We are our own worst enemy. I've received a fair bit of criticism for my take on getting design services out to the general public and not just to the 1%er crowd that can afford full service fees. Not everyone needs our full list of services. Most just need the basic drawings required for permits. Providing limited scope services allows one to provide an affordable fee without lowering your worth. If I didn't provide limited scope services, then many of my clients would have hired a designer or builder instead.
I've had people on this thread tell me that CRAN is about custom houses and Spec Houses can't be custom. Only a house designed specifically for a homeowner can be considered custom. I disagree! A one of a kind Spec House designed specifically for the lot it sits on and the market area in which it resides is also custom. When we disqualify segments of the market place in order to make ourselves exclusive, we exclude ourselves. Most Architects get nauseous when they think of Spec Houses, but these buildings represent about 80% of all new houses being built. If we're not designing more Spec Houses, then just do the math folks. About 50% of my work is one of a kind, custom Spec Houses. They are never repeated. Most cookie cutter builders spend months getting variances to squeeze the same old design on every lot they come across. Not my builders. I have never sent a Spec Builder to a Variance Meeting. This saves them almost enough to pay my fee when it comes to paying the mortgage on an inactive job site.
I have at least 6 builders that come to me on a regular basis wanting custom designed Spec Houses. They want everything from Traditional to Modern. This need for an Architect did not exist in my area 10 years ago. Cookie cutting was the norm. Though it was a little painful getting traction over the years, I created a need for better Spec Houses and it turns out, there's a HUGE segment of the market place looking for unique Spec Houses that aren't cookie cutter boxes. Many people want to spend more on a nicer house, but don't have the time or money to engage in a custom design process. Because they didn't really exist in my area before, no one knew so many people would want them. Someone had to have the guts to put them out there.
Since homeowner commissioned houses DO NOT count as sales, they can't be used as Comps by the bank's appraiser, thus they DO NOT contribute to property values when determining loan values for your homeowner clients. My Spec Houses always sell for top dollar and this pushes up the appraisals for my homeowner clients. If you're not designing Spec Houses in your market areas, then your homeowner client's loan values are based on the sales of other "designers" work. And what kind of house is the only kind of house that can be considered a new sale, thus a Comp for your next homeowner's new house project? Yes, a SPEC HOUSE!
Designing a highly customized house for a homeowner can be an exciting experience, but it is not the only design problem to be solved. It's actually the rarest of all house design problems. After more than a decade of designing the Spec Houses that sell for top dollar, Realtors and Appraisers are having a hard time denying the mountain of sales data I've created. If more of us could do the same, we might be able to convince more appraisers that our involvement has real value that can be quantified and that not every 4 bedroom, 3 bath house in the same neighborhood is the same. I've had appraisers recently tell cookie cutter builders that they can't use my Spec House sales as Comps because they clearly aren't building the same thing.
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Eric Rawlings AIA
Owner
Rawlings Design, Inc.
Decatur GA
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-05-2014 16:15
From: David Andreozzi
Subject: Interview | Protecting The Value Of Architects
This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Housing Knowledge Community and Custom Residential Architects Network .
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Is hiring an architect really necessary for residential projects? Some would prefer not to, others want to but think they can't, and most think they don't need to. So, how can we architects help in educating the public and change the public perception of the "starchitect" architect and teach them the importance of hiring an architect?
An interview with me on Enoch Sear's The Business of Architecture discussing CRAN's development and growing relevance to Residential Architects in the AIA
Link here http://www.businessofarchitecture.com/business-of-architecture-podcast/protecting-the-value-architects/
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David Andreozzi AIA
Current CRAN Chairperson
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