My brief experience with HND Architects was not great.
Heather came out for the initial consultation which cost $240 - which would come off of the initial invoice - should we decide to use her.
Following the consultation, she indicated we would have a proposal back by the next week. When I didn't receive the proposal, I called the firm looking for the proposal. After a few days, the staff let me know Heather was sick and that I would hear from her the following week. I called the following week to find out Heather was in the hospital with the flu (for a total of 9 days).
After just receiving a call from Heather, she indicated her work had snowballed and was trying to catch up. I asked when I could have the proposal and she said I should proceed with another architect. I said that we liked her and had wanted to use her. I also said that if she was unwilling to do the proposal and work with us, I would expect a full or partial refund of the consultation. I understand the consultation was for just that, the consultation, but part of that was understanding that it would come off the invoice as we began to work with her. So the consultation fee would have been $0.
After I said this, she said we were not a fit for her firm. I can't imagine this is the normal, but out of 4 architects we had to the house, she is the only one that charged a consultation fee. I'm actually really upset and feel really burnt. read more