Expectations when Buying Plans or Hiring A Designer
Many people just don't know where to start when making the largest investment of their lives. Building a home should be thought out very carefully. Here are a couple of things you should think about before you venture out there:
Buying Plans Online
Most stock plans purchased online usually come from out-of-state companies. A big problem with these plans is they aren't designed using Florida's Building Code. Our building code is ranked as one of the most stringent codes in the nation. Due to the High Wind requirements, you must make sure that your plans meet or exceed these specifications.
This usually ends up costing the client more time and money than if they would have just hired a local designer to begin with. We are constantly working with clients that have wasted more money than they've needed to because of online plans.
Does your Designer have Building Experience?
Many designers out there have never even stepped foot on a job site, let alone, built a house. There are a few designers that actually have a contractors license. This tells you that your designer knows exactly what will work and what won't on the construction site. This could save you a lot of heart ache & money when you realize that the designer didn't see major issues that could have been addressed early on.
Quality of Work
Make sure that your designer has experience designing the style of home you want to build. Many designers only have experience with smaller tract homes. A true custom home and speculative home are different in many ways. Especially with new technology and Green building materials now available for your home.
Check your designers reference work. If they don't have photos of previous projects, that could tell you a few things. Maybe they don't have a very large portfolio of work completed, or maybe the designs weren't good enough for publishing. Either way, you want someone that can create from your ideas a design that will work.
Anyone can design a house, but can that design & layout be marketable, if or when, you need to sell. A marketable design can mean the difference between a quick sell or being stuck with a home that sits on the market for a while.