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Know When to Give Complete Payment for House Plans
When transacting with an architect, remember to hold the full payment until the service is completely delivered, the house plans are in your hands, and the building permit has been issued.
Money is the only leverage you have before your building is completed. If you give the full payment before the work is through, you will lose assurance that the work will be done as you wish. You will be left hoping that your architect will be responsible enough to finish your house plans.
The same principle holds true not only in house plans but in all other transactions as well. In one case, there was a man who went to a flying school. To be able to pay the fees in full and in advance, the man loaned from a bank. After a few flying sessions, the company declared bankruptcy. The man was left with a loan and insufficient flying skills.
The example is something to learn from. You will only be assured to get your money's worth if you give it at the end of a transaction. Aside from the assurance that the job will be completed, the quality of the house might be compromised if you pay your architect upfront. There might be errors in the plan and chances are, your architect will be reluctant to correct them once they have already received full payment.
The job might also take longer to finish if the architect has received complete payment. There will no longer be motivation for him to work fast and complete the plans ahead of time.
You can tell your architect that payment will be made as soon as the house plans are signed and sealed. However, at that point, you still do not have to give complete payment. Hold a small part of the payment; say 10 percent, until you get the building permit. Even when the house plans are completed, some changes might still be necessary until the building permit is issued. It would be better if at that point, you still have the assurance that your architect will work on the necessary changes.