to back out or kick out the architect, I was strictly advised against it, because then the problems would really start if a new architect were to take over the project. What is a layman supposed to believe anymore?

Hansi

And yes. I was very skeptical about whether the money would add up. I wanted exact numbers. But "in advance" they said it wouldn’t be possible. You first have to hire an architect, who has to create a plan, and then you can do the tenders. And those would also be tendered according to the construction progress.
After all, you rely on an architect who has been building dozens of houses year after year for 30 years. HE must know the market prices. I’m not looking for a cheap craftsman. Likewise, I want a house that works. If the man had told me: forget it – you’ll have to put in €100,000 more, that would have been a statement and I could have made a decision. But like this... Now weekly new invoices and things that MUST be done are coming in.

Hansi