Building a custom home in Scottsdale, Phoenix, or Paradise Valley requires careful planning and expert guidance at every stage. Our proven 9-step process transforms your vision into reality while keeping you informed and involved throughout the journey.
Below, we’ve added additional information about our process with details that ‘typically’ take place during the construction of a custom home. Keep in mind that every project is different; our method is efficient and seamless. Our team of professionals will guide you throughout your home-building journey, managing expectations and providing support at every step.
The Boxwell Homes’ Process
Purchase Lot (if needed)
If you haven’t secured your homesite yet, we begin by ensuring your chosen property is adequate for your custom estate. Our team conducts comprehensive due diligence to identify any potential complications before you make a commitment.
What we evaluate:
- Site conditions and buildability – We assess topography, soil composition (which is critical in metro Phoenix, where conditions vary from rocky terrain to clay-rich soils), and drainage patterns to determine if the land suits your vision without requiring excessive grading or specialized solutions.
- Utilities and infrastructure – We verify whether water, sewer, gas, and electrical services are available or determine connection costs if they’re not.
- Floodplain status – Using Maricopa County’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps, we confirm whether your property falls within Special Flood Hazard Areas that would trigger insurance requirements or building restrictions.
- Title and legal review – We ensure clear ownership with no liens, disputes, or encumbrances that could complicate the development process.
- Zoning and HOA requirements – We research municipal zoning for residential use restrictions and review any HOA covenants that govern minimum square footage, approved materials, architectural styles, or required design approvals. Most HOAs in Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Paradise Valley require a preliminary design review before submitting plans for permits.
- Boundary and topographic survey – We order surveys that establish exact property lines, easements, and elevation changes—essential data for designing foundations and drainage systems.
- Soils and percolation testing – Geotechnical analysis reveals the soil composition and bearing capacity, identifying issues such as expansive clay or caliche that affect foundation design and construction. If you’re installing a septic system, we arrange percolation testing to determine proper sizing.
Our site visit, conducted with experienced eyes, catches details that non-builders might miss, helping you make informed decisions about whether a property will support your goals without unexpected costs.
Programming & Budget Meeting
With your homesite secured, we transition into the design phase through a collaborative planning session that establishes the foundation for every decision ahead.
We’ll discuss:
- Your vision and lifestyle needs – How you live today and your goals for the future guide our design priorities. We’ll explore must-have features versus nice-to-have features, preferred architectural styles, and how you plan to utilize each space.
- Conceptual planning – You’ll complete our detailed worksheet, which covers square footage, number of levels, room requirements (including great room, home office, bonus room, and theater), ceiling heights, and flooring preferences. This structured approach ensures we capture every detail.
- Special features – Arizona’s climate makes this the perfect time to discuss outdoor amenities, such as pools, ramadas, outdoor kitchens, and sports courts, along with interior features like wine cellars, home theaters, fitness rooms, or smart home automation.
- Comprehensive budget – We establish realistic expectations that cover not only construction costs but also site preparation, utilities, permits, professional fees, landscaping, and contingency reserves. Open budget discussions allow us to guide you toward choices that align with your financial parameters.
- Design team introductions – We connect you with the architects, designers, and professionals who will collaborate to bring your vision to life.
Architect/Draftsman Draws the Plans
Your vision and budget now transform into detailed construction documents that will guide the build.
The design phase includes:
- Architect selection – We pair you with design professionals whose style aligns with your aesthetic and who have experience with comparable projects, budgets, materials, amenities, and more.
- Comprehensive drawings – Your architect creates floor plans that show room dimensions and built-in features. These elevation drawings illustrate exterior views and architectural details, site plans that position the home on your lot with setbacks and outdoor structures, and landscape plans that cover grading, drainage, and hardscape elements.
- Engineered grading and drainage – Required by Phoenix and Scottsdale municipalities, these plans ensure proper water management by directing runoff away from your home, particularly critical for hillside lots or areas with drainage concerns.
- Budget refinement and allowances – As designs take shape, we establish more precise cost estimates and set allowances for items not yet selected, including appliances, countertops, flooring, lighting, plumbing fixtures, and cabinetry. Understanding these placeholder costs keeps your budget on track while maintaining flexibility for final selections. If you exceed an allowance, you’ll pay the difference; if you come in under budget, you may receive a credit.
Specs & Finishes
This is where your home’s personality comes to life, thanks to the careful selection of materials, colors, and fixtures.
Working with the design team, we pair you with based on your styles and preferences:
- Guided selection process – Your interior designers help you navigate the overwhelming array of choices, ensuring selections are cohesive, functional, and within budget. Typically, interior designers start with foundational elements, such as flooring, then move on to cabinetry, countertops, and tile, saving paint colors for last so that everything coordinates perfectly.
- Complete material specifications – You’ll finalize every finish in your home, including flooring for each room, cabinetry styles for the kitchen and bathrooms, countertop materials, tile selections, plumbing and lighting fixtures, appliances, hardware, paint colors, and trim profiles. Each decision references your established allowances.
- Final construction budget – Once all selections are confirmed, we calculate your definitive budget based on actual costs, rather than estimates, creating the baseline for tracking throughout construction and managing any change orders.
Engineering
Multiple engineering disciplines ensure your home’s systems and structure meet code requirements and perform reliably in Arizona’s demanding climate.
Expert consultations cover:
- Structural engineering – Licensed engineers design load-bearing components, including foundations (accounting for Arizona’s expansive clay and caliche), beams, columns, roof trusses, and retaining walls. They ensure your structure withstands seismic activity, wind loads, and extreme heat, then stamp drawings for permit approval.
- Mechanical systems – HVAC design addresses Arizona’s extreme temperatures through accurate load calculations, optimized duct layouts, and effective humidity control. We specify systems appropriate for your home, whether conventional forced-air, ductless mini-splits, or specialized applications like wine room cooling.
- Electrical and plumbing – Engineers plan power distribution, lighting systems, smart home integration, water supply, drainage, and gas lines with attention to efficiency and code compliance.
- Final grading and drainage plans – Refined to meet all municipal requirements with precise elevation data, drainage solutions, erosion control measures, and backfill specifications near foundations.
Final Construction Contract & Financing
With design and engineering complete, we formalize our agreement and assist you in securing construction funding.
This milestone includes:
- Comprehensive budget and schedule – We present a detailed budget that reflects all design choices, material selections, and subcontractor bids, along with a construction timeline that outlines the anticipated start date, major milestones (including foundation, framing, mechanicals, and finishes), and projected completion date—our schedule accounts for permit processing, material lead times, and Arizona weather patterns.
- Clear contract terms – Your construction contract outlines the scope of work, responsibilities, payment schedules tied to milestones, change order procedures, warranty provisions, and timeline expectations. We ensure you understand every aspect of our agreement.
- Financing support – We connect you with preferred lenders or work with your personal lender to submit your complete financing package, including construction plans, project timeline, budget, and land documentation. Whether you pursue a one-time close construction-to-permanent loan or traditional construction financing, we provide the documentation lenders require.
Permitting
We navigate the regulatory approval process to ensure your project complies with all applicable codes and standards.
The permitting phase involves:
- Complete document submission – We submit architectural plans, structural drawings, mechanical/electrical/plumbing plans, energy compliance calculations, grading and drainage plans, and site plans through the municipality’s online portal (Scottsdale’s eServices or Phoenix’s system).
- Plan review and corrections – Building officials from multiple departments examine your plans. If they identify code issues or request modifications, we coordinate the corrections and resubmit the changes.
- Final approval and groundbreaking preparation – Once we receive your building permit, we post it visibly at the job site and schedule pre-construction meetings to coordinate utility connections, establish erosion controls, and confirm our construction schedule. Now we’re ready to break ground.
Construction
Your vision becomes reality as we transform plans and permits into your physical home.
Throughout the build, you’ll receive:
- Weekly progress photos – Time-stamped images uploaded to our cloud-based platform provide regular visual documentation, creating a chronological record of your home’s construction even if you can’t visit the site frequently.
- Monthly progress reports – Formal updates summarize completed work, upcoming milestones, budget status, and any issues requiring attention.
- Live video feeds – Live video of the construction process makes you feel like you’re part of the team and allows you to see daily progress and ask questions when necessary.
- Project management portal access – Our construction software centralizes schedules, budget tracking, change orders, daily logs, selection tracking, and communication. You can view progress, approve changes, and ask questions—all in one organized platform.
- Scheduled job walks – Regular site visits at key milestones (post-foundation, framing completion, rough mechanicals before walls close, pre-drywall) allow you to see progress firsthand and make time-sensitive decisions.
We maintain open communication throughout the construction process, keeping you informed while managing the complex coordination of subcontractors, inspections, and material deliveries.
Move-In
The final phase transitions you from client to homeowner with comprehensive orientation and warranty protection.
Your move-in includes:
- Initial homeowner orientation – Before closing, we conduct a detailed walkthrough to demonstrate all systems and features, explain maintenance requirements, review warranty coverage, complete the final punch list items, and hand over keys, manuals, and documentation. This is your opportunity to ask questions and ensure you understand how everything works.
- 90-day warranty walk – Scheduled approximately 60 days after closing, this inspection addresses any cosmetic or minor issues that may emerge during your first months of occupancy, such as drywall cracks from settling, paint touch-ups, door adjustments, caulking, or tile concerns. We document items on a formal warranty request form and handle repairs promptly.
- 1-year warranty walk – The 1-year warranty walk allows you to ask our team any questions, point out any concerns, and check in with us about anything at all. If you’re worried about anything specific, we encourage hiring professional inspectors, as items not identified within the first year become your responsibility. Standard items include cosmetic finishes, windows and doors, framing, siding, plumbing and electrical components, and HVAC operation.
Ongoing partnership – At Boxwell Homes, most of our clients become close friends. We remain available to answer maintenance questions, provide referrals to service providers, and address warranty issues throughout the coverage period. Building your custom home marks the beginning of our relationship, not the end.
Ready to Start Your Custom Home Journey?
Our proven process removes uncertainty from what might otherwise feel overwhelming. It ensures you’re involved in each step. With decades of combined experience in building multi-million dollar luxury homes in Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Paradise Valley, we guide you confidently through each phase, keeping your vision, budget, and timeline on track.
Contact Boxwell Homes to discuss your custom home project and discover how our collaborative approach makes the building process as rewarding as the final result.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to build a custom home with Boxwell Homes?
From searching for your homesite to move-in, most custom homes take 24 – 36 months to complete, although the timeline varies based on the home’s size, complexity, and material selections. We provide a detailed timeline during the construction of your home, and our team will manage expectations to ensure you know what to expect throughout the process. This includes accounting for the permitting processes as well as material lead times and construction schedules.
Do I need to own my lot before starting the process?
No. Many of our clients begin the conversation before securing their homesite, and we’re happy to guide you through the process of selecting a lot. Our team can evaluate potential properties during your search, identifying issues with soil conditions, setbacks, HOA restrictions, or utility access before you commit. This due diligence often saves clients from purchasing lots that would require expensive site work or that don’t align with their vision. If you already own your lot, we’ll conduct the same comprehensive review to understand any opportunities or constraints before design begins.
What’s the typical investment range for a Boxwell Homes custom home?
Our custom homes in Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Paradise Valley typically start at $2.5 million; costs depend on factors such as size, finishes, site conditions, and architectural complexity. During your Programming & Budget Meeting, we’ll discuss your goals openly and guide you toward design choices that align with your investment parameters. Remember that your total budget includes not just construction but also lot purchase (if needed), site preparation, professional fees, landscaping, and contingency reserves.
How involved will I be during the construction process?
As involved as you want to be. We provide weekly photo updates, monthly progress reports, and access to our cloud-based project management portal, where you can monitor schedules, budgets, and communications at any time. We schedule job walks at key milestones—post-foundation, framing completion, rough mechanicals, and pre-drywall—where your presence is valuable for making decisions and understanding how your home is coming together. Many clients visit the site frequently and enjoy watching progress; others live out of state and rely on our innovative technology. Either approach works well with our communication systems.
Can I make changes after construction starts?
Yes, though changes after construction begins are managed through formal change orders that document scope, cost, and timeline impacts. Minor adjustments—such as paint colors, hardware selections, and light fixture changes—are relatively simple if addressed before installation. Structural changes, room reconfigurations, or major system modifications become increasingly complex and expensive once framing and rough-ins are complete. We invest significant time in the design, specs, and finishes phases before breaking ground to minimize changes.
What makes Boxwell Homes different from other custom builders?
Our process is built around transparency, collaboration, innovative technology, and lasting relationships. We don’t just build homes—we partner with clients throughout the entire journey, ensuring you understand the implications of each decision for your budget, timeline, and outcome. We have established relationships with trusted architects, designers, engineers, and subcontractors who share our commitment to quality, sustainability, and communication. Our extensive experience with homesites in Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Paradise Valley enables us to anticipate challenges before they arise, whether that involves navigating strict HOA design reviews, engineering solutions for hillside lots, or optimizing HVAC systems for Arizona’s extreme temperatures.
What happens if we go over budget during construction?
Our detailed budget development, outlined in Steps 3-5, is designed to prevent surprises. By establishing allowances for finishes and refining costs as you make selections, we create realistic budgets before construction begins. If you select materials that exceed allowances, we discuss the cost difference before proceeding—you’ll never receive unexpected bills. If unforeseen site conditions arise (unexpected soil issues, hidden utility conflicts), we document these through change orders with transparent pricing before proceeding with additional work. Your Final Construction Contract outlines how we handle scope changes, and our monthly budget reports keep you informed of your position throughout the build. By keeping your project on track, we avoid budget overruns.
Do you build in HOA communities, and how do you handle their requirements?
Absolutely. Many of our Scottsdale and Paradise Valley projects are in planned communities with active HOAs and architectural review committees. We’re well-versed in navigating these approval processes and factor design review timelines into your schedule. During Step 1, we thoroughly review HOA CC&Rs, architectural guidelines, and submission requirements before you purchase a homesite. During Step 3, we ensure your architect’s designs comply with community standards, avoiding costly redesigns. During Step 7, we coordinate HOA approvals concurrent with municipal permitting. Our experience with local HOAs—from Desert Mountain to Silverleaf to DC Ranch—means we understand each community’s particular preferences and can guide your design choices accordingly.
What if I’m relocating from out of state?
Many of our clients are relocating to Arizona or building a second home in the state. Our process accommodates distance through virtual meetings, live video feeds, digital document sharing, cloud-based project management tools, and comprehensive photography. We can conduct your programming and budget meeting via video conference, share architectural plans electronically for your review, coordinate finish selections through our design team remotely, and provide weekly construction updates without requiring constant site visits. That said, we encourage in-person visits for key milestones.
What warranty coverage do I receive, and what happens after the 1-year mark?
Arizona’s Registrar of Contractors requires builders to provide one-year warranty coverage for workmanship and materials. We conduct formal warranty walks at 90 days and one year to identify and address any issues that may have arisen. Structural components typically come with extended warranties that extend beyond one year. Many of the systems and materials in your home—such as HVAC equipment, appliances, and roofing materials—carry manufacturer warranties that extend well beyond the one-year mark. We provide you with all warranty documentation at closing and help you understand what’s covered under each program.
How do I get started with Boxwell Homes?
Contact us to schedule an initial consultation where we’ll discuss your vision, timeline, and budget. If you’re still searching for the perfect lot, we’re happy to help you begin your search. If you already own your homesite, we can start with a site evaluation and proceed directly to design. There’s no pressure or obligation—just a conversation about whether Boxwell Homes is the right partner for your custom home journey. Reach out to us by phone at 602-834-8637 or contact us through our online contact form.
