If you know exactly the type of house you want but can't seem to find the development home that fits, then you are probably considering a custom-built home. Building your own home can be a creative, exhilarating experience. It can be a frustrating, time- and money-consuming one, too.

How can you make a custom-built home project run as smoothly and economically as possible? First, know where you are going to place your home. If you have good land, with access to water and sewer facilities and on a level lot in a community where you can build just what you want, you have a good foundation for your construction project literally and figuratively. Second, choose the right architect or custom builder for you.

An architect's fee will increase the cost of your new home by about 10 percent, but you might make that up in resale value, not to mention your enjoyment of a well-planned house during your years living there. By over-seeing your project carefully, an architect might be able to get discounts for you on materials. That alone could save you his 10 percent fee.

You will want an architect who shares your vision of a home, whether it's a Victorian, a sleek stone and glass contemporary, or a charming Cape Cod. An architect whose portfolio consists of homes you cannot identify with is obviously not on your wavelength — keep looking.

If you do not know where to begin looking for an architect, contact the American Institute of Architects at 800-AIA-3837, or you can visit them at www.aia.org for more information. They can refer you to a few members in your area. Ask those you interview for references, of course, and drive around to those homes not only to see them but also to talk with their owners. Are they satisfied with the finished product?

Once you have chosen an architect, agreed on an overall design for your house, and have the drawings and specifications, you need to solicit bids from the person who will build that house — the builder (sometimes known as the contractor).

The National Association of Homebuilders (www.nahb.org) can provide you with names of local builders. It is best to get price estimates from three builders, or even more, and be sure they have at least five years' experience building homes (erecting shopping malls or condo complexes does not count here). Should you go with the lowest bid? Not automatically. The builder could have written in inferior materials or building practices that will give the profit he needs — at the expense of your house.

Just as you did with the architect, ask the builder for references and contact those people. Did their home come in on time? Was it on budget or close to it? Have any problems surfaced since they moved in? Did the builder fix them promptly?

Once your building project has begun, you can hire the architect to oversee the work, if you don't have the time to do it yourself or you are not familiar with construction.

This is an alternative to going the architect route. A custom builder, who does not have to be an architect — and indeed almost never is one — can “design” your home, to your specifications, on a computer and then construct it. When you are ready to go scouting for someone to construct your custom home, follow all the recommendations already listed for finding a builder.

Naturally, if you engage a custom builder, she will oversee the project as part of the job. Since your builder is also designing your home, the cost for those plans will be included in the overall fee.