Can I Build a Custom Home If I Already Have House Plans?
Often, clients will come to us with partially developed house plans in hand—perhaps with a site plan, dimensioned floor plans, and 3D renderings. Our team will review the plans with the architect during a hand-off process.
No matter the stage of the plans with the architect, our team will take the project through our quality planning checklists to determine feasibility with the lot, setback requirements, geotech needs, and other potential challenges. This step is critical to our drama-free build process and guaranteed fix price, ensuring that we don’t encounter unexpected but preventable obstacles once the build begins.
Estes also can work with pre-purchased house plans, using it as a jumping-off point for an in-house design customized to your property and wish list.
Can I Build With Estes but Use My Own Architect?
If you have an architect in mind but haven’t yet begun the design process, Estes is happy to work with them. Our process working with architects is similar to how we work with our clients one-on-one. In fact, engaging with us before you start the design process with your architect can make your build even more successful and efficient.
“Working in collaboration with your architect provides a level of scrutiny for us, the client, and the architect,” says Caitlin Hanson, an Estes Custom Home Consultant. “Estes Builders has a clearly defined quality planning process that provides another set of eyes and leverages our knowledge of the property and area.”
This knowledge is particularly important if the architect is not local to the region. Estes handles the permitting process intimately for homeowners and can provide an on-the-ground perspective of any potential hurdles that should be accommodated in the architect’s design. For example, some waterfront properties have strict requirements for setbacks, despite how close older houses in the neighborhood may have been built.
Perhaps most important, collaboration between an architect and Estes Builders can help protect your budget. Along with the wish list items of your custom home, it’s important to consider the other expenses, such as site development, construction, materials, taxes, and design costs. Estes has up-to-the-minute cost data to support the architect’s estimates.
We also can offer advice on building the home in a way that is suitable for the neighborhood and land, which is essential to the appraisal process and the impact it will have on your ability to secure adequate funding and have an accurate picture of what your budget will truly be.
Just like your custom home is the home of your dreams, the process of building it can be too. Whether Estes Builders designs your house, you have plans ready to go, or you wish to engage with an architect, our upfront, collaborative process across all parties ensures you can build your custom home with a guaranteed timeline and budget.
