Build your team
How to choose a custom-home architect
The best portfolio is not automatically the best fit. You are hiring someone to translate your priorities, coordinate specialists, navigate permits, and make thousands of decisions with you.
Reviewed against official sources · August 2026Look for relevant experience
- Recent houses with a similar site, budget, and level of finish.
- Bellevue permitting experience and familiarity with local consultants.
- A clear process for structural, civil, geotechnical, energy, landscape, and arborist coordination.
- References from clients whose projects reached construction.
Compare scope, not only fees
Ask what is included in concept design, permit drawings, interior detailing, bidding, construction administration, meetings, revisions, and consultant coordination. A lower proposal can cost more if important work is excluded or billed hourly later.
Test the working relationship
Ask who will do the daily work, how decisions are documented, how often the budget is checked, and what happens when you disagree. Confirm the architect’s Washington license and insurance before signing.
Use Washington’s professional license lookup as one basic check.
Action plan
Interview architects using the same questions
- 1
Ask for three comparable completed projects, their original and final budgets, permit duration, and client references.
- 2
Confirm who will actually design and manage your project and how much principal involvement is included.
- 3
Request a scope matrix covering design phases, consultants, permitting, revisions, interiors, bidding, and construction administration.
- 4
Compare fee assumptions, hourly rates, reimbursables, excluded services, extra-service triggers, and termination rights.
- 5
Verify the individual and firm licenses, insurance, and references before signing.
Official resources