“Inventory plans” are building plans that you can order from a magazine, catalog, or website. Some builders offer these pre-built 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 cost 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:

Advantages:

• Stock plans may be less expensive. Prices for a set of plans can be $1,000 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 designs are ready and ready for review, if you can select them quickly, you can save time. Plans are typically shown as floor plans and exterior views. Depending on the catalog, you may get just 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 long been a part of our culture, from mail order brides to Sears mail order kit houses.
• These pre-built plans are usually collections from a variety of viewpoints. This can be exhilarating as you browse the plans and views. You’ll find “new” ideas that you probably haven’t considered before.
• Stock plan catalogs can jump-start 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 denied.
• The professional engineer’s or architect’s seal (looks like the old notary’s seal) is required on plans in many locations (check with your local building department). Getting a professional seal is not as easy as it seems. Many professionals will require redrawing or, at the very least, multiple revisions and additions to bring plans up to local codes and worthy of their stamp. 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 customized for you, it’s rare that you don’t see things you want to change. This can be expensive because most share plan companies are not set up for individual 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 automobiles and other consumer goods. This is beneficial for factory-created items because it keeps prices down. But since home construction is always custom, some see a home designed to appeal to the mass market as 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 numerous locations. Areas of the country have basements, snow, hurricanes, cool temperatures, warm 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. Also, local merchants will spot Stock Home and mark them as such, not always in a positive light.

However, plans pre-designed 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 first 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 seasoned creativity, will allow you to get the most out of truly custom design. nature of building a house.

Remember, home building is the only industry that remains truly custom in nature; designs should be too.