There's another important issue to consider for folks who buy stock plans for several thousand dollars and then expect a local architect to "tweak" these plans and sign them so that a building permit can be issued. Of course, not every jurisdiction requires house plans to be stamped by an architect, but many, many do for the obvious reasons of direct responsibility for experienced design, health and safety, not to mention code and regulation compliance. The important issue is this: most state architecture and engineering regulations make it mandatory that all drawings and specifications stamped by an architect be "prepared by that architect or directly under the supervision of that architect". Failure to do so is punishable under the state regulation and, depending on the state, may include a fine, loss of license and/or jail time. Thus, no one should expect a licensed architect to take plans from a house plan factory, stamp them for $1,000 and go to lunch! Such plans will have to be completely redrawn, all local site and regulatory requirements will have to be met. In far too many cases, examination of the stock plans by an experience architect will reveal numerous deficiencies, omissions and errors. For example, stairs are often calculated incorrectly, there may not be any space allocated for HVAC, water heater, main electrical panel,etc. It may not be possible of feasible for HVAC duct distribution if the system is forced air. Passive energy strategies and "tight" energy conserving construction and proper insulation may not have even be considered. The square footage of windows may be an issue in many states. The list goes on and on. In addition, just about every owner wants "a few changes" made (it's always much more than a few, as it turns out, as owners become more and more fammiliar with the design and as they constantly change their own priorities for needs and wants). Often more changes are needed once the initial bids come back over the owner's expectations. And then there's the saga of allowances and change orders that are often part of the bidding phase and the construction phase, resulting in substantial cost increases to the owners. This forum is full of threads on these topics. This is why, in many cases, owners get far more beneficial house designs, custom designed to their needs and wants, but simply commissioning an architect at the outset, rather than playing with their own CAD software and/or downloading a "stock" plan from an Internet house plan factory. To each their own, of course. It's just that this situation--owners wanting to save money at the outset of their project (when the major decisions are always made)-- comes up so often on this forum that these questions and answers should be a "sticky" for all to read who are not sure about the options for designing, bidding and building their house. Good luck on your project!

@DE wrote, "riverrat1, now I want to know - why did it take 3 years for an architect to design a house. this grows more interesting by the minute" We used the services of the Architect to walk through the property to evaluate the lot. = 2 meetings to discover it is a buildable lot to build what we wanted in a house..that took an additional 4 weeks. Remember we were in no hurry and took our time. Another 6 months for her to come up with Schematic drawings of 5 different house drawings. We took our time reviewing those schematics of another 6 months to pick and choose parts from those schematics to come up with a plan that worked for us. Another year to tweak plans, engineering, lighting, design, picking finishes ( traveling to find antique cypress doors) and a few changes to the final drawing. At this point we brought on board a designer/ decorator and builder. Bringing on the designer/decorator and builder took another 5-6 months. Found changes, on plans, with the team, and took another 6 months to implement those changes. Attorney = 4-5 weeks. More engineering was involved at this point. Now we are up to about 2 years 8 months. and we will start soon n a few months. I'm so happy we took our time. Time well spent. Altogether about 3 years when we start. We have all finishes, windows, doors, countertops, moulding, cabinets, floors, lighting, roofing, appliances and a myriad of other things like house wrapping, insulation, drilled shafts, HVAC, etc. picked out already. It's been a wonderful project. I've had a lot of help and feel good about starting this build. When we decided to build I was going to make sure that all of our allowances had already been picked out and knew the cost of each item.

I LOVE the idea of a well designed home that could be added on to in the future - without LOOKING like it was added on to! Start with your budget, live a few years, then see if you want to stay and improve, or if your job / life changes and moving is a better option. I think that the millennial generation is eschewing "too large" homes - and embracing a simpler home with less expense on "things" and more on "experiences". (those $6 lattes aren't gonna pay for themselves...) But look at the tiny house movement - granted taken to an extreme (and sometimes ridiculous, IMO- seeing $80K for a TRAILER that isn't built to housing code - because it's, er.. a TRAILER... but I digress) Keep your house well designed, with a plan for the future, and enjoy the journey. Giving an architect a challenge with a smaller space should allow him / her to rise to the occasion. And, hopefully, that design can live much larger. Keep us posted. Have some friends that might be in that general area as well - horse people - and the photos they post of their farm and the landscape in general is GORGEOUS.

We just received a bid from an architect for designs, plans, structural engineering and submitting for permits for an existing home redesign and extension. Curious what the average cost is in the Bay Area.