What a pre-approved plan actually covers
The program pre-reviews the building itself: floor plan, elevations, structural design and energy compliance. It does not pre-review your site. You still submit a site plan, still need soils and drainage documentation where applicable, still need utility capacity confirmed, and still go through every inspection. Roughly 60–70% of the review burden disappears; the rest remains yours.
What you save
| Pre-approved | Custom | |
|---|---|---|
| Design effort | Minimal — set already drawn | Full custom drawing set |
| Plan check time | 2 – 5 weeks | 8 – 16 weeks |
| Layout flexibility | None to minimal | Full |
| Fits irregular lots | Often not | Yes |
| Portable to another city | No | Usually, with revisions |
When a custom set is the better buy
Pick custom when your lot is irregular, sloped or narrow; when access constrains where the unit can physically sit; when you want a specific bedroom count or accessibility features the catalog does not offer; or when you are optimizing rent in a market where a second bedroom meaningfully lifts the monthly figure. The added design work repays quickly if it unlocks a materially better unit.
Pick pre-approved when your lot is a conventional rectangle, your goal is the fastest permitted unit possible, and one of the published plans is close enough to what you wanted anyway.
The middle path
There is a third option that most homeowners miss: a builder plan already permitted in your jurisdiction. It is not officially pre-approved, but the plan checker has seen it, the corrections have already been resolved once, and review moves fast. Our model catalog works this way across our service areas — proven sets, local revisions, and no blank-page design work.