Can You Build Using Stock Home Plans Purchased Online?

Buying stock home plans online has become a less expensive option for many aspiring homeowners. Many do not have a choice because architect fees are pricey and may cost a chunk of your building project budget. As thousands of beautiful home designs abound on these online stores, prices of blueprint packages are more affordable.

There are architectural styles, ranging from homes for narrow lots to multi-generational houses, spacious luxury homes, and classic house designs. Retailers of stock home plans and blueprints regularly update their sites with new designs from leading architects and designers. Their vast resources have helped many achieve their dreams of owning a house.

What are Stock Home Plans?

stock home plans
Stock home plans showing the building and ground floor plan (Source Lot Designs)

They are a vast collection of architectural house plans generally created for the mass public who wish to build but find architectural fees exceedingly expensive. The residential designs they sell are based on popular choices that are a part of the trending self-build-from-scratch wave.

Designs and interior layouts are produced based on research of people’s interests and needs. Architects and residential designers involved in the study gained a lot of insight and knowledge about most homeowners’ preferences through massive feedback from home buyers, first-time homeowners, builder clients, contractors, and the general public.

Periodic analytical research allows retailers to stay in tune with market trends and general demands.

Advantages of Purchasing Home Plans Online

  1. The main advantage of purchasing house plans online is their affordability. Unlike custom home designs contracted out to residential designers and architects, stock plans are aptly described as products and not services, so they are significantly cheaper than custom plans.
  2. Intending buyers can browse thousands of architectural periods and modern building styles with beautiful interiors. It is good to note that the variety can be a bit overwhelming.
  3. Avoiding the troubles of searching for a home to buy, indecision about the architect to choose, dealing with real estate agents, etc. This includes the general stress associated with house-hunting tasks, which are strenuous and unappealing to intending homeowners.
  4. The availability of architectural blueprints to purchase online inspires the build-from-scratch option many aspiring homeowners embrace today.
  5. You can save time (weeks). Buying pre-drawn plans saves you time. Getting a residential designer to develop a concept from scratch can take a few months.
  6. Because the building design has already been built successfully by other homeowners, the ready-made blueprints shouldn’t have any unforeseen issues for the building contractor.
  7. Going through the designs of loads of stock home plans will open up ideas (in case of modifications) and help discover other striking features you may wish to include in your house-building plans.

Additionally, their designers are always available to help you if all you require is information on achieving what you desire at no extra cost. And if you find something you like but need some modification to its design, they’ll do that at a minimal charge.

stock house plans and blueprints
House architectural plans for a small apartment (Source Lot Plans)

Disadvantages of Buying Architectural Blueprints Online

  1. Your plot shape, size, and general layout (septic/sewer placement, water/well, etc.) may narrow your choices.
  2. Code enforcement may not allow you to build the structure where you desire. Also, with proper spacing and setbacks, the design may not fit the plot of land.
  3. Some cases may demand you have the plan re-drawn by a professional designer (or engineer) to have a site plan for your building permit.
  4. Your home design will not be totally unique.

Quality of Stock Residential Blueprints

The quality of the blueprint package does not differ from those designed by architects and home designers. They all have the essentials of what is generally desired by the general public and the average working man and woman.

The best deal is that the exorbitant fees charged by designers are removed, and the savings are put towards adding a great feature to your design. Or you can pocket what you save. These are the primary reasons for the boom in sales, and it will continue to rise as the century progresses.

Scroll to Top