Architect - residential

That's obviously going to depend on a few things. First, I assume you mean an actual architect and not a draftsman cutting and pasting details from some cookbook plans. From your description of a relatively large lot in a "nice neighborhood" you may need to expect additional fees to be included for review by the HOA type system. I would say an expected range for a "nice" house would be from $7500 up. (That may even be on the low side) Your term "reputable" could be very broad.

You don't need an Architect, just a good Draftsmen. Architects charge around 10% of completed project.

I used Pelican drafting in BR. I modified a plan they already had in house. Cost me $3700 for 2500 sq ft living and 4300 under roof. I wouldn't use an architect unless your building something on the level of an A. Hayes Town house. Like others have said they are going to be super expensive compared to a draftsmen. Pelican drafting are super nice people and communicate very well and will work with your builder throughout the build. I can recommend those guys enough.

If you are looking for a full service (through construction) custom home that is not off the shelf kit of parts or done by someone on the side you could expect to pay between 7-10% the total cost of construction. If you are only looking for a set of plans and you are going to hire a contractor or do it yourself it would be a $ per square foot number. A draftsmen can be $.50 to $2.00 a square foot. I am a licensed architect and do high end custom residential in Louisiana our firm charges between $5.50 to $7.50 a square foot for a set of drawings and percentages for full service. You also should check your neighborhood design requirements. If they are strict about the requirements this could be a big headache if they are not followed.

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Paid 30 cents a square foot for mine

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Solid advice right there.

Unless you want something very specific, an Architect is going to charge you a lot of money. A reputable drafting company would be a lot less. I don't know where you live, but I would recommend Mike Kabel at Kabel House Plans in Denham Springs. He has HUNDREDS of plans and is a great guy to work with. His business got flooded but he saved the majority of his plans and his blue line machine and has a new office location. (Different from what's on the website.). I'll post his website. His office number is 664-1455. He has most of his plans saved digitally so if you find something you like, he can change them to suit your needs. I'm sure he would go look at your lot and make recommendations as long as your lot isn't 100 miles away or something. Check out his website and give him a call.

Kabel House Plans

Just found out he's having some work done to his website so some things may not load right.

We paid $2.00 per sq ft for our architect for custom plans, who will be working through completion of construction.

We met weekly over the course of about 3 months to get the final set of plans. We've asked him to come by the site to take a look at a few things so far. I think the money was well spent.