Per Square foot.


I have been asked now several times what the cost of builing is in CR per square foot. A perusal of the internet resources will tell you that it is 50-55 dollars per sqaure foot depending on the quality of construction. Well, anecdotal research recently conducted in and around the Guanacaste Penninsula is that costs have risen to 60-65 dollars a square foot.

Regrettably, this is important. In CR, your architects fees are a mandated percentage of the total estimated construction value. Yes, value. Not cost. Value. What he believes the project to be worth. Lower actual costs do not result in a lower fee. I have been warned that architects will include in the total sqaure footage estimate pools, driveways, gazeebos, decks and other such. Be careful of this when you interview for your architect.


in CR, the CFIA is a legal body that covers the Architectural, Engineering, Construction and Topographical professions. All Architectural Services are governed by the Colegio Federado de
Ingenieros y Arquitectos de Costa Rica (CFIA). This legal body is responsible for:
􀂾 Determining the qualifications.
􀂾 Maintaining membership roles.
􀂾 Aiding in conflict resolution.
􀂾 Taking administrative action.
􀂾 Performing an occasional investigation.
􀂾 Defining responsibilities.
􀂾 Establishing minimum fees.

The last two items are are the important ones to watch. They could lead swell to represent nearly 20 percent of your building budget. The CFIA is run by the CR architects and engineers it governs.

In CR, the architects has the follwoing resposibilities:
􀂾 A site visit and possibly some preliminary sketches.
􀂾 Conceptual designs.
􀂾 Construction plans and permits.
􀂾 Budgeting.
Plans and Documents.

In CR architects are responsible for construction over sight. There are 3 levels of care available to the project owner.

􀂾 Inspection.
􀂾 Technical direction.
􀂾 Administration.

Inspection is generally restricted to builders that team up with an Architect. It is very rare to find an Architect who will perform Inspection level work with a contractor who has not worked with the Architect previously.

Technical direction is the most commonly negotiated level of service. It is basically the same process as Inspection but possibly includes a little more coordination with the builder.

Administration is what every Architect wants to claim is required. It is supposed to mean that they are responsible for seeing that the job is done exactly as they had in mind.

Other – The Architect is free to charge whatever he/she can negotiate
for any additional services.

The Architect is in control of setting the level of supervision appropriate for your home. Each increasing level requires a higher percentage of the estimated construction value be paid as a fee to the architect.

The legally mandated rates are broken into two parts, one for each
phase. For the Plans and Documents phase, the fees are cumulative.
They are:
Description of Work Fee Cumulative
Preliminary studies 0.5% 0.5%
Conceptual design 1.0% – 1.5% 2.0%
Construction plans 4.0% 6.0%
Budgeting 0.5% - 1.0% 7.0%
Selecting a builder 0.5% 7.5%

For the Control and Execution phase, the Architect will select one of these options:
Description of Work Fee
Inspection 3.0%
Technical direction 5.0%
Administration 12.0%
Other fees Open
Your total cost will be the product of the value per square meter times
the total square meters times the total percentage for the applicable
fees: Value/sq meter x Total sq. meters x Total % of Fees = Total
Cost.

What the builder can do to manage the fees:

• Tell the Architect that you will select the builder and that the
builder will do the budgeting. That saves over $7,400.
• Demand that the Control and Execution be Technical Direction
instead of Administration. If you have absolute faith in the
builder you can try to talk him down to Inspection which will
save even more.
• Try to convince the Architect that garages, patios and decks
don’t cost as much as the house construction.
• Try to convince him it that the value will reasonable.
You can also use one of several CR services, such as CR Plans, that are build design teams to hold costs down.

OR, you can find an honest architect. I opted for the later.