Here are some things that will be important for you to know going into your project:

1. Due Diligence – If you are planning any type of new construction and don’t have a survey with topography and a soils test (for both structural and septic purposes as is relevant to your project), you should not go to an architect yet. You need to clear both of those hurdles before you hire an architect.
2. Big Picture – The construction process is not for the weak of heart. It isn’t like buying a toaster. If you want work to be done and for it to be completed according to your standards, you need to follow up on it. As well, if you are easily dissuaded from following a course of action for the ‘long haul’, the construction process may not be for you.
3. Delivery Time – We cannot guarantee when the project will be finished. Much of what we do is dependent upon outside forces. We may be completely finished on your work and be waiting on others to accomplish their portions of the work. We may be waiting on the City or County. Although your project is important to us, we can’t pull rabbits out of our hat, make a pig look better by adding lipstick, and we can’t squeeze blood from a turnip. You should get the idea. We can help, but we can’t make an inherently bad situation inherently good. To some degree, you have to live with the consequences of your actions.
4. Your Project Costs – We aren’t living in the 1950s. We are also not living in the year 2010… or even 2020. We live in or after 2025, and there may (…will…) be unforseen costs. These are called contingencies. If you are operating your project on a shoestring budget, you shouldn’t expect better than shoestring results. Even if a developer, a ‘wing and a prayer’ is not a good construction project realization strategy.
5. Availability of Consultants – We know people who can get the job done. But, those people may not always be available. If they aren’t available, then we can certainly help you find others, but those others may be untested / unvetted. We will do our best, but the best may not always be available. If you are under a time or budget crunch, the old addage, “beggars can’t be choosers” is true.