Is it possible to be a self employed architect in Spain?

To be honest with you it is so complicated. I will try to explain why in terms of outgoings over a year, and of course the income you will need so you can evaluate the overall cost.

To start with you will need the current qualification of architect, awarded by one of the many schools of architecture in Spain. I need to say that you will spend five or six years to finish the career, considering it is a technical (not only design) grade. Of course you will need money to do it (a lot, due to the enormously amount of sofisticated tools required and the enrollment itself).

Lets imagine you have succesfully completed your studies and now you want to do some architectural projects and finally build the greatest skyscrapers you ever imagined during your studies. To be able to do that you will need to be a member of "Association of architects". Being a member has an anual fee of 450 € (580 USD), not bad, this is the first payment you will need to afford to be an architect... but wait it is not the only one, lets see the rest.

Our first order as architects

Now that we are associates we can build whatever order we recieve. Of course little orders as architects we (spanish architects) receive, as the well-known building crisis we have. But lets imagine one. A sixties lady call us because she is interested in our services, lets say she wants some extra surface for her daughter in small family housing in the centre of Spain.

Thats Amazing!, our first job as an architect, we are so excited about this order!. We dont waste our time, the ideas came and explode in our minds, similar projects made at the university can now be a solution for that house extension. Incredibly thin roofs, wood floors, luxury closets, plant walls...

Wait, not so fast, we must first register in the - Finances Activities Census - in order to be able to make the bills and pay the taxes according to the law. We must be registered in what we call - Seguridad Social -, literally translated as "Social Security" wich includes public health and public pension (when 65 or more), you can not work as a self employed person without this requirement. Of course it has a fee too, it is 280 €/month (361 USD/month). Simple maths, thats 3.360 €/year (4.330 USD/year), fear starts climbing your spine while you make little numbers of what your fees for that project (including design, building management, city hall meetings...) will be. This is by far the hardest part of your work. Which is a reasonable amount?, would I say too much?, too little?...

Lets see how to calculate the correct amount. Since there are no fee schedules (that was until 2006), fees are calculated as a percentage of the construction budget. Of course it is a free percentage imposed by the architect. Most of the architects in Spain set that percentage between 6% and 12% of the total cost of the building.

We must first then know how much the extension will cost (or figure it out). The new space will be around 1.000 sq.ft. (100 m2 more or less) wich will set the budget up to 50.505 € (65.103 USD). With that said and establishing our fees using the 6% (remember we are new in this profession) our fees will be 3.030 € (3.905 USD).

Now it is time to e-mail the lady. There is no answer. You call her. She says that she has talked to the constructor and there is no need to make an architectural project and you are dispensable, besides your fees are too high (really?). Of course that's not true at all, the constructor has another architect working for him who would make the project for free (no fee) and will proportionally increase some construction bills in order to keep his benefits as he like to be.

Luckilly you have make a goog friendship with her daughter when you both were at the university, that tips the balance to your advantage. Ouch! that one was too close! 

It's time to begin! The project itself isn't hard to calculate, shape and finally draw, print and deliver to the City Hall but of course it carries some expenses with it. The Association of Architects has to see the project before delivering it to the City Hall, another 310 € (400 USD), including printing and shipping costs.

However the costs haven't stopped yet. You must be, by law, be insured for your proffesion... mmm... another 700 €/year (900 USD/year) for the next ten years (total cost of 7.000 €, 9.000 USD) and an additional 3 per thousand of the total construction budget, each time you build something. The insurance company call that a Building Risk Statement. This time it will be only 151 € (195 USD).

I have not finished listing money outcomes yet. Now is time to build the house extension, lets say you make 20 site visits to the house during the works. I have to say that fuel is quite expensive here in Spain, 1,30 €/ liter (5 USD/gallon), 150 € total expense on fuel (195 USD).

Finally we finish the work and the woman is grateful for our great job. But there is something else we must do before her daughter can start living in her new house, something we call - the book of the building -, required as well by both the City Hall and the woman. A complete copy of plans, elevations, sections, models, and every document that has been involved during the construction process. In terms of money, another 200 € (260 USD) all in paper...

Lets summarize now, and round the numbers. 

Your fee for the building: less than 4.000 USD. 

Your costs: 6.800 USD. 

Remember you were almost dispensable because your fee was too high. Most of the time you will find yourself fighting against your customer (have i read wright?, yes you have) like if you were in a persian bazaar, decreasing your fees to incredible limits in order to get the order. Otherwise other architect will. That's Spain, that's how it works...

What do you think about it?

P.S: Excuse me if my english isn't perfect, still learning it.