How long each step takes depends on the lot, the plan, the season, suppliers and how quickly decisions are made. Ask your builder for a schedule for your project.

The order of decisions

  1. Decide what you need

    List the rooms you need, how you live, what matters most and what you want to spend. Note any date that is fixed, such as the end of a lease.

  2. Look at the lot and the plan together

    Each limits the other. A plan may not fit a lot, and a lot may change what a plan costs to build. If you have one and not the other, bring a builder in before you commit to the second. See our guide to buying a lot.

  3. Settle the plan

    Choose a plan, bring your own, or have one drawn. Change it now. Changes on paper cost less than changes on site.

  4. Agree on the price and sign the agreement

    When the plan is settled the home can be priced. Understand what the price includes before you sign. See our guide to comparing estimates.

  5. Arrange the construction loan

    Ask your lender what it needs from you and from the builder, and when. Ask the builder at what point in its process the loan is arranged.

  6. Get the approvals

    A building permit comes from the office that governs the lot. Other approvals may apply, such as a septic permit from the health department. Ask who applies for each.

  7. Make your selections

    You will choose paint, brick, shingles, flooring, cabinets, countertops, interior doors, hardware and more. Ask which choices are needed first, because some items take longer to arrive than others.

  8. Construction

    Agree how often you will meet and how you will be told about progress.

  9. Completion and warranty

    Ask what happens at handover, what warranty comes with the home, what it covers, and how a request is made.

What usually moves a schedule

  • Decisions made late, or changed after work has started.
  • Site conditions that were not known when the price was set.
  • Approvals that take longer than expected.
  • Materials that are slow to arrive.
  • Weather.

You control the first of these more than any other. Ask your builder for the dates by which each decision is needed.

Questions to ask before a schedule is set

  • What has to be decided before construction can start?
  • By what date do you need each of my selections?
  • Which approvals does this lot need, and who applies?
  • How will I be told if the schedule changes?
  • How often will we meet during construction?
  • What happens at handover?

See also our page on building a custom home.

Official sources