There is no set fee arrangement for a particular type of
project. Fees are established in a number of ways, depending
on the type of project plus the extent and nature of services
required from an architect.
Common methods of compensation include: hourly rates, a stipulated
sum based on the architect's compensation proposal, a stipulated
sum per unit of what's to be built (i.e., the number of square
feet or rooms), a percentage of construction costs, or a combination
of these methods. Your architect will explain how a fee is
to be established. Then, the basis for the fee, the amount
and the payment schedule are issues for you and your architect
to work out together.
The 2000 Means Square Footage Cost Data survey indicates
that fees for architectural services on a custom house can
range from 5 to 15 percent of the total cost of construction.
Factors that affect the fees include the scope of the project,
the level of quality and detail, and economic conditions.
The architect's fee is usually a relatively small part of
the cost of the entire building project, including the estimated
construction cost (on which the fee is computed), the furnishings
and equipment, and the of a house over a 25-year period, your
actual expenditure is probably two and a half times the initial
price tag. See a simplified hypothetical case for a new house.
