House brochures - hard to believe

I believe that the content-less catalogs you criticized, , are exactly what most home builders who don’t go to an architect anyway are looking for.

Of course, at work, among friends or acquaintances, we talk a lot about our building project. Most people look at you with wide eyes and are surprised why you deal with all that stuff. The most common statement: We bought a house from a developer – there were a few sockets added, one wall moved, the rest was taken as proposed.

Therefore, I think that most are actually looking for the "perfect" finished house and what usually counts there is appearance and floor plan. Wall structure? Probably no one cares. KfW standard maybe again, so you can get a supposedly cheaper loan, but how it is realized? I think the least people are interested in that.

A house from the architect is at least as expensive, if not even cheaper. Provided, of course, that the GÜ uses the same quality .... but with comparing pears and apples, that's always a tricky thing, right?

And regarding the thesis that craftsmen do not respond to architect tenders, is there personal experience to back this up or is it just something said offhand?

We walked through two model home parks and sorted them out.

Some gave off rubbish. (This house here has our special wall construction. Hmm, strange, two years ago this was the model home of another company)

Some made us feel like beggars. Strangely, those were the ones because of whom timber frame houses have sometimes been unjustly labeled as cardboard boxes.

Some ridiculed our wishes.

Others were downright aggressive.

Others were as flexible as reinforced concrete.

In the end, we settled on one who has no glossy brochure, no construction service description, and no model home.
Before the first appointment, we received two PDFs: one the supposed glossy brochure and one his calculation sheet.
He looked at the plot, came with graph paper and a ruler. Listened to our wishes, asked questions, not only about the project but also to get to know us. That’s why the appointment was at our place.

At the same time, we were in contact with two other companies, as we need a feel for prices.

Graph paper beat glossy brochure.

We disagree with the statement that using an architect is even cheaper. My experience is different.
Also, the statement that craftsmen often do not submit bids through architects comes from practical experience in an administration. Currently, there is such a construction boom that many companies say they have no desire to deal with all the paperwork, the verified invoices that then lie around for weeks, the construction meetings, etc. They have enough to do and also get contracts through direct awarding. And those who do submit bids charge significantly.

is practical experience in an administration

Presumably, the craftsmen simply have no desire to work for the public sector. Unfortunately, most administrations have not yet internalized that they do not have to accept the cheapest offer. We also do not participate in every tender at all costs. Often we even enter without any discounts, simply because we do not have the cheapest but the most economical offer.

Robson, I could say something about that... but it leads off topic. The fact is, you're not completely wrong.