An important consideration when looking at custom house plans, and deciding on the home design you're going to go for, the first thing you need to do is look for house floor plans that will fit your building plot - rather then the other way round. Once you've selected your plot, selecting the right home design will be a lot easier.

With the huge selection of unique and custom house plans available, you're virtually guaranteed to find a plan that will fit your plot and meet your lifestyle needs.

It is important to be flexible when searching for your dream house plans. You shouldn't immediately discard a plan because it does not meet all of your criteria. For example, if you want a home with a brick exterior, you might instinctively avoid all plans that don't state that property. But things like adjusting the exterior build is usually a relatively minor change that most home builders can easily accomplish.

House plans can easily be adjusted to meet your needs - most companies that supply plans will also provide a design and modifications service to ensure you get exactly what you want. It's quite rare that a home is built exactly as per the house blueprints.

As an example (and maybe to give you some ideas for personalising your house plans) some common changes are:

• Moving the window and door locations.


• Changing a plan's foundation to basement, crawlspace or slab.


• Adding an extra bay to a garage.


• Changing the garage to enter via the side of the house.

Before you narrow down your house plans selection to a short list, here's some important factors to help you make your choice:

House width and depth

Will the house plan fit on the lot you already own or are interested in buying. Don't forget about local requirements which dictate how much free space must surround your house or how far your home has to be set back from the street.

Square footage

You've probably carefully considered the house plans that will provide enough living space for your current needs, but will they provide enough space for your family's planned and future needs?

House Plan Investment

Are you planning to live in your new house indefinitely, or are you building it as an investment to sell or rent? Depending on your need the home design you select could be quite different. Speak to the company selling you the plans for more advice and information - they're usually only too pleased to help in any way they can.

Your budget

The national average for new home construction in the US is about $100 per square foot. This number can vary from $60 up to $140 per square foot depending on your location, your builder, the style of home you wish to build, and the finish quality of your home.