New Home Construction Process

Getting started by answering a few basic questions.

• What neighborhoods are you interested in living and lot size?
• If you already own a lot, we can design a home specifically for it.
• What type of home do you want to build?
• Is it feasible to build what you want, where you want to live?
• What is your intended level of investment (your budget)? See our post in the Learning Center on our site for important information regarding clearly defined budgets.
• What types of materials to you want to use in the construction?
• How will the project be funded?
• What fears do you have about the building process and what are the most important aspects of the process to you and your family.
• Review lot setbacks and coverage so that we can design a home that meets the local requirements.
• Discuss Planning, Permitting and Construction Timeline.

Lot Search

• Locating the right lot is often the hardest part of the entire process. Working with Ambition Custom Homes you will have the opportunity to work with our team of Award-Winning Real estate professionals through Remax’s #1 team in Maryland, Dart Homes.  If you know the neighborhoods that you are interested in, we will also send out letters to owners within them to see if anyone is interested in selling their home without going to market and listed on the MLS. Often, homes that are on the MLS and open market have already been viewed by other local builders and deemed undesirable to build on.  By working with Ambition Custom Homes to review these listings, we will be able to guide you in completing your own feasibility study before you decide to make an offer.
• If you already have your own lot, we will build on your lot.
• Feasibility Study. During this short timeframe we will have our surveyor determine the size of a home that will best fit the lot.
• Ambition Custom Homes along with our realtor will review and put together the lot contract with you.

Design, Selections, and Proposals

At this time, you would enter into our Preliminary Building Agreement (PBA) to start the design work for your new home and then move into the selections and cost analysis procedures so that we can offer a high-end, fixed price contract with a clearly documented scope of work to you before you sign a large construction agreement, and we start any site work.  You can see a full description of this process on our site.

• With the option to custom design your new home,  Ambition Custom Homes can recommend an architect based on the style of house desired and work together as a team with the owners to design the home of their dreams. This process can take anywhere from 2 to 6 months depending on the design and the owner’s ability to make clear decisions. The owner will pay the Architectural and Civil Engineering fees which are separate from the PBA fees.
• Once a preliminary sketch plan is completed Ambition Custom Homes will review the drawings with the owners and determine if the design fits their dream and works with their intended level of investment.
• During this phase we will initiate the civil engineering field work needed for more detailed plan development and permitting.
• Once more detailed architectural plans have been produced, we can begin the selection process.  This is where our clients are put in touch with all our trusted vendors to make all the choices for materials and finishes that will be included in their new home which will be used for the fixed price construction proposal in the end.  Many clients decide to hire an outside designer to assist with this process since it can be very time consuming for busy professionals.  Others decide they would like to handle making all their selection choices on their own over a few weeks.  Or you can choose to use the Ambition Custom Homes standard inclusions and minimize the selection process altogether.
• Once the final permit plans are complete Ambition Custom Homes will be able to provide a high-end, professional and competitive, fixed price construction contract proposal for your new home based on actual cost of included items, details, and subcontractor bids. NO surprises once we get started!!

List of the Residence Permits Required:

Demolition

• Ensure that the lot is clear of debris and other health hazard materials, and that any existing utility connections have been terminated and sealed.

Building

• Generally, takes between 4 to 8 weeks to obtain.
• The Civil Engineering Package is needed for any Land Development Permits

Sediment Control

• Sediment Control is intended to prevent sediment from leaving a construction site during construction activity through fencing and other drainage and barrier details required by the governing municipality.
• We must have approved erosion, sediment control and storm water management plans before any construction begins.
• This approval process typically runs in line with the building permit approvals, but other times can take longer and could cause some delays in the timelines.  As of spring 2022 they are taking around 12-14 weeks.

Right-of-Way

• Required when digging or excavating anywhere within the county owned right-of-way, installation or replacement of utility lines or conduits, erection of utility poles, removing or replacing curbs, gutters, sidewalks, driveway aprons or other public improvements.

Ambition Custom Homes will commence construction once the fixed price proposal is accepted, and all the necessary permits are obtained. On average, construction of a new home takes 6 to 8 months. The variation in time depends on the size of your house, specific selections and design, the weather, and post Covid-19 supply chain delays. During construction there will be a team manager on site every day to direct the operations.  Ambition Custom Homes has a systematized process for reporting, potential change orders, Scheduling, and more using Buildertrend which makes the building process nearly effortless for our clients. Quality inspections will be done by our site manager during the many different phases of construction. Whenever there is a question or a concern,  Ambition Custom Homes and the rest of the team will respond promptly. Our clients are always our number one priority. During this phase, we like to get our homeowners involved to ensure they are staying well informed and feel very comfortable throughout the entire building process. After all, custom homes are just that “custom,” and we want to ensure that we are meeting the expectations for your new dream home. Ambition Custom Homes will review everything from window placement to electrical receptacle needs throughout the process to guarantee a high level of quality for your new home.

Stage 1 Site Preparation

Demo, clearing and excavation
Footings and foundation installation

Stage 2 Framing

House framing and roof installation
Stairs, windows, and exterior door installations

Stage 3 M.E.P. Rough-In

Utility installation
• Heating and Air Conditioning rough in
• Plumbing rough in
• Electrical rough in
• FPS Sprinkler rough in
• Audio and Alarm rough in

Stage 4 Concealment

Insulation and Drywall

Siding and exterior finishes

Stage 5 Finishes

Hardwood installations, Tile, Interior trim, Millwork and Cabinetry installation
Painting
Flooring (other than Tile and Hardwood)
Exterior concrete, patio and driveway installation
Yard stabilization through SOD or Seed and Landscaping
Inspections and Use and Occupancy Approvals

Stage 6 Quality Control Review

Ambition Custom Homes quality control program procedures which typically takes one week to complete.

Stage 7 Delivery and Substantial Completion

New home orientation walkthrough and Final Settlement

Contacts to setup your utility services one month prior to your settlement date:
WSSC
Pepco
Washington Gas
Verizon FiOS or other providers
Alarm system provider of your choice or we can recommend one

Every Ambition Custom Homes home comes with a warranty to safeguard and guarantee your home is kept to the highest standard. Additionally, we will see that any remaining punch items that are still outstanding or noted during our orientation walkthrough are finalized in a timely and efficient manner. Plus, a one-year punch lists in the fourth quarter of ownership to make any necessary repairs and touch-ups noted by our clients during their time in their new home.

Below is a short outline of our home’s warranties and punch lists:

Warranty 1-2-5

Cosmetic: For one year, starting on the Effective Date, the new home is warranted to be free from any defect in materials or workmanship, as defined in the Performance Standards and subject to the limitations and exclusions listed in Exclusions from Warranty Coverage.

Operating Systems: For two years, starting on the Effective Date, the new home is warranted to be free from any defect in the electrical, plumbing, heating, cooling, ventilating, and mechanical systems, as defined in the Performance Standards and subject to the limitations and exclusions listed in Exclusions from Warranty Coverage.

Structural: For five years, starting on the Effective Date, the new home is warranted to be free from any major structural defect, as defined in the Performance Standards and subject to the limitations and exclusions listed in Exclusions from Warranty Coverage.

Punch List

Ambition Custom Homes has found over the many years in the business of building new homes that they actually require more attention and need for minor repairs and tweaks than older homes do.  We have found that these items tend to arise within the first year of ownership due to our new owners’ lifestyles and habits, and the new environment that the natural materials are living in. This is what people refer to as “settling”. 

Let me explain the difference between Service and Warranty work:

Service Work relates to items that are more critical in nature.  These items most likely need to be handled in a more timely manner.  These are items such as a door handle malfunction, garage doors not operating, MEP issues, and other such items that can’t wait long to be handled.  For these items we ask our owners to contact the respective trade partners directly while keeping Ambition Custom Homes in the loop on what’s happening in case we can be of any assistance. But by the time they call us, we call the trades, we contact the owners again for dates and go through the entire process on their behalf, days may go by.  Directly contacting them negates those delays.

Warranty work is less critical in nature and although may not look or feel the best, it is best practice to allow the home to go through the seasonal changes before we plan to schedule personnel to come out.

Therefore, we have found that the most efficient process to handle these less critical items that arise is to keep a detailed list of them as they come up and send us this list sometime around the fourth quarter of ownership.  We will then review the list and schedule a day and time for one of our team members to visit the property to review the list provided and determine who and what is required to make the necessary repairs or modifications.

From here we will procure the necessary materials and schedule the required trade partners and managing personnel for two consecutive days that work for our owner’s schedule and availability so that we can handle these punch items in a way that is most efficient and least invasive for our owners.  We do require either the owners be home during the workdays, or at least be willing to provide our teams with access in the morning and throughout the day(s) needed.  Our management personnel will not be required to remain on site all day but will be there to meet the trades in the morning and review their list items for clarity. And will be available throughout the day as needed.