Expeditor fees-16K?!

Hi We are looking to convert a 3 family house in Harlem to a 2 family. Our architect (whose fees are separate) put us in touch with the expeditor they typically use and we were quoted 16,500 for the expeditor (Alt-1, filings, and C of O)! Separately, we were quoted 3,500 for “fire alarm’ permits. From reading these blogs, the expeditor fees seem rather outrageous. 1\. Are we right in thinking the expeditor fees are outrageous? 2\. Does it matter to the architect which expeditor we use? Is this more for us (the client) or for the architect (to use as code consultants)? Appreciate your help. We are new to this.

eastview

in Expeditors 11 years and 5 months ago

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eastview | 11 years and 4 months ago

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Hi We reached out to a few other firms on our own and found much more reasonable rates. I think when architects send out for bids, people in this industry see $$$. Good luck.

brooklyntoqueens | 11 years and 4 months ago

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Hi Eastview, I was wondering how you ended up proceeding with this. Did you go for the 16K expeditor or did you end up finding another cheaper one that could do the same job? I’m starting a gut Reno project and also kind of feel like the expeditor my architect suggested is a little bit on the high end of pricing….

transworld | 11 years and 5 months ago

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I think it’s OK to pay for an expediter, but I doubt paying THAT much will carry an added value. Architects should be here to help out their clients, it’s not because they are not carrying this cost that they should tell you to use the most expensive expeditors on earth.

eastview | 11 years and 5 months ago

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The above feedback has been really helpful. We are wondering why the architect doesn’t file the permits directly or perhap we can dO it ourselves. If we are not in a rush (we have tenants currently) and perhaps can do without an expediter? We don’t mind paying for an expediter if the service offered is invaluable and the topic has been discussed on past forums. Just don’t want to start our project off this way. Hopefully architect’s other referrals won’t be so outrageous.

transworld | 11 years and 5 months ago

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Damn, $16k is what i paid an architect for complete new house plans in 2013, and she did the DOB filing work herself. I recommend going to Flushing to find helpful people.

curated | 11 years and 5 months ago

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16k is a bit too high for the project you have described. http://brownstoner.staging.wpengine.com/curated

theoperadiva | 11 years and 5 months ago

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Our expeditor James Anzalone was on the higher end of the spectrum at $9,000 for an Alt-1 filing, gut renovation, acquiring of C of O, etc. and they were worth every penny. Detailed, thorough, amazing work getting appointments quickly. Friends who were doing similar work at the same time were taking months to get appointments when Calvin (our contact at Anzalone) was getting appointments the same week. Our architect also offered another recommendation for someone he knew to be cheaper if we were looking to save the money, but I’ve read elsewhere that the lower priced expeditor could be MIA at key moments. Losings weeks means losing money in my book – we were renting elsewhere while we did the work, and our mortgage wasn’t paying for itself 🙂 I highly, highly recommend Anzalone Architects for a second quote. Again, they won’t negotiate on the fees, but I bet they’ll come in under $16K and you’ll thank your lucky stars you’ve got them working for you. http://www.jamesanzalone.com/ Tell them the folks who worked with Ben Herzog on 8th street recommended them. Good luck!

hawaiismurf | 11 years and 5 months ago

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Also be sure to ask your expediter candidates if they intend to file using the online Hub or not.

Augustiner | 11 years and 5 months ago

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16k is a bit on the high side if it doesn´t include everything. “Does it matter to the architect which expeditor we use?” -> I wouldn´t care about the architect, its your money. And if he/she is whining about it, I would take a close look if they really work in your best interest. Having said that, I think it´s generally outrageous that you are forced to hire an Expeditor for relatively small residential projects. It will not change, because the system is dysfunctional and a lot of people live off this dysfunctionality. As far as I know, the profession of “Expeditors” only exist in NYC.

hawaiismurf | 11 years and 5 months ago

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You will need an expediter either way, and they will answer those questions. However, in my view, you’ll get as good an answer from the lower priced guy as the higher priced guy. You may even get more attention. In full disclosure, I hired the high priced expediter with similar pricing as your proposal, and I regret it. Don’t feel like I got any value added.

eastview | 11 years and 5 months ago

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Thank you for your reply. We just wanted some clarity before we discuss this with our architects. In our conversation with them, it seems as though there were some issues with regards to sprinklers, fire-proofing between units, etc that architects mentioned they’d have to check for code requirements. I thought this might be the reason they wanted to use the expeditors. The building is not old–it was gut renovated about 15 yrs ago and we are only doing a rather modest renovation (although changing C of O). It already has sprinklers in common areas and by egress. We have seen a few names on this board and will reach out to them.

hawaiismurf | 11 years and 5 months ago

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Those fees sound in line for the higher end expeditors. However, those firms do not get you a better result. In fact, they may pay less attention to your job because they have business from developers and commercial clients. And their higher fees do not earn you more flexibility from the DoB. I would suggest getting some reasonably priced recommendations from here. Yes, some architects use expeditors as a crutch on code matters. But it is their job to know the code.