by Marco Manconi, P. Eng., Vice President, Neoteric Developments, March 12,  2021 

Are you thinking of building your dream home? 

Would you like to be in that new custom home as soon as possible? 

If you’ve answered YES, to either of those questions, then here’s a quick overview  of the process to get you started. 

“Its only March, we have lots of time.” – client

This is simply not true.

The Ottawa construction & housing market is incredibly hot these days. Trades are  booked for months, some are even fully booked for the rest of the year. Material  (lumber, drywall, etc.) prices are fluctuating based on shortages/demand. Land is  difficult to find, and when properties do go to market, they are sold immediately &  often higher than listed. Consultants and designers are completely swamped. 

If you were to call Neoteric Developments this March (2021), & proceed to sign a  contract for our team to start building your dream home, the following would have  to occur prior to putting a shovel in the ground: 

● Have an initial consultation to understand your options/expectations/  dreams 

● Start the design/drafting process 

● Develop and send you two drafts of the floor plans (what your house will  look like and how it will function on the inside). A revision & re-submission  would occur after each draft 

● Finalize the floorplans 

● Create and send you two drafts of exterior elevations (what your house  looks like from the outside). A revision & re-submission would occur after  each draft 

● Finalize the exterior elevations 

● Develop the working drawings (more detailed drawings that are required in  order to obtain a building permit) 

● Supplement those drawings with the technical & engineering requirements

● Surveyors provide grading and site plan 

● If you are not connected to City services, we would then: 

o Work with consultants on septic design and well location 

o Set up a plan to have the site cleared from brush, trees, debris  o Install a culvert for the driveway 

o Apply to the RVCA for the septic permit 

● Assemble this documentation 

● Submit file to the City for the building permit 

● If there is a house on the property to be demolished - we will: o Request a layout from Hydro and Enbridge to disconnect the utilities o Schedule our contractor to excavate, cut and cap the sewer o Request the water to be turned off 

o NOTE: Depending on the age of the existing home, we may need to  survey it for designated substances and deal with those before we  start demolition.  

Therefore, by starting in March, we should be ready to submit the building permit  application sometime around July. This is assuming our client has done their part (review drawings, provide comments, etc.) fairly quickly and efficiently.  

Getting a building permit should take approximately a month, which brings us into  August. 

Once we have permits in hand, we can: 

● Set up & secure the site with safety fencing, signage, health and safety  requirements such as Covid-19 sign in sheets, hand washing stations, etc. ● Demo/construction starts around Sept 1, 2021. We are now aiming to build  

& get the house closed in before the heavy snow and cold, in order to finish  the interior & continue work through the winter (this is OUR norm).  ● Your dream home should be complete around April 2022.  

● We finish the landscaping weather permitting: May/June 2022.

‍That’s if you start NOW!  

As of right now, waiting longer than a month or two to commence the process will  almost guarantee that you will have to start the construction in the colder months,  which results in increased costs and other complexities. 

If you’ve been holding off on making your decision, now really is the time to get  things going to ensure the timelines work as efficiently as possible. 

We offer a complete turnkey service. That means we take care of all of the above  & are the one and only call you need to make. We have a full-service team to ensure  you feel supported through every step of the process: 

● Project Manager 

● Full design service 

● Real estate broker 

● Mortgage Broker/Lender 

● Construction management 

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