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Custom Design, Off-the-Shelf Budget
Johannes Zutt, in the kitchen with Lucas, chose an architect for the 3,000-square-foot house by looking at portfolios at the offices of the American Institute of Architects, then talking with a half-dozen prospects.
(Photos By Sarah L. Voisin -- The Washington Post)
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Arriving at the right fee can take work. There are different ways to pay an architect. The traditional method, preferred by many architects, is to charge a percentage -- from 7 to 20 percent -- of the final cost of the home, which can escalate during construction.
Some architects prefer to charge by the hour, often $50 to about $200, others a fixed flat fee based on a percentage of the home's projected cost.
In the end, whatever the method, the fee can end up being about the same, architects say.
Still, some clients prefer the predictability of a flat fee set in advance or an hourly rate. They say there's less incentive for architects to hold down construction costs if their fee is based on the final cost of the house.
Some architects agree with that principle, but others, like Peter Grina, don't. He said the architect's job is to oversee the project, watch for overruns and make sure the job is done to specifications, without shortcuts or wrong materials.
"All my work is from referrals," said Grina, a solo practitioner who works in Georgetown. "The way I continue to have jobs is to have satisfied customers, and that includes trying to save them money when it's appropriate."
Either way, as the Keenes learned, some architects are willing to negotiate.
Mars, their architect, not only said he was willing to bargain but also ended up agreeing to a lower price than he would have had he realized that the cost of the 2,000-plus-square-foot house was going to escalate as it did.
"I gave them a range of fees for a project of this size, and he negotiated to the low end of the range," which was 14 percent of the cost of the project, Mars said. He based his fee on the original $450,000 budget. The cost eventually went above $600,000 because the Keenes upgraded materials on the exterior.
As a result, Mars said, his fee ended up being about 10 percent, far below his normal charge.
Besides negotiating, there are other ways to get the architectural fee to meet the budget.
Stephen J. Vanze, a partner at Barnes Vanze Architects in Washington, said that less-established firms may charge less than firms, like his, that have built a reputation.
