Do I still owe you for the plan even if I'm not going to use it?
Sometimes a landscape plan is produced that a client cannot afford to install. This can happen for a number of reasons. The client may have withheld accurate budgetary information from the designer. The designer may not have paid attention to the budgetary information provided by the client. The client may have requested, or demanded, specific features which were inherently expensive and beyond their means. The client may have wanted a designer to put together a "dream" landscape regardless of cost just to see if it's affordable. Since pricing a project is about the last step in the design process, it is very easy to be over budget without knowing it until the very end. Such a situation does not negate the honest efforts of the designer any more than a dry well would negate the efforts of well drillers.
Obviously, one of the objectives of the design process is to try to develop a landscape that the customer can afford. Sometimes this is not possible. Unfortunately, some people want more than they can afford. The good news is that the design process eventually points this out, and can prevent a customer from starting a project they cannot complete. The design fee is a small price to pay to avoid a much bigger problem.
When a client enters into a design or consultation contract with Wayside, they are agreeing to pay for the designer's time and expenses (see LANDSCAPE DESIGN / CONSULTATION CONTRACT). If the designer produces a plan in accordance with the needs and wants of the client, then the client is obligated to pay for the designer's time and incurred expenses at the previously agreed upon rates. If the designer fails to pay attention to the desires of the client, then the client is not obligated to pay for design services.
The important thing to note is that the client must be honest and up front with the designer about their finances. It is often uncomfortable or awkward discussing budgets early in the design process. For some it's like putting the cart before the horse. But a successful landscape plan demands realistic budgetary figures from the clients early on. Many clients give mixed signals. For instance, a client may request a swimming pool, gardens, deck extension, and a split-rail fence around their yard and then tell the designer they have a ten thousand dollar budget. This is unrealistic; they know it and the designer knows it. If the design process moves beyond this point it is with the understanding that such a project will cost far more than ten thousand dollars.
There are other ways to handle over-budget projects. One way is to phase the project. Most projects can be separated into distinct parts. These parts can be completed when the client can afford to do so. Another way to handle an over-budget project is to change it. Sometimes this can be as simple as using smaller plants or less expensive varieties. Less expensive construction elements can also be substituted for those originally specified. Rarely is a project so far out of line that it can't be salvaged; the design process simply won't allow it.
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