# Buying plans for a home addition **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 14, 2023, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-plans-for-a-home-addition/985517 "2023-06-14T18:58:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-plans-for-a-home-addition/985517/1 "2023-06-14T18:58:40Z")
One of my neighbors is adding on a detached garage guest house combo, about 1700 sq ft total. I really liked the floor plan and would like to buy his plans. The question I have is this. I would like to get the plans as cheap as possible, or as cheap as I can negotiate. Would my rights to passing those plans on to someone else be part of the negotiations? I would happily not have any rights and I would think that would lower my offering bid? Am I correct in this assumption? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-plans-for-a-home-addition/985517/2 "2023-06-14T20:29:10Z")
If your neighbor commissioned custom plans, of the type that can be submitted for permits and approvals, they might have paid quite a tidy sum for them, especially if they came from an architect or structural engineer. Even if permits and approvals are not required in your area, they have to be at least detailed enough for a contractor to follow, which will not have been cheap (again, if they are custom). If I were your neighbor, I would be happy to sell you a copy for half what I paid, and I wouldn’t care if you passed them on or not, unless you could persuade me that there is a likelihood that I would be able to swing the same deal with other neighbors (which seems unlikely on the face of it, but I don’t know your area). In other words, I don’t believe there is usually much of a secondary market for custom plans, even of a free-standing and useful sort of building. Lacking that, your neighbor has no particular incentive for giving you a break on the price. But to answer your question, IANAL but I imagine ownership rights or lack of them could be part of a sales contract for a set of plans. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-plans-for-a-home-addition/985517/3 "2023-06-14T20:55:08Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I don’t believe there is usually much of a secondary market for custom plans, even of a free-standing and useful sort of building. Lacking that, your neighbor has no particular incentive for giving you a break on the price. i have a feeling there may be a bit of a market in my neighborhood as the city recently changed a zoning code for granny quarters and guest houses. There are a number of garages that face the alley and most of the property sizes are the same. 600 ft garages with upstairs guest houses are going up all over the place in my neighborhood. I was going to try and get them for about 1/3 with no rights to reproduce and imply if anyone asked I will send them your way. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-plans-for-a-home-addition/985517/4 "2023-06-14T21:00:40Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > If your neighbor commissioned custom plans, of the type that can be submitted for permits and approvals, they might have paid quite a tidy sum for them, especially if they came from an architect or structural engineer The neighbor might not even “own” them in the traditional sense. The architect might own the re-use rights. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-plans-for-a-home-addition/985517/5 "2023-06-14T21:15:40Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > The neighbor might not even “own” them in the traditional sense. The architect might own the re-use rights. Good point, the contractor may have just offered him a few different floor plans to pick from. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-plans-for-a-home-addition/985517/6 "2023-06-14T22:01:19Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > The neighbor might not even “own” them in the traditional sense. The architect might own the re-use rights. This is almost certainly the case. It is standard in the industry. Similar to, say, buying a piece of music but not having the right to dupe and sell it. Or buying a piece of art and not having the right to sell images of it on postcards. ---
**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-plans-for-a-home-addition/985517/7 "2023-06-17T15:02:32Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > This is almost certainly the case. It is standard in the industry. Similar to, say, buying a piece of music but not having the right to dupe and sell it. Or buying a piece of art and not having the right to sell images of it on postcards. Agreed. Standard contracts state that the **design** itself is owned by the architect (or builder if they have in-house design services). The drawings are an **instrument of service** , which may be copied in order to implement that design for that specific client on that specific site for that specific job, and no other. Building off a plan that hasn’t been released by the designer can lead to major legal trouble. So the architect or builder would be the people to contact. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-plans-for-a-home-addition/985517/8 "2023-06-17T18:32:29Z")
Particularly, the planning department I assume wants a set of plans that are certified to meet code, etc. etc. Presumably, that would require the signature of the necessary professional(s) that the design is correct - floor above the garage is capable of bearing the weight, the garage is sealed from the dwelling so no CO2 gets into the upstairs, the wiring and plumbing will meet code, plumbing runs insulated to not freeze, etc. This is essentially what someone pays the architect for. If the plans are reusable, then presumably the architect stands to make a tidy bundle. I assume he would not like someone presenting plans certified by him to the planning department without him getting his cut. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2023, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-plans-for-a-home-addition/985517/9 "2023-06-18T07:11:19Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I really liked the floor plan and would like to buy his plans. Even if you somehow get a copy of his plans, those plans will have to be re-drawn and modified to fit your house, and signed by a professional… You might think that your house and his are identical, but to a professional architect/engineer, they are not. For example, the slope of the driveway and the lot (and the adjacent lots ) affect location of drains… ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-plans-for-a-home-addition/985517/10 "2023-06-18T19:50:00Z")
OP mentions it is detatched, so less of an issue - but yes, placement (setback from property line), the power feed, how the water and drains feed, lot drainage etc. are all issues the planning department wants to see addressed by a professional’s signature. ---
**Author:** ![sb1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@sb1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sb1953)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-plans-for-a-home-addition/985517/11 "2023-06-19T20:39:36Z")
My brother built a small wooden boat, (this was in 2019) …a 12’ skiff and when he paid for it the sales contract expressly forbid him to re-sell the plans to anyone else. T