Should You Use Stock Or Custom Home Plans When Building Your House?
After deciding where you will build your home, your next decision will be whether you want to use stock home plans or work with an architect to create a custom design. While there are passionate supporters of each option, ultimately it comes down to your needs and preferences. Here are a few things to keep in mind when determining whether to use stock or custom home plans.
How Quickly You Want to Build
It can take up to 12 months to build a standard-sized home with a basement, and one factor that affects how long before you can move into your house is whether you use stock or custom plans. That's because custom plans take time to develop (anywhere from one to three months), and you'll be meeting with the designer or architect frequently to ensure the plans reflect the home you want.
Thus, if you're looking to move in a quickly as possible, you're better off selecting a stock plan. It may not fit your needs exactly, but it will reduce the amount of time you need to wait to have your home built.
The Amount of Money in the Budget
Another thing you need to factor is whether you can afford to have custom plans developed. Architects typically charge between $60 and $125 per hour for their services, though some may charge a flat fee based on the size home you want to design. On average, though, homeowners spend about $5,063 on a custom plan created by an architect. Sometimes you can get a cheaper price from the builder, but even they charge about $1.50 to $2.50 per square foot (about $3,750 to $6,250 for a 2,500 square foot home).
If you're working with a tight budget, a stock home plan may be a better option that will save you some money. These plans cost significantly less (about $0.40 to $0.65 per square feet). Of course, the savings come at the cost of having to settle for a somewhat generic home that may not have all the features you need. However, if you have room in your budget, you can still have the builder make minor adjustments to the plan so it better fits your needs.
Whether You Plan to Sell
The third thing you want to consider is whether you plan on selling the home or you'll be staying there for the rest of your life. A custom home may fit your needs perfectly, but you may have difficulty finding a buyer if the house's design is too specialized. You're less likely to run into this problem with a stock plan, as long as you use one with a fairly timeless design.
Regardless of which option you go with, it's important to consider the trends when thinking about your home's design and factor those into your architectural decisions to ensure the house will be attractive to future buyers if you plan on selling it at some point.
For help deciding whether to build from a stock or a custom plan or to get answers to other building questions, contact a new home builder, such as at Valor Communities, in your area.
