The developer requires a down payment to start drawing

Hello everyone,

We are currently in the process of having our house planned. Or rather, we already have a good idea of what it should look like. We saw a great house online [www] with some modifications. Now we went to a builder who demands a deposit of 4,000 EUR. The reason behind this is that they obviously put in the work and, in the worst case, we could take this drawing to another builder. (understandable) However, the amount seems quite high to me! 4,000 EUR is easily at least half a monthly salary for a draftsman. Or am I seeing this incorrectly?

Basically, I would like to have at least 2 offers to be able to compare the prices.

I have contact with another builder who made me a first draft over the weekend. Without any costs incurred...

What do you think about this? Deposit yes? But how much?

Best regards Antonio

In my personal opinion, that has to do with service. At least the first draft, in my opinion, should not cost anything. I would basically exclude that right away. We had two appointments each with two developers where we were shown and handed over drafts. Then we compared everything including the construction performance description and then continued on the path with one of the two. For me, that is part of sales. But I can understand that some may charge money after a certain number of revised drafts. But not right from the start.

Hello,
I recommend that you first familiarize yourself with the terminology. Do you own a plot of land? Then you don’t need a developer, but a general contractor or principal contractor or builder.
If you don’t own a plot of land and you go to the developer, you won’t be able to build with another company on their land.

Currently, we are in a seller’s market. You can always talk about prices, but if the provider has enough demand, there will also be someone among them who pays for the planning work – even if this is only necessary for the preparation of the offer. It’s fair that they point that out right away. We also have a case here in the forum where the potential builder was surprised by the bill...

I don't think that's too expensive. But you don't need an accurate detailed drawing to compare prices. A hand drawing or a correction from a [Typenhaus] is actually sufficient. Also a sketch from the client, if he is somewhat skilled.

I had paid in advance for my design from the general contractor in a planning contract, and it was similarly expensive. Afterwards, I had the design costed turnkey by several companies including this general contractor. In my case, however, I then received an actual design according to my wishes along with several revisions and not the usual free general contractor copy-paste of old designs. Whoever wants more service must also be willing to pay for it. But of course, I would then hold the planner fully accountable. And only do this with companies with an excellent reputation...

Hello, I recommend that you first familiarize yourself with the terminology. Do you own a plot of land? Then you don’t need a developer, but a general contractor or principal contractor or construction company. If you do not own a plot and you go to a developer, you will not be able to build on his land with another company. We are currently in a seller’s market. You can always negotiate prices, but if the provider has enough demand, there will also be one who pays him for the planning activity – even if this is only necessary for preparing the offer. It is fair that he points this out immediately. We also have a case here in the forum where the potential builder was surprised by the invoice...

First of all, thanks for your reply. We actually acquired a plot through a lottery procedure of the city. (Bobingen near Augsburg) We want to build turnkey, so we approached developers. Depending on the effort, it is understandable to make a down payment. But 4,000 EUR? For an activity that may possibly be completed within 8 hours of work?! The down payment would also be credited when commissioning the construction...