I am about to start the process of designing and building a new house. I would be interesting in finding out what sort of financial arrangements people have made with architects, that is was it a percentage of the total house price, a fixed amount, time and materials. I'm really trying to get a handle on how much I have to budget for what.

Hi Greg. I'd look for an architect that works on a price per square foot, that way your intrests are protected.

I have a 1952 bungalow. I am turning it into a 1930's bungalow on a $27,000 budget. My architect has cost me about $5,000.00 this is from drawing the plans to on site visits, interior design. The whole 9 yards. If you go with one that charges on a square foot basis you may cut yourself a little short on the full set of services one culd provide to you.

I am an architect and agree with both responses. I work for a firm that charges a percentage based on the total building/renovation cost. It is a fair system where someone that is building a 5,000 s.f. estate w/ everything down to the switch-plate specified does not pay the same as someone building a 5,000 s.f. simple structure.
On the flip side I have heard of several residential architects that charge an hourly flat rate. This may be the route to go in cost effectiveness, but make sure that you know what you want when you see them because the clock is ticking.

For what it's worth, I found an architect, the house is built, and we moved in about a year ago. The architect we chose gave us a complete quote that covered everything before we started. I think it was based the estimate of time to design a house of the approximate square footage. It was very complete down to the charges for sets of construction drawings, and this was exactly what we ended up paying. It was nice knowing what we were facing up front. There were provisions for extra consultations outside of the scope of the contract, but we didn't have to use them.

We were very happy with the job that she did, and love the house. You can see the results by following the link on my profile. As far as the fees, I think they were a real bargain. It came to just under $5 a square foot or 2.6% of the cost of construction.