I'm not trying to be nasty or anything but if you can't even afford $125 an hour for good plans, then how will you be able to afford to build? Building is always a lot more than you anticipate.

Fix up the mobile home. You're not ready to build anytime soon.

Live in the mobile home and keep saving until you can afford to build. You currently cannot afford to build if you cannot afford design work. It's more important to get correct design work done than any other stage of building. It saves you money all through the build if it's designed correctly.

Or sell the property if the mobile home isn't habitable. Then buy an existing home. It will be cheaper to buy existing than to build new. Building is done because you can afford to pay the premium to build something that is to your preferences.

As the others, above, have said, professional plans and specifications are perhaps the greatest investment one can make for a successful custom home. You really need to find a way to get the construction drawings and specifications completed by an experienced professional who's done successful residential work.

I agree with the others. If you cannot afford the $125/hr to a designer for professional plans - what will you do when there are other unforeseen expenses while building?

Have you searched craigslist for freelance designers? You might be able to find someone doing it for less. HTH

Thank you for your feedback (I think)..

BUT please remember we have already paid for a set of plans to be designed by a professional designer!! This is the second set of plans that we are paying to have completed, as I understand the value and importance. If you don’t have any ACTUAL advice to offer other than “don’t build” please refrain from commenting. It is not an unreasonable request to find a designer that does not require a $9,000 price tag especially SINCE I DID IT BEFORE. And WILL(have to) find a designer in our budget.. It also is worth mentioning that I can still afford to build my house since I am attempting to find a designer for a more reasonable price in order to maintain funds FOR THE ACTUAL BUILDING OF THE HOUSE. A house we have saved every extra penny for, for the last 2 years while living in the MM. :)

I haven't checked Craigslist, thanks. I will exercise extreme caution.

I was hoping someone would've used a particular House Plan company and had great reviews and could steer me in that direction. From my understanding most of those companies will/can customize the house plan to some degree. Ideally Id like to use someone in Oregon to insure the plans are to our codes..

Suntel Design out of Lake Oswego helped me with mine. But I purchased a home plan from them. You could also try Associated Designs out of Eugene. It doesn't cost anything to ask.

Irrespective of whether you hire an architect, designer or purchase a stock plan, you're missing the input from an important professional early in the process: your builder! He's the best resource for helping you determine whether any particular plan can be built given the site-specific conditions on your lot. It's unfortunately an all too common experience that folks spend a lot of money on a design that never gets built.

This is a project that may be going off the rails soon. The professionals here are suggesting that the early parts of home design have the major impact on the building and budget process thereafter. The home owner is not hearing them, and is exasperated because of a initial bad experience and looking for a economical short cut to get the plans "drafted" at a "more reasonable price" and move on to construction. The point is that the high school mechanical drafting class may be a more economical source to "draft" house plans, but how much knowledge and experience is included in those plans? A professional set of construction documents and construction observations services (assuming the initial design and subsequent design development is satisfactory) consists of construction drawings and specifications adequate for bidding, for building permit and for financing. These services include protecting the owner from inadequate and unprofessional allowances by a builder and for being the owner's representative during construction until occupancy. This poster is truly "desperate in need of some help".

Working with family and friends can be problematic. Don't base your opinion of other professionals on a non professional part timer. You NEED someone more than a drafter. Your plans will not be all that inexpensive to build, and have several design issues that need to be rectified. They also don't seem to take into account site orientation or features that you would like to enhance your home living experience.

Who's building it for you? Have you considered a designer / builder? BC homes, Garrette, Quail, Cascade West, Dewitt, Bella Villa, etc are all custom builders in this region. We are in SWW and consulted with all of these.

I'm not naming at least 5 builders we looked at.

I hear the frustration in your post romeotybalt. We are currently working on our 2nd owner / builder project. Our first was a nightmare from the beginning. The reason? Our plans.

The plans were stock and we made some modifications. When we got the plans we noticed the stairs were odd - they jutted into the family room but thought they'd work. During framing we realized that they just weren't going to work. Unfortunately they were already so close to the front door, we couldn't just move them forward. As this was back in 2001 - before Pinterest or even decent internet service - I had very little visual input to help me remedy our situation. Being under pressure from subs due to time constraints, budget, etc. I proceeded to make changes without seeking professional guidance from an architect. These quick, fly by the seat of my pants, unplanned changes were something that I lived with - and regretted - for 14 years.

I am ALL about saving $$ - this is one of the main reasons we are assuming the role of GC - but hands down the most important thing I learned from our first house is that you CAN'T compromise on your design.

I would suggest you continue looking at house plans to try and find something that is close to your ideal and have them make the modifications or perhaps your friend could find time to do them. There are other areas you can save money in while building that you can upgrade in a few years such as Formica counters instead of granite, laminate flooring instead of hardwood, less expensive lighting and plumbing fixtures, etc.. Good luck and keep us posted.

romeotybalt, I went through a similar situation. I searched and searched to find a stock plan I really liked, then paid $3k to buy it and make changes to it (designbasics.com). I will say that the lady at designbasics making the changes was very good at her job and had a really good ideas for modifications on the plan. We had just moved to the area from out of state, I talked to a realtor friend here whose husband is in construction and went by the square footage rate that she told me to expect when designing the plans. I thought she was as reliable a source as they come but the rates were not correct. The 2800 sq. ft. house I thought we could afford, I quickly learned we couldn't after I got 7 bids with about the same price. That was when I learned that I should have first found a builder who could help me with plans within my budget. I'm working now with a general contractor who is also an architect. We are re-doing a set of plans and the cost is $1/ square foot so I'll end up paying another $2500-$2700. So yes it's annoying to start all over again and pay the fee again but it's not $9k so maybe yours won't be as much as you think. For me the TIME all of this is taking is worse than throwing the $ out the window the first time. The original bids were from January-April of this year, and I've been working on these new plans since May. We live in a crappy rental house across the street from the property and it feels like this will never get started let alone finished. So to answer your question, I know not every builder has a background in design but you can find an online source to help you make changes to a stock plan if you know the general price per square foot in your area (obviously keeping complicated rooflines and finishes in mind) or talk to a few builders in your area who have access to a CAD program and have plans of other homes they've built that you can then make changes to. Best of luck, I feel for ya.