How to Choose a Stock House Plans

The opportunity of building a home from the “ground up” is an American dream where the homeowner’s creativity, individuality and personal taste are incorporated into a tangible product that is the fulfillment of years of dreaming, saving and planning. Along with this opportunity are the many challenges and dilemmas that are a direct result of this search for your dream home. One such challenge is the decision between choosing a custom built home and building a home from a stock plan. A custom designed home is one that the homeowner in partnership with a designer/architect bring to fruition after, sometimes, months of design planning and thousands of dollars spent whereas stock house plans are readily available, moderately priced and offer a wide range of styles, price points and square footage. A common misconception regarding stock plans is the idea that the homeowner is purchasing a carbon copy, mass produced, inferior product while, in fact, stock house plans represent some of the most up-to-date, innovate and diverse opportunities for creating a totally unique and individual styled home available in the market today. Here, at American Gables Home Designs, we offer modifications on all our house plans completely destroying the myth of a “cookie cutter” home design. With many diverse options such as a cost to build report and custom services, American Gables Home Designs is engineered and committed to offering a superior product line in coordination with our clients input in such a way as to operate essentially as a boutique home design firm.

There are many advantages to buying a stock house plan including a higher level of flexibility, budget friendly options, no hidden costs, time and money saving benefits and customizable features. In fact, buying a stock house plan can save you in excess of 75% of the final costs associated with home building when balanced against hiring an architect. Common knowledge dictates that building a home is neither quick nor an easy process; however, the process can be greatly reduced in terms of difficulty and time management when selecting a home from American Gables Home Designs comprehensive inventory. Stocks house plans usually include some of the most requested design features including square footage parameters, room dimensions, floor plan layouts and modern amenities.

In response to purchasing a stock house plan and in coordination with our host of customization and modification options, the following are some points of consideration involved once the size and style of the home, the property lot and the budget are determined. Most often, the style and the size of the home are easily ascertained; however, the budget can sometimes determine the style and size of the home as listed below.

1)      The style of the home is a reflection of the homeowner’s personal taste. After years of planning, perusing magazines, design books and websites for the most up-to-date information on superior home building materials and stylistic design elements, you have determined the style best suited to your personal taste and family’s needs.

2)      The property lot or building site can sometimes determine the type/size of the home you desire to build. e.g. ~ building up allows you considerably more square footage than building out due to foundation, roof surface area and materials costs; therefore, a two story home is most advantageous to build in terms of cost effectiveness. Additionally, the property lot, itself, may be small, narrow or sloping so being cognizant of the hard design of the lot along with naturally occurring features such as the view, tree lines and the orientation of the sun.

3)      The budget can be the single most important criterion when deciding on a house plan. Flexibility and prior planning are the keys to designing a home to suit you and your family’s every need and desire. Ask questions ~ do you need two dining spaces? Do you entertain frequently, if so, you may want extensive outdoor space.  Or do you value plenty of private family space ~ an abundance of bedrooms and quiet spaces. What type of hobbies do you enjoy and what type of spaces do you need to enjoy them? ~ exercising, reading, watching television, woodworking? Do you want an open (for entertaining purposes or keeping an eye on the children) or closed layout?

The above is an excellent start in determining and defining what you desire in a house design when working with stock house plan renderings and here, at American Gables Home Designs, we are singularly committed to working with our clients in developing the most cost effective, innovative and superiorly designed stock house plans available on the market today.