We own our land and are doing a custom build. We go by every day but also ran that by our GC as a courtesy. He laughed and said "It's your house, of course". A lot of times I go by after everyone has left so I can walk through it myself and see what has been done or catch any issues. I definitely find this easier to do when no one is there. We also set up a once a week meeting where we know everyone necessary will be there with my husband and me. During that time we can discuss more of the down the line stuff, i.e., they can give us a heads up on what we need to pick out, etc. or tell us about any snafus. I will note that I probably talk to my GC on the phone every other day as well. I *do not* bring my kids when people are working and while they love seeing things in progress, I either have them wait in the car or bring someone with me as a second set of eyes. Lastly, I usually bring a box of Dunkin Donuts coffee when I go in the morning; sometimes muffins too. And I always make sure there is water on site. We have a greenhouse on our property so I leave them there and let our GC tell the other guys so I don't interrupt their work. Good Luck and Have Fun!

Thanks everyone for their insight. Our house finally closed yesterday. Of course you go through a lot of emotions, at least we did, (Couldn't wait for it to sell, then became sad at the thought of really leaving it...etc) but now that we've settled into a rental, we're happy to be done with the whole selling side of things. We also feel grateful to have had a sucessful sale in this market. Now that we are in the buyer's seat we still doubt WE would be able to make an intellegent decision based on one visit. Our needs/wants are a bit more unique than the average buyer though. If it were just my husband and I, I could see falling in love with something perfect for the two of us when I walked in the front door...in fact I did: We made an offer the other day on a home that I DID fall in love with on the first visit. I loved it when we pulled up and throughout the whole house. Had it not been an evening visit and we couldn't see most of the yard, I'm sure I would have talked my Husband into offering then and there. Come to find out, it was a short sale and in reality it was perfect for US, but not for our son. We convinced ourselves that we could make the modifications needed to make it work for everyone. Our Agent explained it could take months to hear back so we could offer and continue to look and pull the offer at anytime so we decided to go for it. We have since rescinded the offer when we realized no matter how much I wanted it, and modifications included it wasn't the right house for ALL the family members. I would have always felt it was a selfish decision. Since then we've gone back to another house we've been watching for a 3rd visit..... and now plan to offer on because it's a good compromise house for everyone. I guess it took 3 visits to convince me that I was doing the right thing by choosing this one. It's not that I didn't like it, it was just not what I had envisioned we would buy which was a forever dream home. I've realized it might not be possible to mesh what is perfect for me with the needs of my son. So, after that really sank in and I became ok with it, I feel good about this offer. It's a low offer (I think it's overpriced and part of the reason it's been on the market 10 months) so if we get it, we will be able to make the changes I want that would make me happier with it, and it is an AWESOME place for my son's needs. Wish us luck!

We spent two years trying to find an existing house in the area where we wanted to live. In 1999 we bought one of the first houses we'd seen, thinking we could remodel it. We bought it for it's location -- good thing, because we soon saw that we'd be ahead to tear down the 1950's ranch and build all new. We moved into our 2900 sq ft single-floor home in October 2001. (Then we moved out again a month later so the wood floors could be re-done; builder paid.) There was the 'architect' who was unlicensed. There was the stop work order from the city AFTER we had both the teardown permit and the building permit. (Illegal, but it would take at least two years for a lawsuit to come to trial.) There was the College of Fools, the all volunteer Building Review Board, who had time on their hands and enjoyed fussing over our already-approved house plans -- when they got around to meeting. (More illegal meddling.) The actual construction took about nine months. Just remembering the *completely arbitrary and illegal* delays is painful. I lost 30 pounds and had to delay a surgery until I regained ten. We do love our home, but we sure had to fight for it!

As others have said, if you own the land, then it's your land and you can visit as much as you want to. When I visit and know there will be people working, I usually take some coffee or food. It goes a long way in your relationship. You'll know when the basement has been waterproofed when you can't see the concrete from the outside. It should be covered in something black. Read online to learn the difference between damp proof and water proof, then talk to your builder about what they're planning on doing. Bare minimum code might not cover what you had intended. The two pipes on the exterior of the house tied to the drain tile might be bi-directional clean outs. It's a little difficult to tell from the photo, but if the vertical pipes are connected to the horizontal with a "y" rather than a "t", and they're facing opposite directions, then that's what it could be. Tough to tell what the other two pipes are from your picture. The PVC is a large diameter pipe that sits away from an exterior wall. This rules out sump pit connection since those sit close to the wall. It can be assumed that it ties to the interior drain tile so it might be a floor drain? Not sure what the thin one is but it looks like 1" copper with a fitting on the end? Do you know if the water valve is installed in the yard? Could be water. If you have plans to rough in a 1/2 bath, then judging by the pea gravel that appears to be in, you should see PVC for the toilet and sink sticking up. Ask your builder. You also don't appear to have any stacks for the other floors so plumbing probably still has to come in to lay the basement rough in and start the stacks. They'll also either have to dig under the footing or drill through the basement wall to connect to sewer, depending on your height differential. It's important to find out how high your basement is above street sewer tie in. Judging by the other houses, I'm guessing you'll be high enough and they'll dig under the footing to connect to sewer. Question: What's with the hole to get into the garage? Are you planning storage under the garage and using a precast concrete garage floor?