A builder on your side of the table.
Building a custom home? I work for you, not the builder. I check the budget, plans, and contract before you sign, and I'm there for the decisions and surprises after. Whatever it takes for you to know exactly where you stand.
Custom homes from $750K. I work remotely, anywhere in the US.
Why you need someone on your side
Your builder has priced hundreds of budgets like yours. Your architect has drawn dozens of houses. Your lender closes loans like this every day. You'll do this once or twice in your life, with more money at stake than anyone else in the room.
Nobody at that table is working against you. But nobody is checking their work for you either. Every allowance, every line of the budget, every clause in the contract was written by someone who knows far better than you what it means. I read it from the same side they do, and I tell you.
- You're building a custom home, $750K or more
- You have plans and a builder's number, or a contract waiting for your signature
- You want someone who builds for a living to tell you whether it's right, before you're committed
Your worries are right.
Almost everyone comes into a custom home with the same fears. They aren't paranoia. Each one has a real cause, and each one can be put to rest before it costs you.
“The budget is too low, and it's going to grow.”
Often it is. Allowances get priced like a production home: a tile line that assumes standard porcelain when the drawings call for large-format on a mortar bed can be off by half. I go through it line by line and tell you the real number before you sign.
“I'm going to end up paying ahead of the work.”
Most draw schedules keep the builder ahead. I've seen owners 60% paid at under 40% complete. If the builder gets into trouble, that gap is your money. I'll restructure the schedule so payments follow the work.
“The contract protects the builder, not me.”
Exclusions, change-order markup, allowance overages, what happens when a selection runs late. I mark up what should change and how to ask for it, so the conversation with your builder is short and specific.
“I don't know if I picked the right builder.”
I'll compare the bids, show you what the low one left out, and tell you what each one actually includes. Sometimes the answer is that you picked well. You should know either way.
“I'll make design decisions I can't afford, or can't undo.”
I design homes and drive design decisions on most of my projects. I'll tell you what a choice costs before it's drawn, which decisions have to be made early, and which can wait.
“It's going to take twice as long.”
Schedules built for stock materials slip in a chain: one 14-week stone lead time holds up framing, then mechanical, then drywall. I check the schedule against what your house actually needs.
“Something will go wrong during the build, and I won't know if it's fair.”
A change order that doesn't add up, a draw that feels early, a delay nobody explains. Send it to me and get a straight answer from someone who sits on the builder's side of those conversations every week.
Whatever it takes to settle it, that's the job.
A written review, then a call
You send me what you have. Within 7–10 business days of a complete set, you get a written report. Every finding says what it is, why it matters, roughly what it costs, and what to ask your builder. Then we go through it together on a call.
If everything checks out, I'll tell you that too, and you start the build knowing it instead of hoping.
You send
- Architectural and structural drawings
- Itemized budget and allowances
- The proposed contract
- Schedule and selections
- Survey and soils report, if you have them
You get
- Budget review, line by line
- Contract and draw schedule review
- Drawing coordination and constructability
- Schedule and long-lead items
- A prioritized list of what to fix before you sign
I've sat in most of the chairs at that table.
My construction company is Lineage, and I'm the qualifier on its unlimited general contractor's license. We build custom homes, commercial buildings, and multifamily, and I price and contract that work every week. I know where margin goes into an estimate, where a schedule is optimistic, and which clauses move risk onto the owner, because I make those calls from the builder's side.
Developers and investors also hire me to analyze deals before they commit millions, and to represent them through the project. That's the same job I'll do for you: read the numbers, find the risk, and tell you plainly whether it holds up.
And I design. I lead design decisions on most of the projects I'm involved in, including the homes we build on spec, so I can tell you what a choice will cost before anyone draws it.
This practice is separate from my construction company. I'm not reviewing your project to win it. The fee is the only money I make from the review, and I take no referral fees from builders, suppliers, or anyone else.
How to start, and what it costs
Everyone starts with a first look. If a full review makes sense, we decide that together on the call.
Step 1
First look
$850
One hour on a video call about your project, your builder, and your numbers. Then a written go/no-go: what looks right, what worries me, and whether a full review is worth it.
Credited in full toward step 2.
Book a first lookStep 2
Pre-construction review
The full review: budget, drawings, contract, draw schedule, and schedule, in writing, then a call to go through it. A flat fee set by your construction budget, agreed before I start.
| Construction budget | Fee |
|---|---|
| $750K–$1.2M | $7,500 |
| $1.2M–$2.5M | $12,500 |
| $2.5M–$4M | $18,000 |
| $4M–$6.5M | $26,000 |
| Over $6.5M | Quoted per project |
Only if you need them
During the build
A change order that doesn't add up, a draw that feels early, a schedule that keeps slipping. Send it to me and get a straight answer. Also for projects already under construction.
| 10 hours | $4,000 |
| 20 hours | $7,000 |
| 30 hours | $9,000 |
Unused hours carry forward for the life of the project.
Something else
Choosing between builders, design input, a deal you're not sure about. Tell me what you need and I'll set a scope and a flat fee.
The best time is before you sign.
Start with a first look: one hour, $850, credited toward a full review. Tell me your budget range and where you are, and I'll answer within a day, including if I'm not the right fit.
Book a first look