The pros and cons of buying stock house plans

“Inventory plans” are building plans that you can order from a magazine, catalog, or website. Some builders offer these pre-designed plans. Although not custom designed for you, homes built from these types of plans can be nice and quite attractive.

However, given the time and expense of building a home (which is a custom process by its nature), many would never consider anything more than custom plans designed exclusively for or by them. However, stock plans can certainly be attractive and have definite value.

Here are some of the pros and cons of buying stock house plans:

Advantage:

• Stock plans may be less expensive. Prices for a set of plans can be a thousand dollars, or less. The plans are listed as a menu and the prices of the plans are clearly posted. Once you’ve decided on a plan, it’s an easy click-and-buy process. You choose the shape of the drawing and the quantity.
• Stock plans can save time in selecting a home. Since the layouts are pre-made and ready for review, if you can quickly select them, you can save time. Plans are typically shown as floor plans and exterior views. Depending on the catalog, you may only get a front view and sometimes even a few views to help you understand the layout. It is a mail order solution. Mail order items have been a part of our culture for a long time, from mail order brides to Sears mail order kit houses.
• These pre-made plans are usually collections from a variety of viewpoints. This can be exhilarating as you navigate through the plans and views. You’ll find “new” ideas that you probably haven’t considered before.
• Stock plan catalogs can fire your imagination. They can get the creative juices flowing. Action plans can be a valuable starting point for exploring new ideas.

cons

• Stock plans are rarely permit-ready. If permissions are requested without further action, they are likely to be rejected.
• The professional seal of an engineer or architect (looks like the old notary seal) is required on plans in many locations (check with your local building department). Getting a professional stamp is not as easy as it seems. Many professionals will require redraws or, at a minimum, multiple revisions and additions to bring plans up to local codes and worthy of their seal. Fees for this can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars and will take several weeks depending on the project and the professional’s time.
• Some revisions are unavoidable. Because the plans aren’t personalized to you, it’s rare that you don’t see things you want to change. This can be expensive because most stock plan companies are not set up for individualized attention.
• Stock Plans are reused plans that have been created multiple times before. For some, this can be a negative factor.
• Internet or catalog plans are designed for mass appeal similar to cars and other consumer goods. This is beneficial for factory-created items because it keeps prices low. But since homebuilding is always custom, some consider a house designed to appeal to the mass market a missed opportunity. It would be building a custom car and ending up with a Ford Taurus. What is the point?
• Stock plans are designed to be built in multiple locations. Areas of the country have basements, snow, hurricanes, cool temperatures, hot temperatures, and many other factors that are unique to each area. Certain types of building systems are common in certain areas, and generic plans cannot cover all possibilities. Additionally, local merchants will spot Stock Homes and mark them as such, not always in a positive light.

However, pre-designed plans by a local builder can avoid many of these problems. They will usually be permit-ready, locally recognized, and if the builder has made provisions for changes, these can be very good.

In short, action plans are valuable for study and education and are a fertile source of ideas. However, they probably won’t be as cheap as you might initially think, or as fast, and they certainly won’t be something designed just for you.

Having a professional working for and with you to develop a custom design based on your ideas, your notions and various ideas that you have collected from many sources, as well as your experienced creativity, will allow you to make the most of truly custom design. nature of building a house.

Remember, homebuilding is the only industry that remains truly personalized in nature; the designs should be too.