We've met with 2 architects and one designer so far, as well as scoured a plethora of plans online and in books. The plans in books and online seem to lack a certain 'je ne sais quoi', the designer told me "don't worry about the structure!!!" when asked how he would ensure proper structural design, one architect seems plausible but hasn't shown us anything remotely close to our project in terms of size and cost, and the third architect suggested we may be as far off in our budget as more than 150% ...oh and his cap fee is based on our budget.

Would it be a bad idea to try asking the local building inspector for recommendations for builder's and architects? There are over 400 within 25 miles... certainly we can find one that we can work with!

Also, how can we find a good general idea of cost to build? I want to take consideration to the fact that we have to develop a plan that we will actually be able to build. Our 4 acre lot has requirements for a colonial, which we prefer, to be a minimum of 3000sq ft. If we need to consider a smaller ranch or split level to avoid becoming overrunning our budget, how can we best know that cost before developing a design?