Custom Home Advisory
A custom home is a construction project that begins with a real estate transaction. Most of the cost, risk and delay is decided in the first phase — the homesite — long before anyone breaks ground.
Nevada: active representation market, subject to final Simply Vegas advertising approval. Arizona & California: educational and relocation-planning resources only; Marilena McAfee is not currently offering brokerage representation in these states pending brokerage affiliation.
What This Covers
Building in Three States
Entitlement, review and utility processes differ sharply by jurisdiction, and the homesite you can build on quickly is not always the one that looks best on a map.
Scottsdale & North Valley
Hillside and desert homesites frequently carry grading, disturbance-area and native-plant requirements alongside community architectural review. Municipal hillside ordinances can materially shape what is buildable on a given parcel.
Las Vegas & Henderson
Custom homesites concentrate in guard-gated hillside communities with active design review committees. Cut-pad parcels, retaining requirements and view-corridor rules commonly govern siting and massing.
Southern California
Coastal, hillside and fire-hazard-zone parcels each add a review layer, and coastal parcels may involve additional permitting authority. Timelines vary widely by jurisdiction; verify locally before assuming any schedule.
Market characteristics are general orientation only and change over time. No pricing, inventory, ranking or performance claims are made. Verify all community, association and municipal information directly before relying on it.
Project Readiness Profiler
Six questions about where your project actually stands. The result is a sequence — the order things need to happen in to avoid paying twice.
Where Custom Projects Go Wrong
Buying the Site Before the Diligence
Soils, topography, drainage, utility stub locations, easements, setbacks and disturbance limits determine buildability and cost. Every one of them can be investigated during an inspection period — and every one of them is expensive to discover afterwards.
Utilities Are Not a Given
Power, water, sewer or septic, and gas each have a distance, a capacity and a cost to bring to the pad. A parcel that appears serviced may require an extension priced in six figures. Confirm with each utility in writing.
Architectural Review Has Teeth
In most custom communities a design review committee governs massing, height, materials, colour, lighting and landscape. Submittal cycles take months. Read the design guidelines before you fall in love with a scheme.
Construction Financing Is a Different Animal
Construction-to-permanent lending has its own qualification, draw schedule, inspection regime and contingency requirements. Engage a lender experienced in it before you own the land, not after.
Builder and Architect Sequencing
Selecting the builder before the design is complete allows preconstruction pricing to inform the design instead of contradicting it. The alternative is a finished set of drawings you cannot afford to build.
Contingency Is Not Optional
Every custom project encounters unknowns. A contingency line in both the budget and the schedule is standard professional practice. No timeline or cost figure is represented anywhere on this site.
Relevant Calculators
All calculators are educational estimating tools. They are not appraisals, loan quotes, tax opinions or guarantees of any outcome. Consult a licensed lender, attorney, CPA or appraiser before acting on any figure.
Signature Guide & Consultation
Custom Home Advisory Guide
The homesite diligence checklist, the utility and access questions to answer before closing on land, how architectural review actually works, and the order in which to engage lender, architect and builder.
Request This GuideSpeak with Marilena
If you are considering a homesite, the most useful thirty minutes you can spend is before you write the offer on the land. Bring the parcel and we will walk the diligence list together.
Scheduling is handled through Calendly. If you prefer not to use an online scheduler, call or email and a time will be arranged manually.
Start the Conversation
Questions, Answered Plainly
Should I buy the land first or choose a builder first?
Ideally you engage a builder or a construction consultant during the land inspection period, so preconstruction input informs whether the parcel works and what it will cost to build on. Buying land first and selecting a builder afterwards is common, and it is where most budget shocks originate.
How long does a custom home take?
No timeline is represented here, because it depends on jurisdiction, review committee, design complexity, trade availability and weather. Ask your builder and the municipality directly, and build contingency into whatever answer you get.
Can I get a normal mortgage for a custom build?
Generally no. Construction-to-permanent or construction-only financing is a separate product with its own qualification, draw schedule and inspection requirements. Engage an experienced construction lender early.
Do I need a real estate agent if I am building?
The land purchase is a real estate transaction with its own diligence, contingencies and negotiation — that is where representation matters. The construction contract itself is between you and your builder, and your attorney should review it.