Phase 2 already completed?

Hello dear house building forum!

I have been a silent reader of the house building forum for some time now. After a long search, we finally found a plot of land in the middle of last year, and now the planning is slowly starting.

It was clear early on that we wanted to build a solid house. At first, we had various appointments with architects and general contractors who created different sketches and designs for us.

In particular, the cooperation with the general contractors seemed very inflexible to us. Our wishes were only partially considered, and there were always the standard designs that can be found on the web.

Therefore, we decided to implement our project with an architect. In a second round, in which we spoke with various architects, we have now decided on an architect and signed an architect contract for phases 1-8.

Previous process:
We created a requirements profile with a room program that was handed over to the architect. Then there was an appointment at the architect’s office where we discussed our requirements. After an on-site appointment at the construction site, the surveyor was commissioned to measure the plot.

Now the architect began creating the first draft, which was presented to us last Thursday in the form of a floor plan and side views. There was also a floor area calculation and a cost estimate that includes the following points:

x m3 x 340 €/net = xxx € /net
xxx €/VAT
xxx €/gross

Overall cost breakdown:
Building with double garage xxx €/gross
Architect xxx €/gross
Surveyor xxx €/gross
Structural engineer xxx €/gross
Total costs xxx €/gross

This draft contains some details that we like very much but also a few points that deviate from our original requirements profile.

Example: double garage 6x8m instead of 4x8 + carport
Utility room on the ground floor instead of, as desired, on the upper floor
Open gallery above dining area, gallery was not desired by us. We are also not sure if we want that.

We made it clear to the architect that we still need to review the details and discuss them internally, especially regarding the gallery. The architect also told us that he would send us an interim invoice for the current status of services, which was also okay with us.

On Saturday we then received the interim payment with the following content:

Dear building owners,
according to the scope of services and attachment, we allow ourselves to issue a first interim invoice for xxx €/gross.

The following service phases are billed:
1. Basic evaluation 2% (of 2%)
2. Preliminary planning 7% (of 7%)
3. Design planning 7% (of 15%)

This surprised us because we actually still see ourselves in service phase 2. We did receive a first draft, but neither a rough schedule nor a cost estimate according to DIN 276, as provided in HOAI and the contract. Or is the above list sufficient for a cost estimate?

We contacted the architect on the same day to clarify the uncertainties. He told us that, of course, we would receive further drafts. He clearly considers us to already be in phase 3 (design planning).

Actually, we wanted to accept the interim payment so as not to cause any bad feelings right from the start. But we are still hesitating because we find the approach unusual and are not sure what consequences might arise if we accept the interim payment as is.

This results in the following questions for us:
- Is the cost estimate sufficient or should there not be at least a breakdown by cost groups (level 1)?
- What planning status must the preliminary planning have in order to start phase 3?
- Do you also see us already in phase 3? Or are our expectations possibly too high?
- Should a written acceptance of the result take place after each phase? How does that work for others?

We hope to receive some first answers to our questions here. What we are definitely already agreed on is that we will look for an expert as an independent instance as soon as possible.

Regards and many thanks in advance.
Bernd

...we have now decided on an architect and signed an architect contract for phases 1-8.

How does it work for others?

What does such an architect contract look like, what does it include? We have not concluded anything with our architect. At some point after the building permit (6 months of collaboration) we received a cost breakdown from her for the individual phases. Very important here, make sure you get fixed prices, otherwise the whole thing can easily become 20% more expensive, which always looks bad in a cost plan. We signed this cost breakdown and then received the first advance invoice.

If you seriously want to work together as a "team," from preliminary considerations and planning to the finished house, the human aspect must fit. If you are already arguing about such small things now, it can quickly go wrong. For us, it is a give-and-take; we basically received services for 6 months and only then the invoice. If the next invoice has one more item added, so what, we won’t make a fuss about it. In the end, we pay our fixed price and receive a finished product.

Of course, things can always happen, but if you want to take everything into account, it's best not to build at all.

Good evening Bernd,

Now the architect began creating the first draft, which was presented to us last Thursday in the form of a floor plan and side views. In addition, there was a surface area calculation and a cost estimate which includes the following points:
[...] Now on Saturday we received the partial payment with the following content. [...]
That actually surprised us, as we still saw ourselves in service phase 2.

I am not really surprised that a layman expresses "concerns" when it comes to his wallet ... although I will probably never understand it: service : consideration!

Your architect has fulfilled service level 3 – a first draft is available – or do you want to claim the opposite ... or even determine the due date of the fee?

Rhenish regards

I consider half of Phase 3 absolutely fair in the billing if a draft already exists. We also issued a partial invoice after the first two drafts. That is also fair, the architect has also delivered a respectable performance.