Custom homes
For owners who want a new single-family house rather than a remodel — on a lot they own, or in place of a house that no longer works. This page sets out the stages, the decisions that are yours, and what to bring to a first conversation.
Find your starting point
Local planning resources are not confirmed service coverage. Scope and location are reviewed for each inquiry.
Other location / ask usAgoura Hills · city
Altadena · unincorporated community
Arcadia · city
Bel Air · neighborhood of Los Angeles
Beverly Hills · city
Brentwood · neighborhood of Los Angeles
Burbank · city
Calabasas · city
Claremont · city
Culver City · city
Duarte · city
Encino · neighborhood of Los Angeles
Glendale · city
Glendora · city
Hermosa Beach · city
Hidden Hills · city
Inglewood · city
La Cañada Flintridge · city
La Crescenta-Montrose · unincorporated community
La Verne · city
Long Beach · city
Los Angeles · city
Malibu · city
Manhattan Beach · city
Monrovia · city
Pacific Palisades · neighborhood of Los Angeles
Palos Verdes Estates · city
Pasadena · city
Rancho Palos Verdes · city
Redondo Beach · city
Rolling Hills · city
Rolling Hills Estates · city
San Gabriel · city
San Marino · city
Santa Monica · city
Sherman Oaks · neighborhood of Los Angeles
Sierra Madre · city
South Pasadena · city
Studio City · neighborhood of Los Angeles
Torrance · city
Venice · neighborhood of Los Angeles
West Hollywood · city
Westlake Village · city
Irvine · city
Laguna Beach · city
Newport Beach · city
San Clemente · city
Santa Barbara · city
San Diego · city
Palm Springs · city
Camarillo · city
Moorpark · city
Simi Valley · city
Thousand Oaks · city
Ventura · city
Choose the closest situation to see where to start.
A first conversation about the lot, the existing house if any, goals, how you plan to live in the home and the general budget range. Parcel conditions are noted as questions for the right professionals, not answered from a map.
Plans for a new single-family home are prepared and stamped by licensed professionals — an architect or designer and a structural engineer, plus a soils engineer and surveyor where the site requires them.
Drawings are priced as they develop so scope, allowances and the budget stay connected. Assumptions and exclusions are written down rather than left to the construction phase.
The city or county where the lot sits reviews planning and building plans. Corrections from plan check are answered by whoever prepared the affected drawings.
For a teardown, the existing structure is removed under its own permit. Grading, utilities and foundation preparation follow the approved plans and soils report.
Foundation, framing, roofing, plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems, insulation and energy measures, then interior and exterior finishes, sequenced with inspections at each required stage.
Final inspections, a walkthrough list, documentation of systems and finishes, and the agency's final sign-off before the home is occupied.
Architecture and engineering are licensed professions in California. The design team prepares and stamps the drawings and answers plan-check questions on its own work; the builder prices, sequences and builds to those drawings. A clear written split of responsibilities avoids gaps between design and construction.
Land and any demolition
Hard construction: foundation, structure, systems, finishes
Soft costs: design, engineering, surveys, reports, permit and agency fees
Site work and utility connections
Contingency for unknowns and design changes
Financing costs and timing, if a construction loan is used
We do not publish square-foot prices: they mislead without a site, plans and specifications. New-home budget worksheet
If the house is sound, a whole-home remodel may meet the goal with less disruption. If the lot has room, an ADU may solve a space need without a new main house.
CSLB license lookup · Whole-home remodeling · ADUs · Permits
A listing, old drawing or nearby house does not answer whether your proposed home can proceed. Organize parcel records, site questions and written responses before making a purchase decision.
When an older house needs major work, a full teardown and new home can look simpler. Compare what the existing structure gives you, what the lot allows today and which costs each path adds before deciding.
A construction quote is one part of a new-home project budget. Trace each scope item to its source, keep missing prices visible and test the dependencies before comparing totals.
A new-home schedule is a chain of phases with different owners: design, approvals, procurement, construction and handover. Knowing what drives each phase helps you plan without relying on a fixed completion date.
Choosing a builder for a new house is a comparison of scope, license, estimate content, team and communication — not of a single total. Use criteria you can verify in writing.
A useful proposal names the drawings, specifications and assumptions it relies on. Set a shared revision and decision process so design questions, agency corrections and construction pricing stay connected.
A sloped lot can carry geologic, access, grading and fire questions that a flat lot does not. Not every hillside parcel has them; check the specific parcel with official maps and a qualified geotechnical professional.
Inside the coastal zone, most development needs a coastal development permit in addition to other local permits. Who issues it depends on whether the local coastal program is certified for that area. Many coastal-city parcels are outside the zone; check yours.
The 2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards took effect on January 1, 2026. Which edition a house must meet depends on when the building permit application was submitted, so the date matters for design and equipment.
Rebuilding the house that burned, replacing a house you chose to tear down, repairing a damaged one and designing a different, larger home are four different paths. Each can face different rules, so name your path before design starts.
A meter on the lot shows that service once existed. It does not show that the service is big enough for a new house, or where a new one must go. Separate what is connected today from what each provider and agency must approve.
A four-step brief, a new-build versus remodel factor table and a ground-up proposal comparison. Optional, kept in this tab only, and never sent unless you choose to include it in a request.
Public resource by KB Remodeling · The link and this general checklist contain none of your private answers or notes.
Written:
No, but a first conversation is more useful when the lot is identified. If you are still buying, bring the listing, any survey and disclosures so feasibility questions can go to the right professionals before you commit.
Yes. Bring the drawings and any plan-check comments. Plans are reviewed for completeness and priced; changes to stamped drawings go back to the professional who prepared them.
A licensed architect or designer and a structural engineer prepare the plans. Your design team can be one you already work with or one introduced during planning; their responsibilities stay their own.
From the drawings and specifications as they exist, with allowances, assumptions and exclusions written down. Early numbers are ranges that tighten as the design is resolved.
The city or county where the lot sits reviews the project. Applications and correction responses are coordinated with the design team that prepared each set of drawings.
No. This page is about building a house on a lot you own or are buying. New homes for sale are offered by developers and real-estate agents.
Check the license at the CSLB, ask for completed work you can verify, compare what each proposal includes and excludes in writing, and ask who coordinates the architect and engineer.
Call or send the consultation form with the community, the lot situation, any plans and your goals. A precise address is not needed at first.
Published by KB Remodeling as planning guidance. It describes how new-home projects generally proceed; it is not a quote, a feasibility finding or a statement about any particular lot. Architecture and engineering are licensed professions; stamped plans come from those professionals. Approval, cost and schedule depend on the site, the reviewing agency and design choices — none is guaranteed in advance.