Know Before You Build

Explore expert answers to the most important questions in custom homebuilding.

Resources

Get expert answers to your questions—before, during, and after building your home. Below, you'll find our top articles with tips, insights, and guidance to help you plan and build with confidence.

Phase 1 BIDS detailed steps – Blog Element

GET PRE-APPROVED WITH YOUR LENDER The lender will gather some financial information with you to help you determine your qualifications. This info will help you […] Read More

Step 6 Designing House Plans

Designing House Plans for New Construction

Now that you know all the fundamentals about your land, exterior style, and most amenities, you’re now able to work with the builder to find a draftsman or architect to create the house plans!

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Dirty Secrets About Dirt Work

The Dirty Secrets About Dirt Work

It’s imperative that homeowners know a bit about the process in order to identify common “dirty tricks” and careless shortcuts that disreputable contractors use. Read this article to learn what to watch for while building the foundation of your new home.

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Aerial view of a grassy rural lot with overlay text asking “Is Your Land Build-Ready?”, a checklist icon, and labeled site prep elements like water, utilities, and elevation.

Conduct Your Own Feasibility Review

Use this helpful resource to start mapping out a path to building your custom home! A feasibility review is an essential tool that allows you to determine where to build, what it will look like, what features will be included, & about how much it will cost.

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Magnifying glass over a blended map showing satellite imagery and a planned subdivision layout, representing land selection for a custom home

Selecting Land for a Custom Home

One of the biggest decision is if you want to live on Rural Land or on a lot in an Established Subdivision. The choice should be made early because the size of your lot may restrict the design of your home. Conversely, the design of your home may also limit the size of lots you consider. Read more about the Pros & Cons.

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Phase 4 BIDS detailed steps – Blog Element

ON-SITE VISIT This is the shortest and easiest phase but still extremely important. Once you have secured your land, you will meet Your builder on […] Read More

Step 3 detailed steps – Blog Element

REVIEW DESIGNER CHOICE AND BUILDER CHOICE OPTIONS For a faster experience, our project portal will be pre-populated with curated selections specific to your home based […] Read More

Step 5 BIDS detailed steps – Blog Element

FINALIZE SELECTIONS Once all options are reviewed & considered, final choices are confirmed with hard quotes from vendors and trades to secure your price. FINALIZE […] Read More

Step 2 BIDS detailed steps – Blog Element

DRAFT PRELIMINARY PLANS To ensure there are no surprises, we will create a baseline set of specifications to build upon during the custom selections phase. […] Read More

Considerations For Building In Flood Zones

Although there are certain risks to building a new home inside a flood zone, most of those risks can be mitigated. Learn what is needed to determine if the land you choose is in a flood zone, how to request a determination, and how to mitigate the risks with building there.

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