Fees are established in a variety of ways depending on the clients’ building situation and the extent and nature of services required from an architect.
Common methods of compensation include:
Hourly Fees – An architect may charge an hourly rate, which is typically based on his/her level of experience. This type of fee is usually applied to smaller projects such as renovations. Engineering and other fees are not included in the architect’s hourly rate.
Percentage of Construction Cost – Many firms base their fees on a percentage of the cost of construction. The percentage varies depending on the type of services rendered and the building type but can range between 5 and 15 percent of the total cost of construction. If the cost of building materials goes up, the architect’s fee will too. Each architect sets his or her own fee and most engineering costs are covered in this type of fee.
Flat Fee – The factors that affect this fee include the scope of the project, the level of quality and detail and economic conditions. The fee is not dependent upon construction costs and will only change if the program changes or if there is a change in the scope of services provided by the architect.
Rate per square foot – This type of fee is based on the size of the project. Engineering and other fees may be included in the architect’s rate per square foot. Tammen + Rose Architecture, LLC typically charges a rate per square foot for new construction.
Reimbursable expenses are out of pocket expenses incurred by the architect on behalf of the project that usually cannot be predicted at the outset, such as long-distance telephone calls, out of town travel, mileage, reproduction of construction documents, 3D renderings and models (as required). Detailed in the owner-architect agreement, they are usually outside the stipulated sum or hourly billing rate and normally billed as they occur. They can also include fees for soils engineering, boundary surveys, topographical surveys and native plant list inventories, plan review fees, building permits, impact fees, and design review fees required by some governing jurisdictions or homeowners associations (these fees can be costly in some jurisdictions).