Hello,
I have been quoted approx $6000 for the design of two villas including submission to the D.A stage, and then another $3600(not including council fees) to get the constuction certificate plus issue of constuction drawings.
Does this seem about normal? or can It be done cheaper?
Any thoughts?
Gavin
Hi Gavin,
That’s very cheap. In fact I would be questioning the quality of service you are going to get if this is for design and taking the application through planning.
A word of advice, design is not an area you want to skimp on, as it directly impacts the time it will take tom get a permit, the chance of you receiving a permit at all and the value of the end product.
Regards
AlistairThanks for the reply Alistair,
It is good to know that you think this is cheap, and I take on board what you say. However this designer was recommended to me by to seperate people within the industry totally unconnected and without bias. Also he does a lot of work in the area that I live and most of his designs achieve prices toward the top of the market.
Gavin
Hi Gavin,
That’s great, if he’s good you have done very well. We usually charge around $4.5K for the planning and most architects/draftspeople will charge considerably more than this for the drawings.
Regards
AlistairAs APerry said, don’t skimp on the design work. Obtaining a thoroughly resolved design and associated set of drawings will ensure a smoother building process and will be invaluable. A good Architect is worth every penny. Good Luck[thumbsup2]
Gavin
I agree with the above posts. Seems very cheap. Designers are, of course, cheaper than architects however a word of caution – make sure it's "horses for courses". If your development is in the higher calibre range, you'll need to go more upmarket. You don't want to build the cheapest looking place around – no offsense to designers but they sometimes don't have the attention to detail and scope that architects do.
I'd also check as to what's included in the quote – there are often additional costs to be incurred – Basix certification, struct engs, landscaping pplans, Statement of Env. Effects, that will be needed either with or after the DA submission. Also, does your quote include construction drawings or are these additional?
All things to remember when working out your costs (and therefore you feasibility and profits!)
Hope that helps.
Regards
Hi, it depends on the end value of your project. If your building cost does not exceed $850 per m2, then the initial cost is a bit too high.
The valuer used by my lender put my project in the "mid range" cost & I pay about $5000 all in for design, submission to council & LTO, surveys etc. This amount is only for paperwork. It doesn't include payments to council, connection of services.
I estimate that it's about 0.3% of eventual profit.
Maybe 1% of profit? I'm stabbing in the dark with this estimate.
FYI, I build houses under the median price.
Hope this helps.
Kum Yin
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