Is a competent architect hard to come by ? Do they add value?

[Yusef Griffin]

I am getting out if the Marine Corps this summer. As a result of my service, I have the ability to use the Post 9/11 G.I. bill to go to school for free. I love things that are free, so I decided to apply to a Masters of Architecture program. I am a new investor with one SFR, and my ultimate goal in RE is to buy and hold multifamily apartments.

I plan to use an architecture degree in my business, using the BRRRR strategy or fliping houses if the opportunity presents itself. Having a real estate and architecture license can save me a lot of money in the beginning. I know it is hard to find competent and efficient property managers and contractors, and these individuals can make or break an investor and an individual deal. I am curious to know how hard (or easy) it is to find a competent and efficient architect? And is the value of a good architect equivalent to a good property manager or contractor (if that makes sense)?

I assume this question is more relevant to flippers and developers. But I would appreciate anyone's thoughts or input.

[Nik Moushon]

Another architect here, and I'm not trying to discourage you but to give you a reality check about becoming an architect through a couple pointed statements. 

1 - Architecture, as a regular 8-5 job, is not going to make you wealthy 90% of the time. This is not a high paid profession. Not saying you can't make a good living but you wont walk out of college making six figures or even close to it. People who stick around in the profession do it for the love of the craft. Not because they will get rich doing so. 

2 - The amount of hours in schooling, internships and post grad test taking is similar with being a lawyer or a doctor. As Seth mentioned the biggest, and actually hardest IMO, is the licensure test taking. The new exam, just came out this last year, is a total of 6 test. The average time it take a person to become licensed after graduating is 7 years. So the 5-6 years of schooling plus the avg 7 years of working in the profession. I know several people that become licensed with in a couple years of graduating. So if you are very determined and a good test taker, with a LOT of luck via what questions you get on the exams, you could look to be licensed in about 9-10 years from NOW. 

3 - Like most professions you will walk out of school thinking you could design anything and within a couple months of being in an actual office you will feel like you know a fraction of what you thought you did. One of my personal issues with my profession is schooling is still taught very much like an arts degree in the since of it being very subjective to the professors and what styles are being taught. Unlike being a doctor or lawyer where facts are facts. This profession still relies heavily on getting real world experience after school. This is why the avg of 7 years after school to pass an exam. Even the exams are based of stuff you never learn in school. I think both the the schooling and testing need some major over hauls, and there are some good changes that have happened, but its still a product of the past that has not caught up to today. 

4 - Its an unfortunate fact but the vast majority of the average homes are not designed by architects today. A lot of laws do not require architects for SFH under a certain size or if you are under a certain scope of work. So unless your flipping & BRRRR strategies involve large SFH a arch degree is not going to give you much of an upper hand. You'll have a bit more respect that comes with your title and you will know things that most builder dont but its not about how a house is built. What our degree, and knowledge, really brings to the table is how to handle codes and how to make amazing designs with those incredible restrictions. This leads me to my last point.

5 - Where an architect knowledge and value come to play and are a true value to a project are in commercial building projects. Now I don't just mean strip malls and office parks. Any building with over 4 units or more the 2 stories tall in considered a commercial building. Large development projects that have a variety of uses in them require an architect. Don't forget that SFH do require an architect at a certain size. So even subdivision that have large homes, ~2000+ sf, are going to need architecture seal on them. These are the types of projects and buildings where architects bring a great value to a REI team. Our knowledge and value really compound greatly with the size of the project. Aside from custom homes it has just become to economical to just hire a builder and skip the architect. Its sad and I think our culture suffers from it but its today's reality.

It might sound like I'm pushing you away from architecture but I'm not. I'm just giving you a hard dose of reality. My freshman class had 80+ students in it. Those that lasted all 5.5 years to get our masters degree....18. This is not an easy schooling process and i would hate for you to waste your GI Bill on a profession you end up hating. You truly have to LOVE architecture to really want to stay in it. I love what I do. I plan on using my skills and knowledge to get into developing, thats what I've always wanted to do. But I also didn't pick my degree to compliment REI. I picked it because I liked it and chose it to be my 8-5 job with REI eventually becoming an interest and in the future I will transition to that being my main 8-5 job with my degree becoming the complementary bonus (along with the years of knowledge I will have gained).