Saving $30,000 excites owners

There are no economic reasons for owners to take shortcuts in the building process. Our two-year research project shows using an architect will actually save you money and build wealth. We compared the high and low bids (the amount contractors told the owner they would build their project for) on a variety of projects listed in industry sources. These bids showed a range usually between 15 and 30 percent on almost every project. Some went as high as 45 to 60 percent difference*.

On a $300,000 building, as an example, the difference between high and low bids might be somewhere between $45,000 to $90,000. This is well above the typical design fee for that building. By using an architect to prepare the bidding documents, it's possible for an owner to effectively save anywhere from $15,000 to $60,000 or more. Add 15 years of interest payments to that and see what your long-term savings would be. With savings like that, you might even name your first-born child after your architect, or send your child to college.

By teaming up with your architect to bid a project and oversee the contractor who builds it (construction administration), you have a very good chance of saving big money, now. You also get the added benefit of knowing exactly what is being put into your building - the quality of the materials, the amount of rebar, the compaction of the soil - the real important things when you focus on long-lasting buildings and piece of mind.

This can save even bigger money through the years because of reduced maintenance costs or reducing the possibility of replacing shoddy work. How much does cracked concrete cost to remove and replace? It's a lot more than architectural design fees, especially if you count your time and a lawyer's time to sort things out.

Using an architect means safer buildings, better designs, more quality products, and lower costs for the building you want. Architects are licensed to protect the public. Architects check that each bidder is bidding on exactly the same quality during the bidding process. An architect helps monitor quality control on a project to minimize future costs and to keep you from being ripped-off by unscrupulous contractors.

Don't ask your barber if you need a haircut - Warren Buffett

If you go directly to a contractor there is no way to be sure if you are getting a quality product at the best price. Unless you hire an architect to oversee quality and cost control on your project, your odds of paying more and getting less increase. The architect is the owner's representative, hired to do the job as if the owner was doing it for himself. The savings realized by hiring an architect should be very exciting news to owners who are concerned with long-term wealth building.

Do you have plans for the money and time you will save?
jb@redfly.com

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Provide architecture for housing, schools, business, and recreation.

*The exceptions were large projects in the millions of dollars. Those had the least difference between low and high bid - usually around 5 to 7 percent. The reasons for this are many but remember, architectural fees, as a percentage of the project, go down as projects get larger.