Hi
I have so many questions as we are starting from a very limited knowledge base. We have made the decision not to go with a volume builder, we are also not under any time pressure as we live in the house we will be knocking down and will only move out once all systems are go.
While I feel weird putting this out there, I think it helps to know our budget - it's $1m which doesn't include fees - we can absorb them outside of this budget. It's a huge amount of money for us and we are so afraid of making mistakes.
We are currently exploring drafts person versus architect. We aren't looking for a statement house - we are looking for a house that suits our family and how we live - this is not for resale but a "forever home". We want to love living in it.
We have met with 1 architect and 1 draftsperson and the difference in fee quotes is astonishing. I expected some difference, but not as much as 4x. It is so hard to parse through where the fees are for the same broad categories of work versus where the architect is including "additional services". Note - the contract management services that the architect offers are very clear and are outside of this 4x figure - we simply cannot afford the contract management services of the architect. Or to state another way, we are not willing to spend this monthly money on managing a contract as we would rather spend it on the build itself.
We are looking to meet with 1 other architect (already selected) and 1 other drafts person (not selected) so that we have an apples to apples comparison for each type.
The other important thing to note is that we don't have the bandwidth/capacity/knowledge to micromanage this build. Although we plan on renting close by so we can stop by and "look" but we know so little about any of this. What I'm wondering is are we losing a lot by not using an architect? Are there fees that the draftsperson doesn't include that are baked into typical architect fees? Note that we are more than happy to employ an independent inspector for all of the phases and have an interior DESIGNER (not decorator) lined up to do a floor plan and internal elevations sanity check.
If we go with the draftsperson and the independent inspector, are there any other optional services that we should think of employing to ensure the best outcome?
We also are interested in some passive house principles but are NOT looking to build an accredited passive house.
Lastly - if you have a draftsperson who you would personally recommend who works on projects in Bayside Council zone, please do let me know.
Thank you! Feel free to provide advice beyond the scope of my questions - it is all appreciated.