It’s usually the first question on the first call, sometimes before anyone asks about lots or price. A family wants a date they can plan a school year, a lease or the sale of their current house around. That’s fair.

Here is how the months stack up when we build a custom home in McAllen and the rest of Hidalgo County, from the first meeting to the day you get keys.

How long does it take to build a custom home in McAllen?

Plan on two stretches of time. First come the four to six months before a shovel hits the dirt, when the lot gets checked, the house gets designed and the city reviews the plans. Then comes construction: from contract to keys, a typical Sisu custom home in McAllen takes 6 to 10 months, depending on its size.

Put those together and most families are looking at about 10 months on the quick end and around 16 months for a bigger house. Where you land depends mostly on two things: how fast decisions get made during design, and how clean the permit set is when it goes to the city.

For a national comparison, NAHB’s review of 2025 data from the Census Survey of Construction found that homes built by a hired contractor, the larger share of custom building, took about 11.7 months from permit to completion. Homes built by their owners took 14.3 months, and homes built for sale took 7.4 months. Custom work takes longer than a spec house everywhere in the country. If a quote promises a custom home in a few months flat, ask to see the schedule behind it.

What happens before a shovel hits the dirt?

Most of the early months are spent on paper and on the lot, and that’s the cheapest place to make changes. In our preconstruction guide we say most custom projects in the Valley are won or lost in the four to six months before a single shovel hits the dirt. I stand by that.

Three things happen in that window.

The money gets real. Before you fall for a floor plan, talk to a lender and find out what a construction loan will support. Our financing guide explains how a construction loan is drawn. Lenders will ask for pay stubs, bank statements and a list of your debts, so start that file early.

The lot gets checked. If you already own it, we walk it before we freeze the plans. If you don’t, walk it with us before you close. We look at zoning, deed restrictions, easements, utilities at the street, drainage and soil. A geotechnical report runs around $1,500, and it’s one of the best checks you can buy before closing on land. Valley clay changes what the slab needs, and it’s a lot cheaper to learn that on paper. There’s more on this in our guide to finding land for a custom home in McAllen.

The team gets picked. Choose your builder before you pay for a full set of construction drawings, or work with a design and build company so the designer and the builder are pricing the same house. Drawings that come in over budget mean starting over, and starting over costs months. If you’re still comparing builders, how to choose a custom home builder in McAllen has the questions to ask.

Clearing and grading only start once the permit is in hand. That’s the first day a neighbor sees machines on your lot. Everything before it is meetings, drawings and city paperwork, and that work decides whether the construction months go smoothly.

How long does the design package take?

Design takes as long as the decisions take. Once a family knows what it wants, the drawings move quickly. The weeks get used up when the fourth bedroom keeps turning into an office and back again.

Design runs in three steps:

• Schematic design gives you rough floor plans and elevations: how many stories, where the rooms sit, which way the garage faces.
• Design development adds the detail: cabinet layouts, plumbing locations, electrical and finishes.
• Construction documents are the final engineered drawings that go to the city for the permit and to the crews who build the house.

A change costs more the later it comes. Moving a wall on a schematic takes an afternoon. Moving it after the A/C is sized and the engineer has stamped the set means redoing work, and sometimes another round with the city.

Already have plans from an architect? Bring them. About half of our custom builds are on lots the client already owns, so we see outside plans often. We’ll price the set and check it against the soils report and Valley heat before we call it ready to build. A set drawn for a colder climate usually needs a revision pass, and it’s better to find that out before it goes to the city.

My rule of thumb: don’t ask for a start date until the construction documents are ready to submit. “We’ll figure out the kitchen later” is how a schedule stretches.

How long do permits take in McAllen, Edinburg and Mission?

McAllen posts 3 business days to review a complete residential set. In our own schedules we plan four to eight weeks from submittal to permit in hand, because a set with missing pieces buys a revision cycle and the city’s workload changes through the year. A complete first set keeps you near the short end.

The City of McAllen Building Permits and Inspections department handles plan review and inspections inside city limits. Edinburg and Mission have their own building departments and their own queues, and lots outside city limits go through Hidalgo County. We pull the permit with whichever office has jurisdiction over your lot, and we check that office’s current review times when we submit, because they change through the year.

County lots can bring steps a subdivision lot already has covered: well or septic questions, drainage review, longer utility runs. That’s fine on a good piece of land, as long as you walk it before you buy.

Use the review weeks well. While the city reads the drawings, close the construction loan and line up insurance, so you’re ready to start the day the permit is issued. Waiting for the stamp before you open a loan file can cost a month you didn’t need to lose.

What does the construction schedule look like, phase by phase?

Construction goes in a fixed order, and most phases end with an inspection that has to pass before the next crew can start. That order is what keeps the 6 to 10 months realistic.

1. Site work and slab. Clearing, grading, forms and steel, then the foundation inspection and the pour.
2. Framing. Walls, floors and the roof structure. As our step by step guide says, framing follows the foundation within a few weeks. Hurricane ties go on every truss before the framing inspection.
3. Dried in. Roof on, windows and exterior doors in. From here the house can take a rain.
4. Rough plumbing, electrical and A/C. Pipes, wiring and ductwork go into the walls and attic, and the rough inspections pass before anything gets covered.
5. Insulation. Installed and inspected.
6. Drywall. Hung, taped and finished. This is when the house starts to feel like rooms.
7. Finishes. Cabinets, counters, tile, flooring, paint, fixtures and appliances.
8. Final inspection, Certificate of Occupancy, punch list and keys.

Framing is the first time you can walk the rooms and feel the size. It’s also when people want to move an outlet or shift a wall a foot. Mark it on the plan and talk to us first. Changes on a framed wall cost more than they look like they will.

Drying in is the weather line. Before the roof and openings are closed, a Valley storm can stop work. Once the house is dried in, rain mostly slows the crews working outside.

Finishes are where lead times hide. Custom cabinets and special order tile can take longer to arrive than the slab took to cure. If you want a specific tile or fixture, pick it during design so it gets ordered on time.

Keys come after the Certificate of Occupancy, and we walk the final punch list with you.

What slows a build in the RGV?

Four things stretch a schedule here: rain before the house is dried in, late selections, change orders and, depending on the county, windstorm paperwork. Rain is the only one nobody controls.

Rain before the house is dried in. Concrete needs a dry window, and so does early exterior work. Weather rarely slips a Sisu schedule by more than a week on its own. A hurricane season with a direct hit is a different story.

Late selections. Flooring, cabinets, counters, fixtures, paint and appliances each have an order date. A late pick means a late order, and a late order means a crew waiting on site.

Change orders. Moving a wall after framing or adding an outdoor kitchen after the electrical is set can be done. Each one adds days. Our 2026 cost guide lists design changes during construction at $5,000 to $30,000 or more and calls change orders the number one budget buster. The calendar takes a hit too.

Windstorm paperwork, depending on where you build. Hidalgo County sits outside the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association coverage area, so most lots in McAllen, Edinburg and Mission don’t need a state windstorm certificate. Closer to the coast, in Cameron or Willacy County, it becomes a real schedule item. The Texas Department of Insurance issues its windstorm certificate of compliance for work inspected while construction is still open, so the inspector has to see the straps and fasteners before the walls get closed up. Either way, our homes are designed for 130 mph gusts. Our post on building a hurricane resistant home in McAllen goes deeper.

I tell every family the same thing: inspections and drying in set the calendar. We can plan around almost everything else.

How will I know what’s happening on my build?

You’ll get regular updates with photos. I’m the general contractor on every Sisu build and I’m on every jobsite every week, so the person who priced your house is the same person walking it.

We also set walkthroughs on site during the build, so you see the work while it’s still wood and wire, and at the end we walk the whole house with you to write the punch list. Updates come in English or Spanish, whichever you prefer.

If an inspection fails or a delivery slips, you hear it from us that week. A short note that says “waiting on windows” is better than a surprise in the last month.

Moving to the Valley from out of town? The photo updates are how you keep up with the job without living next to the lot. Our process page shows the whole path, from the first meeting to moving in and the warranty.

What can you do to keep your build on schedule?

You control more of the calendar than you might think. Most of it comes down to deciding early and keeping the money side moving.

• Lock the floor plan before we break ground. Change your mind on paper, where it’s cheap.
• Make selections by the dates on the selection schedule. We’ll remind you. That’s part of our job.
• Get the construction loan moving while the drawings are in review.
• Get the soils report before you buy the lot.
• Put the big wishes in the first drawings. A pool, an outdoor kitchen, a casita or a bigger garage all belong in the first schematic. Added after framing, each one costs time and money.
• Bring your hard dates to the first meeting. A school year, a lease that ends, a house you need to sell. We’ll lay them against design, city review and the construction window, and tell you plainly whether they fit.

Frequently asked questions

How many months does it take to build a custom home in McAllen?

Construction on a typical Sisu custom home in McAllen takes 6 to 10 months from contract to keys, depending on its size. Add the four to six months of lot work, design and permits before that, and the full path from first meeting to keys runs about 10 to 16 months.

Does weather add time?

Some. Weather rarely slips a Sisu schedule by more than a week on its own. Rain matters most before the house is dried in. Once the roof, windows and doors are on, most of the work keeps going.

When can we move in?

Once the city or county that issued the permit gives the Certificate of Occupancy. That is when we hand over keys and walk the final punch list with you.

What if I already have plans?

Bring them. We’ll price the set and check it against your soils report and the Valley climate. Some sets go to the city with light changes and some need a revision pass first. We’ll tell you which one you have before you pay for a permit.

Do you build outside city limits?

Yes. We pull permits with McAllen, Edinburg, Mission or Hidalgo County, whichever has jurisdiction over your lot. County lots can add utility and drainage steps, so walk the land with us before you close.

Talk to Daniel and bring your lot, your plans if you have them, and the month you need keys.