Many people shy away from hiring home architecture specialists, assuming that architect prices are too high for the average homeowner. The cost of architect services is much less than most people think, and is a sound investment. A well built home or house addition designed by a home architecture professional almost always increases the home’s value.

The Cost of Architect Services

In general, home architecture services cost between 5 to 15 percent of the project’s overall construction costs. However, the cost of architect services depends on several factors, including:

• Location
• The type of work you need performed
• The individual architect’s reputation, training and experience.

Paying the Architect Fee

Architect prices are also affected by how the architect charges her fees. An architect fee may be calculated differently, depending on the scope and nature of your project. Some common methods are the following:

• A flat rate fee
• A percentage of the construction cost
• Hourly architect fee.

Hourly architect fees run anywhere from $50 to $150 an hour. Architects often prefer an hourly architect fee during the home architecture design process. This is because the exact amount of time required may change depending on design revisions, client meetings and other factors. The consumer may wish to negotiate a maximum amount of time for the project up front, in order to set a limit on the architect prices.

Home architecture specialists may also opt to make their architect fee a percentage of the overall construction cost. While this method of determining architect costs can work, it does have the potential for abuse. An architect may increase construction costs in order to increase his own fee. If you pay architect prices based on a percentage of construction costs, make sure to detail all stages and costs of the home architecture project in your home architecture contract.

Flat Rate Architect Costs

For small home architecture projects, it’s common for architect prices to be negotiated as a flat fee. However, even with a flat architect fee, you may have to pay additional fees for other project-related tasks, such as soil tests and plant surveys.

A flat fee rate is a good choice for many homeowners. As with percentage-based architect costs, all payment details and architect responsibilities must be clearly laid out in the home architecture contract.

A Combination Architect Fee

Quite often, a home architecture project includes more than one method of payment for architect cost. For instance, a home architecture specialist may work on an hourly basis when designing the project. She may then charge a flat fee for overseeing the construction and completion of the project. Depending on the scope of the project, combining payment options can benefit both the architect and the homeowner.