Selecting an architect

[papaver]

We've built our house 2 years ago. And yes, it's difficult to find an architect that : a) has the same taste as you, b) thinks like you, c) is well organised, d) is responsible, e) respects your budget and your way of living!

We were lucky: we've found a young and very promising architect who respected our budget. In return we gave him 'carte blanche'. We just told him how many rooms we wanted, stuff like that. But he could do whatever he wanted with the house. And he did. We are very happy with the result. And bang on budget.

Now for you, choose the architect you trust the most. You have to be able to talk to him and discuss with him. If there isn't a 'click' then just step away.
It's always handy too if your architect doesn't live too far from the building site, so he can come over whenever there's a problem.

What you can do is talk to previous clients of the architect you want to work with. It can be very helpful.

Of course I live in Europe, but I think it's about the same wherever you go: builders are always too late, you always go over budget, it's a lot of stress... :8

Good luck, don't stress too much and have fun!