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Thought we’d found a good honest Tico Architect/Builder
Well, alas, it was not to be so. (perhaps those subject words are oxymoronic in CR)
After 6+ months and $20K+ we do have a set of plans for a house in a very
difficult location that has a 99 (out of 100) view in the South Pacific region.But after 100’s of emails, phone calls, meetings in person (4), we were
delivered a construction price 45% over our maximum budget. He knew the budget
all along. It was re-iterated time and time again. He never warned us that he
would be way over budget even though at times we deleted amenities and square
footage because we thought they would “break the budget”.We saw work that he had done, talked to people who had seen other work that he
had done. All reports were positive. Maybe those were just rich gringo
customers. God knows, the one we saw in Heredia was one expensive abode. He told
us he needed the work and would work within our budget. I’m afraid all we did
was feed his family and make his truck payments and maybe he knew that all
along.So, why am I posting this tale? To warn others not to get sucked into the “aim
to please” posturing of so many Ticos who will just walk you down the garden
path, taking your money as you pass through the architectural tollbooths that
the CR College of Architects sets up.Yes I know there are architects who will work outside the parameters set down by
the college and we had tried one prior to this one. That one delivered only
promises, never paid attention to anything we said, etc., etc., etc. We also
interviewed others, from the demure to the ridiculous!We are still waiting for the stamped plans from the “college”.
[b]
I have a few questions to those in the [u]know.[/u][/b]1. Do the plans and the approval belong to me or to the architect and can I,
once they are stamped submit them to the muni for a permit myself?1.a Is he required by law to deliver the plans to me once they are approved and
he is paid in full? I still owe him a pittance, about 5%, and would really like
to get the CAD files2. What form do I have to get this architect to sign to allow some other
engineer to supervise the work if he is willing to allow that?3. If all of the above fails, I have the plans in PDF (unfortunately not in
CAD). I have to assume (assuming anything appears to be a dumb thing to do in CR
by the way) that I can just get someone else to re-draw them. Right?Thanks in advance to those in the “know”
I have the plans, in PDF format. I can print a thousand copies if I desire
The fee was based on the standard CR College of Architects 10.5% fee and we negotiated the cost on which the percentage was based.
He worked hard for that money…even though I think it was too much. He made many revisions and in the end started saying, oh we can change that during construction because we’d made so many changes to his drawings.
Re-read the post. The $20K was paid to the architect who drew the plans, submitted them to the college and then priced out the job, he is/was an architect and a builder.
I perhaps should have asked, is he required by law to deliver the stamped (by the college) plans to me once he is paid in full? I have the plans, I need the stamped copies.
I should also have asked if all plans that go to a muni for a building permit have to be approved by the College of Architects before they can be submitted to the muni.
I had just wrote out a long reply to your post, then opened up another page to re-read it, when I read your second post.
Now, I don’t understand why you are ‘complaining’ if you are happy with the results?
Yes, he must give you the plans with stamp, so you can use another builder if you want. All plans must be stamped when you deliver them to your municipality along with the paperwork that states that there is water to the property.
A [i]new[/i] rules is that you must also present permission from the Highways regarding access to your building site. This must be done in SJ. Sorry, I don’t have the correct name/info of this as our [i]’paperwork is presently still there…’.[/i] We were told this takes about 8 days.A gringo in Aguacate ? That’s a first.
I’m in Tila at the OasisOriginal poster. Look up Vanessa Calvo.
You need a real atty and real advice.
Don’t be like the many, many, many other idiot gringo’s and get screwed. Slow down.When we built our two houses, using the same architect, we were quoted a total charge of 10.5% of the project cost [u]as determined by the Collegio[/u]. The Collegio uses a standard “per square meter” cost for any residential building and the architect’s fee is 10.5% of that figure. It’s much less than actual building costs.
What’s more, we were given options about just what we paid the architect to do. That is, we could have paid about 5% for finished, stamped plans ready to submit for permits. For an additional percentage, he would take us through the permitting process which can sometimes involve negotiation with the Municipalidad. For still more, he’d help us recruit and negotiate with a builder. And for the full 10.5% he’d do all those things and also make weekly on-site inspections as the projects took place.
We paid the long dollar in both cases and felt like we got our money’s worth and then some.
Do you have a contract between yourself and the Architect? Do you know what you payed for and what you may not have paid for – it should all be listed in the contract. If there was no contract written that is against the CFIA rules and regulations and you could file a complaint.
It is true that the CFIA has a set “percentage” fee to be charged, but in the end its the Engineer/Architect who decides what they will charge. There is a percentage fee for each the possible jobs a Architect/Engineer would provide for you:
– Preliminary Studies (1.5% – 2%)
– Conceptual Drawings, Home design, 3D drawings (2-3%)
– Bluepint creation (required for permits)(4-5%)
– Application for permits (can be done by owner)
– Inspections of work (required during construction)(4-5%)In Costa Rica for full service including all the items above, typical charges are 10 – 15%. I am a general contractor and work together with a Architectual/Engineering firm which charges 8.5% for complete service and have a proven track record. They are based in Heredia but do lots of work here in Guanacaste (were I am located). I have worked with them for 4+ years and they provide complete stamped plans within 3-4 weeks (given there are no chages made from the plans decided apon).
The Engineer also runs his own construction company and I am sure you could get a very reasonable bid from him for your construction, I figure you are in San Jose?
If you have had a negitive experiance with any Architect/Engineer you can file an offical written complaint against them at the CFIA. I hope you have a contract though..
I just noticed the part about your location. You mentioned in a very diffucult location in the South Pacific. How difficult of a location? THat of course increases costs overall for materials, and labor if workers need to be brought in. Also your builder may want to charge more for the distance to travel and the headache to build in a area like that.
He may have at first just given you prices “off the top of his head” for what things normally cost without thinking of your specific situation – it would not suprise me that once he actualy caluclated the costs, that he realised what the actual added costs would be to build in a “difficult location”.
If this is someone from the San Jose area you may have better luck searching for a local builder in your area. Anyone from San Jose will charge a high premium to build in a area far away.
Personally I don’t believe in paying any professional a % of the job cost because the cost can vary depending on who is building the project, materials, etc. I also feel that paying a % of the cost does not encourage the architect to value engineer the project, i.e. use economical building methods and materials. I haave built projects in CR and the USA and I have never paid an architect close to 10% of a project.Be wary of an architect who claims that he is charging the 10% because it is mandated. In this economy if you call and talk to enough architects you can get house plans with detail for $1k-$3k and you can than hire someone to get the required permits.Of course if you insist on going to English speaking professional who advertise in the Tico Times than you will get taken advantage of and pay all the money. What I like to do is to find a home style I like on houseplans.com or a similiar site (look for Florida style homes as they are built similiar to CR houses) and print off the floorplans and have an architect tweek them to my liking and put the palns in CAD format. I have used this in both the USA and here and I have NEVER spent more than $2500 for plans in fact my last project I speent less than $1000.
[quote=”spraytherm”]Thought we’d found a good honest Tico Architect/Builder
Well, alas, it was not to be so. (perhaps those subject words are oxymoronic in CR)[/quote]
Oxymoronic as honest abogado.Sounds like the typical Tico taking advantage of the Gringo Rico.
If it weren’t for Tico friends I’d be minus Scotts proverbial camisa. With a lot of Ticos you try to deal with, the minute you open your mouth you’re in trouble.
Diesels12: Could you give the location that you are doing most of your projects? Central Valley? Do you have an architect that you would recommend? Thx!
[quote=”sueandchris”]Diesels12: Could you give the location that you are doing most of your projects? Central Valley? Do you have an architect that you would recommend? Thx![/quote]
We built a project of 8 very nice homes overlooking Playa Samara and they were all designed and administered to by architect Karin Nagel of Nagel SA. She and her sister Jessica have a reputable firm and are great to work with. Let me know if you would like additional information. costaricabill@gmail.com
I can refer you to a fantastic creative and honest architech that helped us design the home we are building in Guanacaste- His name is Ricardo Barrantes and he resides in Grecia. If you need me to put you in contact with him just write me at qtc9808@aol.com.
Joe
[quote=”spraytherm”]Thought we’d found a good honest Tico Architect/Builder
Well, alas, it was not to be so. (perhaps those subject words are oxymoronic in CR)
After 6+ months and $20K+ we do have a set of plans for a house in a very
difficult location that has a 99 (out of 100) view in the South Pacific region.But after 100’s of emails, phone calls, meetings in person (4), we were
delivered a construction price 45% over our maximum budget. He knew the budget
all along. It was re-iterated time and time again. He never warned us that he
would be way over budget even though at times we deleted amenities and square
footage because we thought they would “break the budget”.We saw work that he had done, talked to people who had seen other work that he
had done. All reports were positive. Maybe those were just rich gringo
customers. God knows, the one we saw in Heredia was one expensive abode. He told
us he needed the work and would work within our budget. I’m afraid all we did
was feed his family and make his truck payments and maybe he knew that all
along.So, why am I posting this tale? To warn others not to get sucked into the “aim
to please” posturing of so many Ticos who will just walk you down the garden
path, taking your money as you pass through the architectural tollbooths that
the CR College of Architects sets up.Yes I know there are architects who will work outside the parameters set down by
the college and we had tried one prior to this one. That one delivered only
promises, never paid attention to anything we said, etc., etc., etc. We also
interviewed others, from the demure to the ridiculous!We are still waiting for the stamped plans from the “college”.
[b]
I have a few questions to those in the [u]know.[/u][/b]1. Do the plans and the approval belong to me or to the architect and can I,
once they are stamped submit them to the muni for a permit myself?1.a Is he required by law to deliver the plans to me once they are approved and
he is paid in full? I still owe him a pittance, about 5%, and would really like
to get the CAD files2. What form do I have to get this architect to sign to allow some other
engineer to supervise the work if he is willing to allow that?3. If all of the above fails, I have the plans in PDF (unfortunately not in
CAD). I have to assume (assuming anything appears to be a dumb thing to do in CR
by the way) that I can just get someone else to re-draw them. Right?Thanks in advance to those in the “know”[/quote]
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