How Architectural Home Plans Are Priced
If you are in the market for house plans then that also means that you probably own land and are ready to start building your new home. To build this beautiful new home, plans must be obtained to communicate between yourself and your builder (and often, the city!).
I think most people start online using Google to find plans to buy online or find a designer. As a side note, if you know you are going to be building a custom home, the best way to find a good designer is to use a personal reference or search on Instagram, follow them, and know that you love their work. From my end, those are my preferred clients – someone who already knows something about me.
The online purchase of plans is the most “approachable” concept because you can scroll through the different designs in the middle of the night. There is little barrier to the purchase of plans. The question exists: is this the best approach?
When hiring a design or architectural firm you want to be very clear on how they charge and what is included in that price. My Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is a comprehensive document describing the Scope of Services and the three design phases to completion of the project.
HOURLY: Through the 23 years of running my business, I have landed on invoicing hourly. My clients receive an MOA at the beginning of the project that gives an estimate of hours with a price range. I keep track of all my hours and what was done as my timesheet then we invoice monthly. It’s straight-forward and extremely fair; I feel like I’m getting paid for the work that I’ve done and you are getting a great product in a very interactive way. My new construction plans AND finish collections cost between $48,000 – $60,000 if they were pursued via the custom track.
FIXED COST: This is an agreed lump sum with payment schedule attached and an agreement between designer and client. This is usually the most expensive approach because there is no way that a firm wants to lose money on a job. It is also very structured to make sure that clients don’t take advantage of revision after revision under a fixed cost. For the same size house as listed above, it would cost about $80,000 – $100,000.
PERCENTAGE: This structure is based on the concept that there is a fixed minimum price agreed upon then the overall price is based on construction costs. I’ve never really understood why I should make more money on a project just because my client orders a really nice countertop but it happens. And now that construction costs are so high, design fees are through the roof. Additionally, what is the motivation to put cost-efficient systems in the home such as heating systems etc. For the same size house as listed above, it would cost about $140,000 – $200,000.
Obviously, I’m a huge advocate of having good quality plans in order to run an efficient and successful project and build a home that you love and live in for decades. Abrigo Home is trying to break down the barriers of the exorbitant costs of the design industry by creating quality plans and interior design packages. Understanding the FULL picture of your home BEFORE it is being built. That’s the meaning of the word PLAN.