Architect fees

[bobbybo]

Hi all

am looking to get planning permission for 3 blocks of 6 flats in a phased development of block at a time, a good quality Architect firm has quoted 18k + vat for drawings to get permission for the 18 flats, then 35k + vat for build control..

the planning part seems ok for a good design and to pass planning, the question is can I get another architect or technician cheaper to get through the building warrant?

appreciate any feedback

cheers

Rob

[chonok]

You should be able to!!

I run my own practice, but nowhere near your area by the look of it.

I would probably charge half that!

[chonok]

Actually, just re-read your email. If its regs only you need, I may be able to help you. I'll send you a pm...

[malks222]

I dont know if these costs are good or bad, but because of the value i'd be tempted to 'tender' this gig through a few different architect firms.speak to them, get quotes/ breakdowns of what they are going to provide:

what level of person will work on this? trainee (signed of by a partner), associate, chartered..........
how many hours are they allowing for?
will they design once and any changes will be billable on a schedule of rates?

then I'd also be asking for experience in this sort of thing. they might be good at designing commerical builds etc... but no use at domestic. how many projects have they taken through planning etc... recently.

might turn out they are the most competitive and have good history of this, or you might save yourself some.

[JQ]

Would you not want to employ a Planning Consultant? I'd have thought one of the largest value drivers in a residential development of apartments would be the planning consent secured.

[Evo141n]

approx. 1.4% of the development value looks very reasonable to me.
Have a look at their past experience and level of service you're getting from them then look at their competition. You will find someone to do it cheaper, but the value to you of their service will go down, and on a +£3m job is it really worth it?

[chonok]

Evo141n said:

approx. 1.4% of the development value looks very reasonable to me.
Have a look at their past experience and level of service you're getting from them then look at their competition. You will find someone to do it cheaper, but the value to you of their service will go down, and on a +£3m job is it really worth it?

I think you've got your calculations wrong there..

I still think it's way too much, unless they are offering a full project management service.

[eps]

If you can get a single firm to do the Planning and Building Control there would be less of a chance of issues arising and they can't then blame the Firm who submitted the Planning Permission if Building Control is a pain or has underlying issues.

It's quite hard to gauge if the costs are reasonable or not, to be honest it seems quite steep but if the flats are 100k each then that's 1.8M so then it looks cheap and they probably aren't going for that little either...

[Jonstar]

Evo141n said:

approx. 1.4% of the development value looks very reasonable to me.
Have a look at their past experience and level of service you're getting from them then look at their competition. You will find someone to do it cheaper, but the value to you of their service will go down, and on a +£3m job is it really worth it?

This can't be right. We get similar quotes for schemes 5 times the size of OP's in the south-east.