Of course I know you can find a plan in a magazine and pay a couple of thousand for rights to use it. Will it get you the house of YOUR DREAMS? Probably not. It may be the perfect layout and arrangement of rooms, although there is almost always some sacrifice that you make buying a stock plan. Of course you can ask the builder to make a few modifications to the plan to get it just right. I know they are more than willing to accommodate you in order to get the job. However, they are not designers so will it be the right proportions, will it make the best layout for function, did they take time to understand how you live? You can always pick out the finish materials yourself at a home improvement store, but will your sales associate know the background of the product, the durability, or the indoor air quality issues associated with it? When hiring an architect you are not purchasing plans. You are actually purchasing the experience of the architect, experience on thousands of jobs before yours to help you save money and build quality. The architect can see problems before they happen, they can design exactly the house of your dreams, they can offer you advise on the best products to use. My experience in reworking magazine plans for builders is that the paper is cheap, but the lack of detail, the inefficient layouts, and the limited answers to questions provided cost you more than the fee we charge for a custom design home and our 75+ years of combined experience.
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