We purchased (and modified) a set of plans from an online shop for our lakehouse build. The process went like this for us:

- communicate with online shop, get a set of study plans to take to the builder to get a VERY rough idea of whether we could build the plan within our budget range. The builder has experience building from plans from the common online shops.

- pay the shop for the standard plans

- start the process of marking up the plans for the changes we wanted to make, exchanged a lot of email back and forth with the designer

- iterate a few times until those changes were complete

- take "finished" plans to the builder for him to produce quote

- accept input from builder on a number of things that he'd suggest we change

- pay shop for those small revisions, get final-final plans

- builder gets plans, delivers contract with pricing and allowance details

- we sign contract, give deposit

- builder takes plans to engineer to get them stamped and approved for construction

Overall it was a very smooth process for us. Total cost of modifications was about equal to the initial purchase price of the plans. We were very pleased with how everything turned out. There were two minor glitches that were discovered during construction but the builder handled them and the cost to correct was minimal. Once we moved in, we realized a few other small things that we now wish we had done differently (mostly just wishing for more electrical outlets in the laundry room, pantry, and basement storage room).

I'd be glad to share more specifics on our journey. Details of the build are in this thread:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5803931/thoughts-on-this-plan-for-lakefront-build

I took online plans to a local drafter as a starting point to develop and tweak. I've gone through several iterations of updates with him which would have taken forever and cost a lot more if I had worked with the online site to modify. Not done yet but I'm loving where my plan is going.

I will also add my modified take on many other replies you will soon get about using an online plan.

Hire an architect. No acceptable house can be built without it being full custom, tailored to your site, and being designed specifically for you despite any budget constraints you are under. Anything less will be a terrible house that will be plopped on your land, resulting in gloom and despair for all who live there. Take the architect your lists of wants, needs, favorite foods, astrological signs, shoes sizes, and hair colors so they can design the one and only house that would be appropriate for your land.

We bought stock plans online and had a very similar process/experience as @SBDRH. Our builder advised us the changes that should be made by the original designers (so that engineering would not balk), and told us that the rest of our changes could be "red lined" as we build (i.e., mark up the plans for small changes here and there). The changes the builder wanted done by the company were window additions/deletions and any major structural changes, but cosmetic, finish work, and electrical changes (extra switches, outlets, etc.) could be done red line. So, we spent about $2K on the plans and < about $600 extra with the home plan firm having a few changes done, but for the rest we've just marked up the plans.

Our builder sent the plans to Engineering, who drew up foundation and structural plans and made some changes to reflect NC building codes. We are only at the footings stage of construction, so it remains to be seen if any issues with the plans emerge during the construction process, but so far things have gone smoothly doing it this way. We were able to find a plan very close to what we wanted online -- we looked at 100s!

oh yeah, @Emily’s comment about looking at 100’s of plans also reminds me of another point you will hear. “If you put a value on all the time wasted looking at online plans, you could have paid for an architect”

@SBDRH, True, but looking at plans was actually a lot of fun... especially during the pandemic, when we had nothing but time on our hands. 😅 And it really helped us narrow down what we did and didn't want. I am sure an architect could have done the same, but again, there was that whole pandemic thing. Our process was done almost all online. 👍

There's nothing inherently wrong with a stock plan If you've found one that suits your lifestyle needs, your lot, and your budget.

To build a home at the beach starting with a stock plan, I suspect you'll need to produce a new foundation plan and structural details as needed to show the plan meets local code requirements. I'd also suggest showing construction details that will help ensure the longevity of the structure such as flashing details, etc.

Best wishes for a successful project.

Consider contacting a local architect to design a home that meets your needs and fits your site. All online house plans are designed without the site features taken into consideration and many times ends up looking like a tract home development condensed onto one site. If the site has a large retaining wall and/or has to have all the trees removed, something is wrong. Many times the effort to change an existing design is more difficult than creating a new design.

I looked at thousands of plans. We collectively (DH only had to look at 100 lol) narrowed it down to about 5 we liked based on room placement and overall look. We chose one and took it to builders to talk about customizing it, downsizing, and right- sizing, which is to say it had to fit our budget. The architect working with the builder loved it because it was a great starting point and made it easier to have focused conversations. Fitting it to the site? Well, there was an obvious side we wanted facing the lake, the driveway was obvious, and on a hill, the walkout basement was obvious. I did pay attention to the sun, bc I wanted morning light in my kitchen, and with the kitchen on that side, the garage entry made the most sense there, and given we wanted a view in the master, well that has to go on the other side... see how each decision leads to another? Pros say it's not tetris but to me it was. I wanted views from the GR. Kitchen, Master. There's the back of the house. Done ✔ Now, I do say that a bit tongue in cheek bc ours is very very simple and not magazine worthy like most here. Think about whether you garden and need a restroom near the door, carrying in groceries, hauling laundry, etc. To help you figure out where you want things. I have a couple regrets like we 'shoulda' this or that, but it's 🙂. It's fine. It's liveable, loveable, quirky, and ours.

Thanks for all your input! I also have spent many (fun!) hours looking at online plans but found only 1 that was roughly what I wanted.

I also needed a professional to help me decide how to orient a structure and height to achieve a good view. I found an architect in this site who offers a free first consultation so I did it this week. His advice was immediately valuable and his rate is so reasonable that I decided to go with him and am sharing the plan I found only as inspiration since I know the size is all wrong.

For me the lot is too valuable (and a bit oddly shaped) to risk so it’s more important to maximize its location than save (literally) 5k on plans.

Appreciate all your input!!

Good luck and enjoy the process.

Erin, we look forward to seeing what your architect creates. Best of luck.

I got the first draft from the architect and he used the house plan idea (images, I didn't buy it) but fit the concept to my trapezoid lot and moified to profit more from my view. So far so good though I have lots of questions and probably many changes are still needed but he budgeted this time and interaction into my quote so I still think I will be able to get my dream home for a reasonable price. Let's see if I am right ... :)

My biggest worry now is that I will design the structure that doesn't "feel" the way I expect since I am piecing together a collage of images that may not fit together well or I will miss a great opportuity to add a certain design element that can be easy now but difficult/costly later. I am thinking about having an interior designer take a look at the plans at a later stage. Any thoughts on this? Am I overdoing it?

I wonder if I need a designer as well. Not being an expert, I know there’s a lot I don’t know. I think you’re getting a lot of feedback in this site from people who DO have knowledge though.