Investor Friendly House Plans?

[Eli King]

Are there any house plan websites that are specifically geared toward investors for spec homes? If not, are there any go-to websites for house plans that you recommend? The search for house plan websites seems somewhat gimmicky. 

[Ty Coutts]

When searching for house plan websites geared toward investors or spec homes, it can indeed be challenging to find platforms specifically tailored to these needs. However, there are reputable websites that offer a wide range of house plans suitable for various purposes, including spec homes. Websites like Architectural Designs, Houseplans.com, and The House Designers are popular choices among real estate investors and builders. These sites typically provide extensive catalogs of floor plans designed by professional architects and designers, offering customization options to suit different budgets and project requirements. It's essential to review the plans carefully, ensuring they align with your investment goals and local building codes before making a purchase.

From my experience, BlueBeam provides the most seamless and fast collaboration between people on the project (architects, builders, owners, investors, etc.) It does take some training to become proficient but seems to be the most widely accepted.

[Ty Coutts]

Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions!

[Joe Villeneuve]

I do this fort a living. I started my career as an Architect specializing in exactly what you are looking for. I got into REI from there, but I still do both. The biggest keys are:

1 - The design should have the least amount of waste.  You pay for the scrap pile.  This means designing with the size/length of all materials in mind.

2 - Don't make design decisions based on what you want, or what you would live in.  Make them based on what your tenants need (not want) which would also allow for them to customize (furniture use) to their tastes.

I wrote a book on this a number of years ago that touches on a lot of these things, but it was focused on my specialty, "Energy Efficient, cost effective homes".  It was based on what I spoke on to groups of homeowners looking to be the general contractor of their own home.

PM me if you have any questions.