We have a plot of land we'd like to build our next house on. We plan to build it on a cash basis but to do this we'll need to first sell our current house.

Is there any way to get our new house plan preapproved without going through the whole permit process & expense? We want to be absolutely sure that our house plan will be approved BEFORE we place our house on the market. We'd really hate to sell our house, start the permit/building process to only then be told that the county won't allow it.

Any tips or ideas?

First, check the rules where you live. Some areas (usually with higher populations) are requiring an architects stamp to process any plans. Most areas though do not require anything.

If your area does require a stamp, then the question is: Who drew your plans? If you had a licensed architect do this then you are already OK. If you designed it yourself then you need to hire an architect to review and certify your plans. No getting out of that if your area requires the stamp.

One other tip just as an FYI - If you are building yourself and acting as the contractor, banks will not loan you a dime once construction has started. They basically cannot risk the equity of the loan (your under-construction house) if they have no way to determine if an amateur builder has built it correctly.

that's a cash-basis proposition you've got there. Jaybee didn't mention that construction permits have an expiration time... in some of the 'burbs around here, if you're not done in 9 months, you've created a nuisance, and the city/county may come in, clean it up, and bill you for it.

maybe the Duggars can take 3 years to build a double house and get away with it in Arkansas, but they couldn't poke around with it in Minnesota.

I'm thinking you absolutely need a licensed general contractor to get anywhere on this in most areas. they can be a supervisory contractor and you are the sub, or they can be the GC and primary builder, and you are additional labor, or you can pay the man and drop by each week to shriek and file change orders which will cost you extra. depends on your skills and what a contractor dares let you get away with.

folks are still doing their own homes... the wife and her ex did theirs, a starter mansion on a lake. but they didn't get the sheathing, weather shield, and window protection right on the west end, and it was always cold. after they sold it and split up, it's undergone four renos in 11 years. hope they finally got it right.

and he had a contractor's license.

Your county will work with you to modify the construction plans that you submit. If you submit plans that are similar to other houses in the area, I would not worry too much. They will not say…”forget it you can’t build it, get out and don’t come back”. Unless, it’s some crazy looking house that doesn’t meet codes I would not worry too much. However, you will have some cost before you even get to the building permit submittal phase….
You will have to put in some $ before you know if your building permit will be granted
1. Soil test ($100)
2. Boundary survey (500)
3. Site plans drawn up and application for site plan approval (200)
a. Site plans you can draw up yourself….just shows property lines and placement of proposed house. (Property lines from the boundary survey in step 2.
b. The county will suggest modifications at the planning commission meeting with you.
I built a house on the eastern shore of MD and went through a similar scenario.
Ok, now you know the soil is good and the county likes your site plan.
Getting an architect to review / sign plans that he/she didn’t draw up is very difficult. You can try to buy plans If the house is similar to one in the area and you can find out who built it you can buy plans from a contractor (may be expensive)

there are all sorts of places where you can get a sheaf of blueprints that qualify as a house plan... lumberyards, internet, etc. whether or not you can build them depends on what level of expertise the local inspectors require.

if you have a community that can see that any old licensed architect drew them up and OK them, you are on your way.

doesn't mean the house is right for the area, though. a local construction engineer is generally going to have to look at them and certify code in many areas.

good news is that the same old plans for apartments and so on are reused all over the country, unless you have special requirements along shore land or in hazard zones, most of the commercial plans are probably OK with the uniform building code, and can be modified to meet regional requirements.

but find out if they have to be certified OK early with your inspectors.

all the answers were full of good tips and advice
you need to ask your county/city building dept what they require. different counties/states
require different things
down here, if living in the county
no... plans are required you can build it your self
as you go. i drew up my plans on loose leaf paper
made copies and built my house.
"permits! we dont need no stinking permits!"

I had gone through the posts. First, check the rules where you live. Some areas(more population) are requiring an architects stamp to process any plans. Most areas though do not require anything. Could you please produce some more attachments about the topic for view detail information.

land loans

Geeze. If you are going to span don't copy my words and spam around them. My feelings are hurt so badly that I'm not going to click on your link.

So badly my feelings hurt too. And I not even post as I in some area requiring plans.
Very now confused...I not click link either.

you should contact any of the civil engineer and show him your house plan he might tell you better then any one.

looks like the first step is to go to a spammer and reward them for being a total blight on society. and accidentally trench up their data line as your backhoe party looks for the hidden server in their yard.