Project management for owner-builders
You're building your own home, often with a construction loan. We run the trades and keep the paperwork your lender asks for, while you stay the owner.
Who this is for
You own the land and the project. You may have a construction loan, a set of plans, and a lender who wants a registered contractor involved. You want someone to run the trades and the paperwork, without handing over the whole project.
That's what we do. You make the owner's decisions. We set up the budget and the draw schedule, find and coordinate the trades, and keep every record your lender asks for at each draw.
Why it matters at draw time. Lenders release money against documents: what was done, who did it, and proof that the trades were paid. When those documents are kept as the work happens, each draw request can go in with its paperwork already in order.
What we do
The parts of an owner-builder project that take the most time and carry the most paperwork.
Set up the budget and the draw schedule
Line items by phase, a contingency line, and the milestones your lender draws against.
Find and vet the trades
Registered contractors chosen from competing written bids, compared side by side, with licensed or certified trades where the work requires it. We check each contractor's registration and insurance before the award.
Keep labor and materials separate
Each goes on its own purchase order, so every line in the budget is easy to trace.
Put every change in writing
A signed change order before the work changes, so the budget always matches the build.
Assemble each draw package
Invoices or purchase orders for the period, lien waivers from every trade and supplier paid in the period, dated progress photos, signed change orders, and the budget against actual.
Keep the records your lender asks for
Inspection records, lien waivers and change orders, filed so you can find them again at close-out.
Coordinate the trades on site
One point of contact for the trades, so you can make the owner's decisions without running the job day to day.
Electrical under our own license
On a home, the electrical can stay with us under our residential electrical contractor license, WASHIC*743DE. That's one less trade for you to find and coordinate.
How a construction-loan draw usually works
Request
At a milestone, a draw request goes to the lender with the paperwork for that period.
Inspection
The lender sends an inspector to confirm the work is in place.
Release
The lender releases the funds for that draw, and the trades for the period are paid.
Your lender's rules govern every step. We help you meet them.
Typical draw milestones: Site and foundation · Framing and dry-in · Rough-ins · Insulation and drywall · Finishes · Final
Your lender sets the actual schedule. General information only, not lending or legal advice.
Getting ready for the lender's inspector
Before each draw inspection, we walk the work against the draw request, so what the inspector sees matches what the paperwork says. The work for the period is in place, the site is tidy and easy to walk, and the documents are ready to hand over if they're asked for.
If something on the list isn't finished, we'd rather tell you and your lender plainly than send a draw request that doesn't match the house.
What you keep doing as the owner
You stay the owner-builder, so some things stay with you. You make the decisions on the design, the selections and the budget. You sign with your lender, and you talk with your building department about what it needs from an owner-builder. We bring you the bids, the change orders and the draw packages to decide on, and we keep the trades moving on the work you've approved.
A build we're managing now
Custom home, Stanwood, in progress
Project management for an owner-builder's new custom home in Stanwood. We schedule and coordinate the trades, compare bids, check every contractor's license, bond and insurance before award, and line up the inspections the construction-loan draws depend on.
- Written purchase orders and change orders for each trade
- Competing bids scored side by side before awards (seven bidders for the flooring alone)
- Inspections and lender draw requests sequenced to keep the work moving
For lenders
Reviewing us as the builder on a construction loan? Ask for our builder-approval packet by email at gc@wa.construction. It holds our registration and license records, a résumé and portfolio of our work, and a blank budget and draw-schedule template.
No referral fees. We don't pay or accept referral fees, gifts or perks from lenders or realtors, in either direction.
Questions owner-builders ask
Do I need a general contractor as an owner-builder?
Your building department and your lender decide that, so ask them first. What we can tell you is what we do: run the trades and the paperwork while you stay the owner. This is general information, not legal or lending advice.
Can you take over a build that has already started?
We can talk about it. We start with a site visit and a look at the budget, the draw schedule and the records so far, then tell you plainly what taking it on would involve.
Do you work with my lender?
We work to your lender's requirements for draw packages and the lender's inspections. We don't take referral fees from lenders or realtors, and we don't steer you to one lender over another.
Will I see the numbers?
Yes. The bids, the budget, the purchase orders, the change orders and the lien waivers are yours to see at every draw.
Who finds the trades?
We do. We get competing written bids and compare them side by side with you. Each trade then works under a written purchase order.
Can you do some of the work yourselves?
Yes. On a home, the electrical can stay with us under our residential license. The other trades come from registered contractors, with licensed or certified trades where the work requires it.
Related services
Where we do this work: Skagit, Snohomish, Island and Whatcom Counties. Our service area
Talk to us about your build
Thanks, we have your request
A person reads every request and gets back to you to set up a site visit.
Want to add something? Call (360) 858-8580, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or email gc@wa.construction.
What happens next
- A person reads your request.
- We contact you by phone or email, whichever you prefer.
- We visit and talk through what goes into a written proposal.
Already working with us?
Current clients, trades and suppliers: please use your usual contact.