You cannot ignore the importance of an architect while starting a custom home construction project. The main reason why an architect is important is that the architect can give you good insights on the kind of land you should buy. If you are not careful in buying the right land for the construction of your custom home, then completing the project successfully can be quite difficult.
It is easy for an experienced architect to evaluate how good the land is for the construction of a custom home. After the evaluation, the architect can give you full details about the pros and cons of the piece of land which is under consideration. He can give you a clear idea about the constraints of building the home on that particular land. Once you obtain the feedback from the architect, you can then decide along with your builder whether to buy the land or not.
You should definitely tie up with trustworthy real estate agents while looking for the land. If not, your path ahead would be quite thorny.