For many people to toss of hiring an architect to help them design their dream home can seem an expensive ordeal. The truth is you don't necessarily have to acquire any expert to help you with your home plans. But, this can vary depending where you live some states require that any plans submitted to the local planning authorities must be done by a licensed architect and some states have no problems with this. The best advice you can get is to simply foam your city planning and building department and seek their advice as to the requirements.
There are many homeowners that simply want to be involved 100% in the design and planning of their home. There are many pre-drawn plans available in local bookstores and from the Internet. If you are the kind of person that's loves to be involved this way you do not necessarily need the advice of an architect to design your home. I suppose it really depends on what you want to change if you wish to change anything from the plans you purchase off-the-shelf. Generally if you are changing the interior we will not need the advice of an architect. However, if you are making any structural changes you should consider taking the advice of an architect who will be able to give you some ideas from the experience they have in such changes. The last thing you need to do is make structural changes to your home that may cause problems with the planning permission and possibly cause problems to the construction of your home.
If you are ever in that a simple consultation with an architect for some advice will be money well spent. I'm sure many architects would be happy to just give their expertise on plans that you have already purchased because the majority of the work has already been done and you are just seeking advice as to changes you are going to be making. It's really a matter of asking the right questions. If you are ever in doubt you can also seek advice from your local planning department as you will find most of the time these come be extremely helpful to homeowners.