I found a piece of land I really like. The trouble is it comes with an architect-builder. He is given to a bit of drama and makes everything sound impossible. I am not used to that and tend to take him literally. I don’t live in town where the house will be built. I will have to delegate many decisions to him. Is this workable? I like the land a lot but I am afraid trying to build remotely with someone I don’t see eye to eye may prove too much. We already had a few spats.
I depends on how much you like his end product. Frank Lloyd Wright was notoriously hard to work with from a client’s perspective, but at the end of the day they ended up with masterpieces of American art. On the other hand, if this guy is just building you a house from stock plans, maybe you should find someone new. One thing to know, all that drama almost always leads to cost over runs, either now, or five years down the road when you have to go back and re-do things the way you want them.
Excellent point! He is a nice guy but no Frank Lloyd. I don’t mind hard to work with or exacting standards. I think he is the opposite, a bit too quick to decide and act on.
I would be very concerned about delegating decisions to someone you already don’t see eye to eye with. I recently built a custom home 1200 miles away with an architect/builder I adore. A large, expensive project such as this can be challenging under the best of circumstances and you want to have complete trust in the construction team and very open communication. One of the things I liked best about my team is that they never told me something was impossible. They were always open to figuring out a way to give me what I want while being very upfront about the cost so I could make an informed decision.
There are extra factors to consider when you aren’t local. Even though I had complete trust in the builder, we opted to hire an Owners’ Rep to be my eyes and ears on the project since I would only be making monthly on-site visits. This person was referred to us by the construction attorney we used to negotiate the building contract. He made regular visits to the site to keep an eye on the quality of construction. But the biggest role he played was to review the work before every draw request from the builder and handle all the lien waivers for the subcontractors. He made sure I wasn’t paying for something that wasn’t completely finished and that all the subs had been paid so they couldn’t come after me for payment at a later date. Actually, I would recommend hiring a rep even if you were on site every day.
Have you looked at other homes this builder has done? I would recommend talking to prior clients to see how it went. I think most people believe they are hiring a great builder when they start a project. The real test is if you still feel that way when it’s all done. I’m worried that if you don’t have that confidence now, it isn’t going to get better as both the construction time and budget go up. And that almost always happens.
If you don’t care for him now, I guarantee you will hate him before the project is over.
I would love that! I have seen a few house he built from the outside. They looked good. My guy is quite negative. There are so many things I couldn’t do. He never gives a straight answer when I ask a question. I would walk away had I not liked the land so much.
Can you buy him out? Would it be worth it to interview another architect and pay a bit more to get him out of the picture?
I would do what it takes to get someone like this guy out if the picture and away from you and your home. No ones needs what he provides. Yuck!
Not easy. He is also in the building committee that will review any building plan. He may be fair minded and decide on merits. Or different kind of merits could prevail.
Why does it “come with” the architect/builder? I see he’s on the architectural review committee, but what other connection does he have with the land? Is he the seller? Would he have an enforceable legal right to demand decision making authority?
In my opinion, property ownership should be as unencumbered as possible. You’ll always be limited by zoning laws and other governmental regulations, as well as any deed restrictions or CC&R’s, but to enter into “ownership” where a non-owner has so much power seems like something less than full ownership.
When I built a custom home ( I designed) my builder told me that we would figurative be married to each
other during the process. It proved true. I was able to be onsite daily which was important. It is also the subs
who are vital to a good build. They become more invested in your house the more you see them and show
interest.
The neighbors build a truly expensive house with a builder who I knew to be poor and to lie.
This family has now been in litigation for 5 years and live in the guest suite on the lowest level.
If I needed to build long distance I would hire an advocate.
That said, I would never work with a builder I did not feel good about.
Same question I have. But based upon the limited amount of info, I’d run far away and run fast.
^^^I agree with this.
And I would never build a house remotely and never delegate decisions.
Before I can present the plan to the township for a permit, it has to go through the architectural review committe. He has considerable influence. I can meet CC&R and township codes reasonably but not everything is spelled out. Just the other day he pulled out some other regulation I didn’t know about.
If his control is limited to being a dominant force on the review committee, then this shouldn’t be a big concern. An review committee can’t insist you use a particular architect and, even if you choose to use him, you should be free to use any builder you’d like.
So, when I hear this, I think that you might as well get use to the phrase “change order” which in turn means “get out your checkbook.”
Is the architectural review committee report to an HOA or does it report directly to the township? Does the township have its own planning and building departments? Where does his committee’s power come from?
Building a home comes with thousands of decisions and I’m WAY too independent to let an architect-builder make those decisions for me. I’ve seen too many of these relationships end up in a lawsuit. If it were me, I’d buy a piece of property, hire my own architect, who I know I can work with and can produce a detailed set of plans and specs, and then find competent builder with great references.
I’ve seen “rubber stamp” architectural review committees and I’ve also seen “this is my kingdom” architectural control committees and this one sounds like the latter.
It sounds like this is one of those “build to suit” kind of deals where he is actually the seller.
To HOA and he is in both. He is the head of both, I think. The township has its own planning committee. I am not worried about the township. I met with the officials there and I found them rather accommodating. I have a feeling he injects his own preferences when he talks on my behalf. So far, I couldn’t get to HOA or the board directly.
@Consolation No, he is not the seller. I can change his building plans but I would like to know what else is possible beyond just modifying his plans. There may be more than what I can think of. Isn’t that why we hire an architect?
Sorry, it would not work for me. I’d cut my losses and get out of this deal, even if it means a loss. I couldn’t go forward with a guy like you’re describing. Too much risk and too many headaches.
@Iglooo So he’s not the seller. And the land comes with an approved set of building plans.
What does the seller say in regards to working with the architect-builder? Is the architect-builder the President or on the Board of the HOA as well?
Do you have a copy of the HOA’s CC&R’s? If so, what does the section say in regards to the architectual review committee (ARC)? Specifically, what do the CC&R’s have to say about the ARC and its power to review and approve plans? Is there “appeal” component, either to the HOA Board or the township? Does the HOA/ARC have a standard set of design standards or guidelines to follow?
Do you like the plans of the architect-builder? Or do you want to build something different?
IMO, this situation will entrely depend on your level of pain tolerance. Me? I’m always grinding on my last nerve. =))