Who has built with an architect? Experiences??

2015-08-15 17:59:11

Thanks for your reports. Doesn't sound too great. After talking to 3 architects yesterday, all of whom were clearly above budget, we gave up on the idea. With an architect, you simply can't get under €500,000 for our house size. That doesn't make sense for us. No matter how flexible we are with the choice of building materials. We'll rather reconsider our requirements and possibly make the house a bit smaller.

The best architect was the one who said he only builds KFW40, because that's definitely worth it... but of course only with wood, because that's the best material and totally healthy... when asked about the exterior wall structure regarding insulation, he said he fully relies on polystyrene... oh yeah... so totally healthy My impression is that many architects are simply out of touch with reality. Most of them are some eco idealists who want to realize themselves in the project but totally plan past the customer. Shame

Regards

Sorry.. but that's complete nonsense!!! You really were always talking to the wrong people. We also had many offers from general contractors and initially they were of course always cheaper. On closer inspection, however, they quickly turned out to be just as expensive or even more expensive.

2015-08-15 18:02:26

You forget that the architect only purchases services once, but the developer does so multiple times with the same craftsmen. Furthermore, the architect is paid according to HOAI, which is about 10-12% of the construction cost - this fee is distributed by the developer across several construction projects. A mixed calculation, in other words. Additionally, with multiple construction sites, the developer can push down the prices for the trades, especially since the shell construction is a not insignificant factor. And certainly the biggest advantage: the general contractor / developer performs in-house work in the form of their own trades – so they can produce these cheaper than if they had to purchase them. The last point is not the case for everyone, but for those we have spoken with, it is. This creates synergies that the architect cannot utilize.

2015-08-15 18:04:47

Sorry..but that is complete nonsense!!! You really always talked to the wrong people. We also had many offers from general contractors and in the beginning they were of course always cheaper. But on closer inspection, they quickly turned out to be just as expensive or even more expensive.

Then you talked to the wrong ones... we also had several offers from prefab house builders that were above the architect's price, no question. But you should also compare apples to apples. If I want to build with solid construction and the architect tells me that timber frame construction is cheaper, that may be true - but that's not what I want and what can then be compared in price. We have now spoken in total to 7 architects. Everyone, really everyone told us that they cannot keep the price. Our general contractor is not a cheapo but enjoys an excellent reputation here and has been in business for 30 years. Strange that all architects (unfortunately) were higher.

2015-08-15 18:08:56

Even a general contractor must have statics and so on for each individual construction project. Either purchased or employed.

And such an architect builds exactly one house after graduation and then disappears again.

But architects regularly build houses and have their contacts to several shell builders and commission them repeatedly for the appropriate construction projects. So they also know the market and get better offers than if just anyone inquires.

But since you think you know everything better, why are you still asking?

2015-08-15 18:13:17

Maybe because I absolutely wanted your two cents... oh no... actually not!

I asked because I’m interested in how the experiences were. I also believe that other architects are cheaper than general contractors. That hardly surprises me. But the 7 I spoke to were not. So either they were architects with high standards or our GC gave us a good price - both possible.

2015-08-15 18:15:32

Also think that GU and architect won't differ that much in the end. The architect charges for planning, Elma earns about 30k€ per house according to the annual report (and installs 5! sockets in the living room -.-) What you must also not forget is that you get a different quality of planning from an architect (I've noticed in some places that we lack a bit of professional planning for perfection – nothing dramatic, but quite a few little things).

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Who has built with an architect? Experiences??

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