Give both practices the same brief
Two fee proposals may cover different appointments even when both are described as a house project. One may stop at a particular design stage, while another includes support with later decisions. Before comparing figures, write down what you want to do, where the property is, what records you have and how far through the process you need assistance. Send the same information to both practices and keep a copy.
Explain which matters remain unresolved, such as floor area, the extent of alterations, the availability of drawings or the approach to appointing a contractor. A proposal with explicit assumptions is easier to assess than an apparently fixed figure for an undefined service. If the offers arrived at different times, check that they still address the same brief rather than different versions of your requirements.
Make a table of services and deliverables
Create a row for each service you need to clarify: initial appraisal, site information, design development, documents for relevant procedures, help with contractor selection and professional roles during construction. In each practice’s column, record what is actually offered. Do not fill gaps with assumptions. Add the expected deliverable and the point at which that part of the service is considered complete.
An introductory meeting is not necessarily a full options appraisal, and a visit is not equivalent to an explicitly defined construction role. Ask for written explanations of unfamiliar terms. Establish who performs each task and whether you must appoint other professionals separately. Spain’s Building Act, the LOE, distinguishes different participants in building work. Those distinctions help prevent a broad marketing phrase from being read as including everyone’s responsibilities.
Identify exclusions, expenses and taxes
Look for costs outside the headline fee. Depending on the project, these might include other specialists, measured surveys, ground investigations, public charges or additional documentation. Do not assume that every item is necessary for your work or excluded from every offer. Ask each practice to identify what is included, what is excluded and what cannot yet be determined.
Check how taxes and expenses are presented so that you do not compare a partial amount with a figure expressed on another basis. Request payment terms explaining when invoices are issued and which work each payment relates to. A different payment schedule does not, on its own, indicate a broader or narrower service. The useful comparison is the relationship between the fee, scope, deliverables and conditions, understood together before you accept either proposal.
Ask how changes to the appointment are handled
A useful proposal makes it possible to discuss revisions clearly. Raise concrete situations: adding a story, extending the renovation into another part of the property or reversing a decision after documents have been developed. Ask which revisions form part of the agreed process and how a change of scope would be assessed. You do not need to predict every detail, but you should understand how additional work would be approved.
Include your own responsibilities, such as supplying documents, arranging access and responding to options. If the program depends on those actions, make that dependency visible. Clarify how a pause would be communicated and how work might resume. Rather than reading “changes included” as unlimited revisions, agree practical examples and a written confirmation process before a disagreement has the chance to develop.
Compare the working relationship as well as the fee
Once the scope is aligned, consider how the collaboration would work. Ask who your main contact will be, which communication channels will be used, how important decisions will be presented and what information you will receive before approving them. Explain any need for remote meetings or decisions involving several family members. Look for specific arrangements rather than a general promise of constant availability.
Published projects can help you understand a practice’s approach, but a photograph alone does not establish the service provided or predict your own experience. Use the discussion to ask about processes and deliverables. Assess your affinity with the work, the clarity of the appointment and the financial comparison separately. The lowest figure may conceal a relevant omission; the highest figure does not automatically mean the service is better suited to your needs.
Get the clarifications into the final proposal
Send each practice the questions affecting its offer and request an updated version incorporating the important answers. Compare the cost of the service now defined, without inventing allowances for unknown items. Where something cannot yet be established, record why, who will investigate it and how its appointment will be decided.
Agree the scope and financial terms before accepting the appointment. Retain the accepted proposal, its appendices and any clarifications forming part of the agreement. This guide sets no fee scale and cannot replace reading your particular appointment terms. To begin a discussion with F5, send the basic details of your project, together with the services you expect to need. There is no need to disclose another professional’s confidential proposal to explain the assistance you are seeking.
Projects and next steps
Sources and references
Published: October 25, 2026. Requirements and documents must be checked for each property and proposed intervention.