Order of financing in "architectural construction"

Hello,

after long discussions and consultations, we are now determined to build a house with an architect. I am familiar with building a house with a general contractor, I have been through that, but apparently, with an architect, all processes are different. With a general contractor, I receive all the credit application data including the energy certificate and take it to the bank. But how does it work with an architect?

I would like to hire an architect to build the house with us. He has also drawn rough floor plans and provided a cost estimate based on square meters as well as a more detailed cost estimate by individual trades (no quantity survey, no final floor plan). Now he naturally wants a contract before the building application.

Now I have talked to the banks and since they said that I can only apply for KfW once, I also spoke with the KfW Bank. Result: I can logically apply for KfW 153 twice for my 2 apartments in the house. However, I now have to commit to the KfW standard in order to apply for the money. It should not get worse, but better does not bring me any advantage. However, I need the energy demand calculation of the house for the application.

Okay, I can only issue that once the wall construction is finally determined, right? But my architect wanted to finalize that together with me in the tender once we have the price difference for T8 bricks with 36, 42 and 49 cm wall thicknesses. So there cannot be a fixed calculation yet, right?

My architect now wants to talk to my heating engineer. But we wanted to determine him through a tender... well, I potentially have one at hand whom I would like - but only if his offer works out. And is the heating engineer even the right person for this?

I also talked to him, he does not want to do it because this calculation can only be made by an independent consultant. An architect should know that too, right?

Somehow I am now at the point where I have to hire the architect for something without being sure that financing will work out, since the documents for financing are only created during the process.

What is the correct sequence when building with architects and KfW?

Regards
Roger

Hello Roger,

I would like to hire an architect to build the house with us. He has also drawn rough floor plans and a cost estimate based on sqm as well as a more detailed cost estimate by individual trades (no quantity surveying, no final floor plan). Now he wants a contract before the building application, of course.

Understandable.

Now I talked to the banks and because they said I can only apply for KfW once, I also talked again with the KfW bank. Result: Logically, I can also apply twice for KfW 153 for my 2 apartments in the house. However, I already have to commit to the KfW standard to apply for the money. It should not get worse, but better does not bring me any advantage. However, I need the energy demand calculation of the house for the application.

The bank does not need a final energy demand calculation, but the form 153, issued by the structural engineer or energy consultant.

Ok, I can only issue that once the wall structure is finally fixed, right? My architect wanted to decide that together with me only in the tender once we know the price difference of T8 bricks with 36, 42 and 49 cm wall thickness. So there can be no fixed calculation yet, right?

Where is the problem? According to KfW it can always get better. So let the building be calculated with 36 cm masonry; if KfW 70 cannot be reached with that, the structural engineer/energy consultant will tell you in time. By the way - even if you build with an architect, some decisions must be made in a timely manner in this kind of construction!

An architect should know that too, right?

You should be able to assume that…

Somehow I am now at the point where I have to commission the architect for something without being sure that financing will work out, since the financing documents are only created during the process.

*Sigh* …

Forget about the bank and find an independent financing broker you trust. Look for references in your circle of acquaintances. Just please, if possible, not the one with the 3 letters and an A at the front Then go to the meeting with your documents – what you need to bring will be told to you by the broker. You don’t necessarily need a construction contract for this. After this meeting you will know exactly how much money you can finance; you can always bring your bank in later as a comparison.

You should also always keep in mind that the architect’s cost estimates only become concrete when the individual trades are specified. It can well be that the construction project will end up quite a bit more expensive than initially calculated. Meaning, keep a good reserve in the background for the worst case alongside the typical incidental building costs of about EUR 35-40K.

Rhenish regards