Who owns your home design?
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Why is everyone renovating?
May 13, 2021Who owns your home design?
Imagine researching home design companies and thinking that you have chosen a cost-effective architect to get plans for your dream home drawn up, only to find out that you don’t own the plans and the architect is a draftsperson. Not only that, but you also then find out that it could cost you up to $60,000 to buy out the plans for your dream home?
That’s exactly what can happen if you don’t ask the hard questions upfront.
From the initial quotes, the Design and Build Company might look like a more cost-effective option.
| Cost of Home Design Plans | |
| Design and Build Company | $10,000 |
| Architectural Company | $18,000 |
However, after a little more in-depth research it turns out that the Design and Build Company will charge you a significant fee to take your plans and build with a builder of your choice. Architectural designs are essentially a type of intellectual property and so, just because you paid a fee for an architect to design your dream home, doesn’t mean you will actually own that home design.
| Cost of Plans | Buyout Cost | Cost to Own your Plans | |
| Design and Build | $10,000 | $60,000 | $72,000 |
| Architect | $18,000 | $0 | $18,000 |
Suddenly the home renovation project costs are creeping up before the build commences.
So, what should you do to prevent such a situation happening to you?
Know the difference between the Design and Build Journey vs the Architectural Journey
A Design and Build company have both home designers and builders under one roof. Once you are happy with the design, can you then get a quote for the build phase. If you are not happy with this quote you may not be able to take your designs somewhere else. Technically they own the design, so you may be tied in with this company for the rest of your build journey.
An Architectural Design company can put you in touch with several building companies to provide you with building quotes to choose from whereas, with a ‘Design and Build’ company, there will usually be one quote.
Requesting numerous quotes nearly always turns out to be more competitive.
Find out who is designing your dream home
Do you know if your home design plans will be drawn up by a registered architect or a draftsperson? There is a significant difference of skill level between the two and these differences can start to show up down the track when it comes to the build phase.
You don’t need plans to be drawn by a registered architect in order to gain council approvals. Any issues with the plans may not be uncovered until it is time to start the build. Changes to plans this far down the track may cost you significant time and money.
To find out how The Site Foreman can help you with your dream home design, whether it is a custom new build, a renovation or extension project, get in touch with us for a free, no obligation project appraisal.
