New single-family house construction in Lower Saxony - what is the amount of the architect's fee?

Hello everyone,

So far, I have remained silent here and was mostly occupied with absorbing information. But now that the project is taking more concrete shape, I have a few burning questions. We have already had an initial meeting with the architect. He was recommended by relatives who built with him two years ago.
In doing so, we have roughly noted the following details:
- New construction of a single-family house in northern Lower Saxony
- Plot available, approx. 820 sqm
- House approx. 150 sqm
- Due to building regulations, no town villa may be built
- The floors should be separated by a roof cornice (90 sqm downstairs, 60 sqm upstairs) to comply with the building regulations and still have no slopes upstairs
- Garage/carport approx. 45 sqm
- Underfloor heating throughout the house, except utility room
- Geothermal heat pump with brine or gas as energy source
- Ventilation system
- Loan amount including plot (approx. €60,000) approx. €250,000, upper limit €300,000
- Performance phases 1-4 to be carried out by the architect. After approval, we will take over

In the initial meeting, the architect told us that he would send us a fee proposal AND a first draft.
Last week, we received the fee proposal and we are back on the ball. Unfortunately, no sketch was included. He probably expects us to accept the offer in order to plan the further procedure.

The offer is as follows:
*Basic evaluation and preliminary planning (performance phases 1+2) = €2,400
*Design planning (performance phase 3) = €2,800
*Approval planning (performance phase 4) = €1,600
Total = €6,800 plus VAT
That would bring it to around €8,000 – is that correct or am I missing something here?

Additionally, the following things are noted:
Fee
*The remuneration is based on the Fee Structure for Architects and Engineers (HOAI) in the version valid at the time of contract conclusion.
*The project will be remunerated with lump-sum fixed-price fees according to the listed services described and agreed under item 2. The listed services can also be commissioned in stages.
*Additional costs such as postage, telephone, copies are included in the total fee.
*VAT at the applicable statutory rate will be charged in addition on all fee and incidental cost claims.
*Payment is made in instalments after partial services have been rendered.
*In case of late payment, the contractor reserves the right and is entitled to immediately suspend work without further notice. Claims for damages arising from this option are fully excluded.
*Services that go beyond the scope of the commissioned performance phases as listed under item 2 (offer with the performance phases), such as changes and extensions of the task, will be compensated according to effort at an hourly rate on proof as follows:

Necessary specialist experts (structural engineers/energy consultants) will be charged separately

So far so good. Now come the questions:
1. How exactly was the fee calculated? Online I have read that in the first phases it is roughly estimated based on experience and the building environment? Is there a reason to complain here?
From the HOAI (especially §35) I cannot quite make sense of it, as I don’t yet know the eligible costs myself.
2. In the paragraph about the fee, point 2 (see above) is mentioned. Does that mean it is a fixed lump sum and this remains fixed regardless of how the construction cost changes in performance phases 1-4? (For example, removal of a chimney, different energy sources, etc.)
3. Fee last point: Does this mean that major changes must be paid for additionally? (Additional performance phases are clear)
Examples would be things like:
- The design does not yet meet our expectations and must be adjusted (performance phase 3, §34 HOAI)
- The building permit is rejected due to deficiencies (performance phase 4, §34 HOAI)
Must such things be compensated separately under the clause?
4. Does it make sense to ask the architect for a rough sketch as an acquisition to at least determine compatibility? Or is that too much to ask?
5. In connection with fees, I keep reading about 5% incidental costs – what is that about?

As you can see, I don’t have much knowledge and would like to first get your opinion before approaching the architect.

I sincerely thank you if you have read the text to the end and hope for constructive contributions!

Best regards

The remuneration according to HOAI is calculated from the construction sum, that is, the costs for all planned installations excluding VAT, excluding incidental construction costs, and excluding the land.

How much is that? You are talking about the "loan amount"?

If the mentioned 250K minus 60K are supposed to represent the costs for the house including garage and incidental construction costs, then you should recalculate. That will - clearly - not be enough.

If equity is added, then include it in the construction costs. The architect is not interested in where the money comes from.

Without looking at the table now, I consider the estimated 8K to be too low. Since explicit billing according to HOAI is to be done, you run the risk that at the end of the work an invoice for the difference between the 8K and the minimum remuneration will follow.

The numbers are somewhat oddly distributed, but overall okay up to service phase 4. What you still need is a structural engineer up to service phase 5, which costs significantly more. And as already mentioned, hopefully the 300 are only directly for the house without ancillary construction costs and without the land.

Just went ahead and used the calculator. So with 160K net and the minimum rate, it would probably work out, but we both agree that it doesn't work. With 200K net, around 9K are already on the clock.

Calculator used incorrectly?
Construction costs are non-chargeable costs. 250k€ house is about 7-8 gross fee

Thank you for the answers so far. I will also add this right at the top of the post. I forgot to write down the equity. So: The €60,000 for the plot and about €15,000-20,000 (planned for initial ancillary construction costs, architect, structural engineer, energy consultant, etc.) are equity. €250,000 are the pure planned costs for the house construction excluding the ancillary construction costs. Does this untangle things a bit? Hope it contributes to understanding. Edit: Ah damn, unfortunately editing is no longer possible for the first post.