The sq. footage of the home you build is prob. the most significant factor in calculating the cost. The easiest way to determine your local average cost per sq. foot for your new home is to contact your local chapter of Home Builders. Labor and material costs also differ widely across the country. What state you in? Finally, the amenities you choose for your home will also substantially impact the final cost of your home. Hope that helps! Good luck.

Thanks. I'm going to build in FL.

Check your build codes there first in the county your building. Http://Floridabuilding.org  Florida has flooding and hurricane issues so keep that in mind with the home plan you get. Like in flood zone maybe u need house on stilts,etc. Also make sure that the home you get has actually been built before using the exact plan you will buy... and that you're not the first guinea pig. Just do your due diligence on the maker/seller of the home plan. Who are they affiliated with... Check their reviews... You know the drill.

I looked at the website you linked. The prices they are marginally less (about the cost of our refrigerator) than what I paid an architect for a "design charrette," in which we designed a custom home which suits my terrain, takes advantage of our views, and elegantly matches our lifestyle (right down to the details like where I want to sort laundry, what views I want from the piano bench into the kids' indoor and outdoor play spaces, etc). Plus our home is gorgeous and unique! The opposite of cookie-cutter.

Thanks guys.

Actually if you're building in FL, the cost will wind up somewhat the same. Why? Because after you purchase the plan online, pay to have it modified to meet strict building codes here in Fl, get it approved by an engineer. (all builds in FL must pass the engineer), you'd do as well if not better to get something designed to your exact needs by an architect.

Or if you're not that fussy, why not just find a builder you like and build one of their models?

BTW: What part of FL are we talking about?

I am in NC, not in FL, so I can't offer any insight into problems with building codes, but what you describe above is exactly what I did. I found a plan online that included all my must-haves. I found a great builder. I couldn't be happier with how my house turned out. I realize architects add significant knowledge and skill to the process and can give you exactly what you want. I am in no way knocking their skills. And if you're in a region with strict building codes and engineer review requirements, perhaps that is the best and most cost-effective option. But for me, buying a plan online and getting it built suited my needs exactly.

If you want a standard McDonalds hamburger, and not a steak burger, or a steak, then maybe. But you will still have to have that hamburger re-engineered for the requirements of the local Greek, or Azerbaijani, or Japanese, or wherever place that hamburger will be consumed. You could easily have gone to the local grocery for your choice of ground meat, condiments, and bun by the time you have a plain generic hamburger fried up.

Some folks might like the generic hamburger, but chose to use various condiments to make it to their taste. Not everyone has a taste for filet mignon.

And that's fine Sandy but the point is in FL there are extra strict building regulations because of hurricane codes. Many of the online houses would never pass muster in FL because of that and would need to be completely reconfigured to make them up to code.

Just a quick example. When I started building my home, I was told that while I could build a gable roof if I wanted, it would triple or quadruple our insurance rates. Put the hipped roof on, and there's no problem. Being I wanted a craftsman house, I had to adjust not only my desires but how the house would look finished.

I did this on my first house I built in 2009. I bought a plan online from Mississippi and gave it to my builder and he took it to someone here in Oregon who had it drawn up to meet local codes here in my county. It did cost a couple of thousand dollars though.

For my current home I looked for home designers that sold plans online in my state and found one close to the county I'm building in. The interior changes I made cost just a few hundred dollars this time. Afterwards I was able to make the changes that were important to ME - having the roof overhangs extended to two feet (this involved the truss plans not the home plan), above code insulation in ceiling, walls and floors, ductless hvac, etc. But - I had done this before and I knew exactly what I wanted.

Unless you are hung up on a specific plan, why don't you look for plans that are sold online by a Florida firm?

An architect isn't for everybody- to get mortgage free I needed to build my home for $100/sf, and there just wasn't money in the budget for one. Your builder can get it drawn up to meet local codes, but it won't be free, but it will be cheaper than hiring an architect.

If I needed a needle, I wouldn't go to a haystack to find one.

You guys. Working with an architect doesn't have to be "filet mignon." I wasn't joking that my architect fee was less than my refrigerator. For those who say architects are unreasonably expensive, what prices did your local architects quote you when you asked for a design charrette? I'm assuming you ASKED and your comment s are based on fact, not assumptions...?

arialvetica - can I ask you what the work product was from your architect? sketches or a detailed plan? what was next? did it have to be engineered / drawn, sealed, etc? What did you start with and end with?

I ask because I had a full service architect experience and more like the cost that has been quoted here - roughly 10% of my project.

"What prices did your local architects quote you"?

Cost is not the issue although I'm not saying money is no object. I would be more than willing to pony up to the bar for a good design. BUT...

We have exactly one architect in my town. ONE. He does commercial. He's so busy that trying to get anything out of him is like pulling teeth. We certainly don't have scads of local architects to get quotes from, so our options are extremely limited.

read my lips folks. We have no architects!!!!

so, I did the next best thing. I found a plan I love and I have a really good architect (from this board) basically reworking the plan to make it mine. Whatever it cost it will be worth it. I get tired of the inference that my house is second rate because it wasnt designed specifically for me by an architect.

I agree with IloveRed, just because you don't have it designed by an architect it is not less of a house. You can have a custom home that reflects who you are and what your needs are without an architect.

Don't get me wrong, I think a good architect would be worth the money if you needed them, but not everyone needs that service, and they shouldn't be made to feel that they got a substandard home because they didn't use one.

We chose our builder first based on where we wanted to build, looking at what he had built, and talking with people that were living in houses he had built. When we met with him we looked at plans he had and found one that met our needs, it just needed a few changes.

He recommended a draftsman who was able to make the changes for us and cost $1000.00 for this. At 60 years of age we have lived in many houses so we were aware of what works for us, and what we wanted and needed in a house. We never priced an architect as we were truly getting the house of our dreams, and having lived in it since November, it has truly lived up to my expectations.

This is the second house that we have had built, the first one was with a production builder and yes it was a cookie cutter house, but it did fit our needs at the time.

I've seen I Love Red's plans and they are very well designed and it's a beautiful house. There are definitely good (and a few excellent) stock plan designs out there but it takes a lot of looking to find a truly good one.

I know when I was looking I found nothing that would meet our needs for our lot. We worked with a draftsman. If I had it to do over, I'd have hired an architect to work with us as it probably would have taken me a lot less time. I do have a slight advantage in that I'm a visual person, can think in 3d and was at one time thinking of becoming an interior designer (before I realized I'd have to work with people.)

There definitely is no one answer but I will say that so many of the plans posted here from stock plans are not well laid out or are extremely expensive to build with lots of unnecessary jigs and jogs, angled walls, gables on top of gables, roofs that could cover the taj mahal, rooms without any light entering them, etc. They attach gee gaws onto the fronts of the elevations to add interest to what is an overdone plan.

Many people have no clue even what they are really looking at in terms of how the rooms flow, what works from a design sense, etc. I know if I show a plan to my DH, he has no clue what relates to what. For someone like my DH, if I wasnt around, working with an architect or someone with true design skills would be his best way to create a custom house.

If you're someone like Sandy who knows what works for them, can understand a plan and an elevation, can think somewhat in 3D, then you are ahead of the game. In that case finding a stock plan, or working with a designer or architect will work for you.

you get what you pay for, in most cases at least. a skilled architect can be the best investment you make for your home.
don't compare an online plan to a suitably designed custom one by just comparing prices on paper
weigh up the benefits of each. a plan you've downloaded needs editing, disregards neighbourhood norms, elevation, outdoor views, climate, actual usage of the occupants, and more.
an good architect will have necessary expertise to consider these and design a suitable home, which will pose less inconveniences to your life in it than a downloaded plan. working with an architect can expose you to ideas you haven't considered, and you'll find solutions to things you didn't know were problems.
People were fine with no tv until it was invented. people were fine with black and white tv, until colour came out, and so on. in some cases, those in the field can give you what you didn't know you wanted. price is a factor, but not the only factor

jannicone -- we came to the architect with nothing but our previous home's floorplan, a whole lot of sketches, a list of wants/needs, and our newly-purchased lot. Design charrettes were two 4-hour meetings, plus they did additional work on their own after each meeting.

After the design charettes we had a floor plan with dimensions and elevation drawings (including a 3d rendering which was nifty), but NOT roof truss design, structural design, electrical diagrams. They also had some suggestions for materials/colors (i.e. "grey lap siding, black metal roof") but didn't actually make those selections for us like they would have for a full 10% client.

Our builder and architect haven't worked together before and there was a communication break-down between them, so in the end we had to spend more ($ equal to our oven) with our builder's preferred architect to make some minor modifications, and to create structural drawings and truss design. After framing, we did an electrical walk-through with our builder to determine light/switch/outlet placement (rather than having an official electrical diagram). We've been making our own material selections as we go along.

CP...thank you for the kind words. It means a lot.

Thanks, arialvetica - you got EXCELLENT value for your money and that appears to be a really great way to get the expert guidance and then still have a lot of the materials and fine tuning fall back on you.

Most people in America living in single family homes are living in stock plans, or simple variations, because that's what builders generally use. So effectively, tens of millions of people have used stock plans, it's the default option. If you have simple needs and a simple lot, stock plans should work.

If your lifestyle is very unusual, or you have a difficult lot, or you want a unique status object/work of art, then hire an architect. A third option is to buy a stock plan designed by an architect, which can give you something a little more tweaked at a lower cost.