Help Build Your Dream Home

04/06/2026

https://helpbuildyourdreamhome.com/how-to-work-with-professional-supply-houses/
Don't wait for your builder to tell you to 'go make selections'. Go now, before construction starts. The salespeople at professional suppliers will guide you with expert advice, and make it easy for you!!

Most homeowners building a custom home spend hours scrolling photos online, falling in love with images of gorgeous kitchens and spa bathrooms. Then they walk into a big box store and start making selections. Or worse, they try online shopping. Here’s the hard truth: that approach will cost you—...

03/30/2026

https://helpbuildyourdreamhome.com/how-to-use-allowances-the-right-way/
🏠 Building a home? Don't sign that contract until you read this.
Most homeowners have NO idea that the Allowance Schedule attached to their construction contract could be costing them tens of thousands of dollars and they never even see it coming.
Residential investors build successfully over and over again without massive cost overruns. Their secret? How they use allowances, strategically.
In this article, we're pulling back the curtain on the 3 key things investors get right that most homeowners don't. From contract language to what your builder should NEVER be allowed to charge you for-this is the knowledge you need BEFORE you sign.

Allowances can be a powerful way to control costs, when used the right way. Notice that I did not say reduce costs or manage the budget? The reason is that allowances are a strategy to employ, not just a list of items with a price. When used the right way, the owner can actually control ...

02/27/2026

You're designing your dream home and someone asks: "Do you want an open concept floor plan?"
You say yes because doesn't everyone? 🏠
What nobody tells you is that the answer just determined how many cabinets you'll have, whether your kitchen will actually work for you, and how far you'll walk every single time you cook a meal.
The kitchen is the heart of your home. It should drive the floor plan-not the other way around. Most homeowners find this out way too late, after the plans are already drawn.
Before your next meeting with your architect or designer, read this. 👇

Perhaps I should say: What a homeowner truly wants for their kitchen layout should drive the design decisions for the entire house. The kitchen is the heart of the house and should be treated as such during design. Meaning, it comes first. Find out what you really want in your kitchen layout, then d...

02/01/2026

With Old House – I'm on a streak! I've been a top fan for 10 months in a row. 🎉

02/17/2025

What can you do to save money in your build? A lot! There is a lot that you can do, and I've gone over one of the easiest ways in this post.

Homeowners have a lot of power to prevent change orders by making their selections upfront, and having them drawn in the house plans.

01/17/2025

https://helpbuildyourdreamhome.com/the-most-broken-part-of-the-home-building-process-2/

The typical home building process is broken in many ways, from the homeowner’s perspective. The broken parts of the process cause stress and issues for owners going through a custom home build. In this article, I’d like to bring to your attention 2 areas (of many) that can be incredibly problema...

09/29/2023

💥 FREE Workshop – How Allowances REALLY Work

Next month-date to be determined.

What are allowances? They are the items the homeowner has not yet selected (like electrical fixtures, windows, etc). The exact cost remains undetermined at the time of hiring the builder. An estimated dollar amount is put on an ‘allowance schedule’ until the homeowner makes final selections.

They are a critical part of controlling costs, yet seem to be misunderstood (and misused by many builders). I’ll be doing a deep dive into why this is and, more importantly, what you can do about it.
Knowing how they REALLY work goes a long way in preventing some of the misuse!

Are you overwhelmed by the building process?
Concerned about costs overrunning you? Feel a little out of control about what to do about that?

These are legitimate concerns for sure, as there are far too many people on this site (and others) talk about costly change orders. Often, when I read the stories, I know large sums of money could have been saved because the way these change orders are handled is NOT normal.

I know this stuff! I’ve been in housing for 20+ years (builder, remodeler, developer). I’ve thought long and hard about what the homeowner can do to stop some of this madness – the strategies offered are beyond the normal course of action.

What will be discussed in this workshop is actionable right away.

It’s free, online. No sales pitch. Just good info.
If you would like to join, then comment below that you are interested and I’ll DM you.

There will be a Q&A after the Allowances topic has been presented. Message me with some of your questions now so I can have them ready.

Be ready with pen and paper ‘cause you may want to take notes. Although, a replay will be sent.

The photo below shows the allowance schedule I use as an investor when I hire builders. Clarity and details upfront are key. One of the topics that will be discussed.

09/27/2023

On this site, many have asked about what to put in their contract so they can prevent having huge change orders and other common issues with builders.
Most of the stories I read make no sense to me. As a former builder (20 yrs) who then became an investor, I’ve thought long and hard as to why owners have these problems where my investor colleagues (who are hiring builders) and I don’t have them.
The article covers 3 key items to put in the contracts, and more importantly, WHY. It's all standard stuff that many homeowners simply don't know enough about, yet are crucial for a good experience.
One of the keys is to have a proper Allowance Schedule.
I will be offering a free webinar on Allowances and How They Really Work soon. 💥 Message me if you want to be notified of the webinar.

Hope it helps!

3 keys in to have in your contract! If you are at the point of negotiating the contract, that's great news!