Our Early-Stage Appraisal Services: Bringing Your Project to Life
Table of Contents
Who Our Appraisal Services Are For
Our appraisal services are designed for homeowners and small businesses who are looking for architectural advice, but don’t know:
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- Where to start.
- What can be achieved.
- How much their project is likely to cost.
We keep the cost of these services as low as possible, and provide you with a fixed fee, so you can avoid a large financial commitment while you are still considering the options for your project.
What Do Our Appraisal Services Include?
We have three levels of early-stage appraisal services so that you can choose the option that best suits your needs and budget.
Site Visit
- Check landscape constraints.
- Attend a site visit to discuss your project and give verbal advice.
Initial Appraisal
- Conduct an assessment of the planning and landscape constraints of the site.
- Attend a site visit to assess your project in context.
- Examine your goals vs your budget and discuss the options and alternatives that are available to you.
- Email follow up with written advice.
Full Appraisal
Everything in the Initial Appraisal stage, plus:
- Further research into the planning history and local constraints of your site.
- Prepare conceptual hand sketches and/or a mood board for your project.
- Prepare and agree on a Project Brief, which:
- Collates everything we have researched and discussed.
- Lists additional consultants and applications required and the likely fees for these.
- Provides an indicative timeline for the works.
- Includes a Ballpark Estimate based on the likely square metreage of the proposals and the current median cost of construction.
How to Get Started
If you would like to book one of our appraisal services, you can give us a call at 01208 873323.
Alternatively, if you’d like some more information, you can book a free 30-minute consultation with a designer to discuss your project, ask any preliminary questions, and gain an insight into whether we’re the right architectural practice for you. We understand that choosing an architect is a very personal choice so we won’t be offended if you decide we’re not the right fit.
What to Expect from the Process?
Our early-stage appraisals are typically carried out before any surveys or reports are obtained and can therefore be arranged soon after booking. The advice we give you is based on desktop research, alongside a site walkover and meeting with you to discuss your needs and objectives. For Initial and Full Appraisals, unless otherwise stated, the email confirming our advice will be sent out within 24 hours. Exceptions may occur when we require information from third parties before advising you.
For Full Appraisals, we aim to provide you with the Project Brief based on our discussions within two weeks of the site visit to allow us time to collate the information required. However, we can expedite this process if needed, so if you have a tight deadline, please let us know so we can accommodate you!
What Happens After Our Appraisals?
At the end of these services, we provide you with a Fee Proposal based on the discussed brief that sets out our charges on a per-stage basis, in a clear and easy-to-read format.
How Do We Set Out Our Fees?
Within our Fee Proposal, we use a mixture of Time-Charge and Fixed Fee pricing structures to provide you with maximum clarity on:
- What our fees for the project are, based on the Brief we have agreed, and;
- Which stages may fluctuate in cost. These are mainly stages where lots of collaboration, negotiations, and/or design changes may be required, such as the Concept Design and Application stages.
Is There Any Obligation to Continue With Our Services
No, there is no obligation to continue with our services after an appraisal is carried out. Whether you put your project on the back-burner or simply prefer to work with someone else, we will respect your decision—though we hope we will impress you by finding the perfect solution to your design needs! Regardless, you may use our advice as you wish once the appraisal is carried out.
Conclusion
Early-stage appraisals are useful if you aren’t sure what you can accomplish, or what the costs for your project are likely to be. Together, we’ll explore your visions, needs, and goals, assisting you in evaluating your project’s feasibility and uncovering any potential risks or challenges.
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