Is the new architect brand new, or just new to residential building? We took somewhat of a gamble with an architect and builder who had a lot of commercial experience but we were only his second residential project. So far so good, but we had a lot of discussions with him to ensure he understood what we were after and to ensure we trusted him. You can read about the process starting here.

My main concern with a newer architect isn't so much the architecture - I would worry that the new architect may not have as solid of an idea of what it costs to build the house as-designed. If that disconnect is significant, it could easily turn a $500k house into a $1m project.

Thanks @amodernmountainhome. I agree with your concern. The new guy is not brand new to the work, he has just never worked independently. He has some project management experience with other firms. If we pick him, I anticipate a lot of discussions with him as well to communicate our vision and budget. I feel bad not giving a new guy his potential break. But I guess you have to keep emotion to the side when making such expensive decisions.

My guess is that neither architect has a good idea what it's going to cost to build your home. That's why you need to assemble a team to design and build your home. That team needs to include your builder and his/her trade contractors-- who can inform the design with real world cost information. Material prices are really volatile at the moment so getting the builder involved early on is more important than ever, if you don't have an unlimited budget, that is.

We went with the experience. That was the wrong choice. We do regret it and talk about it sometimes. I could write more if you want.

Our experience in a major renovation and a new build is the design side has zero real understanding of costs. Having a team approach is key to you not being disappointed

Even a plastic surgeon has to have his first face lift. Tilt the payment schedule heavily in your favor and you should be fine.

You haven't told us much to help us advise you. Are both licensed architects? Did you verify their licenses? How long have they practiced in a firm and/or as a principal? What are the proposed fees? Would the less experienced architect be moonlighting? How large is the house? What is your current budget? Are there any unusual site or regulatory issues? Do you have a builder in mind?

@JJ - could you pls elaborate?

@Charles Ross Homes Is very, very right. Get the architect you choose and your builder together sooner rather than later! Great advice. Together things really work out well!

An architect's previous employer can't prevent him/her from practicing architecture but a current employer might restrict the after hours practice of an employee whether registered or not.

In order to take the NCARB architectural registration exam someone must have worked for an architect for 3 years and its common for them to work for several firms before doing work on their own. To sign a non-compete agreement would mean you could never leave a firm or you would need leave the profession.

I've never even heard of an architect suing another architect.

15 k isn’t much difference for a purchase so large for peace of mind?

We went through an exhaustive process. We didn't want to make a mistake. It was a first time/last time once in a lifetime thing and we took it seriously. It came down to two. One, notable, a portfolio of built homes that matched our aesthetic. The other a younger guy who had worked with a principle who had retired. He was very enthusiastic about our project. He wanted the job so bad. We wanted to choose him.

At the last minute we changed our minds and went with experience - because we thought the experience would bring added value.

Of course I know little about your choices...

Our architect was very good at getting the contract signed. Then it was kind if exhausting to get his attention. He wouldnt respond for weeks at a time.

Do we have a nice house? Yes. There are issues. But there always are. The house is very distinctive which is what my spouse wanted.

But we were very surprised that we seemed to get not one extra minute of time. Nothing that wasnt spelled out in the contract.

You pay basically the price of a new Lexus and you just really dont expect the architect to say "if you want to work on the kitchen more we can do that at an hourly fee of $×××." Really? We had asked for zero kichen revisions because he told us "Dont worry now, we can change this around as we get cliser etc etc."

We dont know, but we feel like the other guy might have cared more about our process and may have taken more time with us.

We made the mistake of thinking only one person could design us a house (omg dont mess it up!) But in reality, all of the architects we interviewed could have done a pretty good job. The relationship is the hard part. Live and learn.

Wow. I didn't expect that kind of honesty. Usually architects portray the choice as a no-brainer. Nothing at risk. Certainly compared with a builder or design/build firm. You might want to spend more time vetting a design/build firm.

June you think you know it all but you dont, hun.

Our blog covers this in a little more detail, but we essentially went with the less-experienced guy in JJ's example. He had commercial experience but is just getting his design/build firm off the ground. And that's translated into a dedication to making us happy and bringing our project in on-budget. Most important to me has been responsiveness. He fields questions by email or text within 24 hours, which goes a long way towards putting our minds at ease.

100% agree. We went with a designer, don’t live in the US, not an architect. But I feel like your experience is that of many and one we shared a bit too. Our team used as range pricing method so in theory our questions were never over budget just sent us to top of range. That said, I think that the experts sometimes fail to remember that homeowners don’t know what they don’t know. I don’t know how they can do a better job explaining to homeowners their process but it comes up often there are misunderstandings. Which is why I really agree that the relationship matters. Lots of people can make a nice house but you want to enjoy working with them too. You work so closely together. It’s a long journey.

Would you had your retirement plan off to a new planner without references?

Its a large investment that will appreciate and/or require excess maintenance based on this person's work - similar to a retirement plan.

Vet, require references (customers AND builders AND former employers), review product (plans, projects under construction). I recommend architects based on the quality of their work, their skill and the ultimate design (despite a builders impacts).

Vetting anyone these days is actually very hard. No one gives out the name of someone who didn’t like their work, the industry is like a club where no one disparages the other, reviews on Houzz are overblown and often inaccurate. It’s very hard to get an honest and accurate look at anything

I've been working my way through Grand Design on my ROKU channel. I think you can get it through Netflix and Amazon Prime, too.

I suggest you set aside some time to watch at least four or five episodes. They are like potato chips and you can't watch just one. These are very out of the box types of residential design. The creativity is fabulous. I'm not much of a modern design person with my tastes running to the more traditional. Even I can appreciate some of the results.

In most episodes, you can see the train coming down the tracks with poor organization and decision making, busted budgets and naivete. I think that you could learn a lot from watching a few episodes. It might save you some money and wasted effort. I can see how watching them would make you a much better consumer and a better client.