Cost-Plus vs. Fixed-Price Construction Contracts for a Custom Home
Cost-plus, fixed price, or a guaranteed maximum price: who carries the risk under each, how the final number moves, and the clauses to read before you sign.
Journal
Stories from the field
A working library for anyone planning a custom home in Nashville — what it costs, how the process actually runs, how to read a lot before you buy it, and what each neighborhood asks of a build. Written from May’s own projects and process, and organized so you can start where your question starts. When you’re past the reading stage, tell us about your lot or book a consultation.
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Cost & budget
Construction Loans in Tennessee: How They Work for a Custom Home
How a construction loan works in Tennessee: one-time vs two-time close, what lenders review, how draws and interest work, and using your land as equity.
How Much Does a Custom Home Cost in Nashville?
Custom builds in the Nashville areas May serves typically run $1.2M to $6M. What actually sets the number, and how the budget locks before we build.
Process & builders
Questions to Ask a Custom Home Builder in Nashville, Plus Red Flags
The questions to ask a Nashville custom home builder at every stage, how to verify a Tennessee license and insurance, the red flags to watch for, and a scorecard to bring to each interview.
Nashville Building Permits for Custom Homes: Process, Reviews, and Common Delays
A custom home in Nashville often needs more than one permit, and the real timeline starts months before approval. Here is how the process actually works, from the builder's side of the table.
Custom vs. Production Builder: What Changes
One starts from a plan library. The other starts from your lot and your Tuesday morning. What actually changes when you build custom with May.
How Long Does a Custom Home Build Take in Nashville?
A custom build runs on gates, not guesses. The seven checkpoints every May home moves through in Nashville, and what actually sets the pace.
Land & lots
How to Buy Land and Build a House in Tennessee, Step by Step
The order that keeps you out of trouble: financing, the right area, a lot with a due diligence contingency, the checks before closing, and what happens before you break ground.
Build on Your Lot in Nashville: Feasibility Guide
Setbacks, utilities, grade, trees, what we check before we draw anything on a Nashville lot, and how to know what your land really allows.
Neighborhoods
Brentwood vs. Franklin for a Custom Home
Golf-community estate lots or a walkable historic downtown? What Brentwood and Franklin each ask of a custom build, from a builder working in both.
Building in Belle Meade, Forest Hills & Green Hills
Estate lots, wooded acreage, teardown-rebuilds. What to know before building in Belle Meade, Forest Hills, or Green Hills, from the site walk up.
More from the field
Teardown and Rebuild in Nashville: What Goes Into the Budget
May founder Patrizio Murdocca explains how demolition, old utilities and the shape of a lot affect the budget for a new home in Nashville.
The Whitmore at Cheatham Pl: A North Nashville Project Case Study
Eight homes, three floor plans and 23 lumber deliveries. Inside the site logistics and construction coordination behind The Whitmore in North Nashville.
Westboro: Designing for Privacy in a Rear HPR Home
At Westboro, a shared driveway and an existing front house shaped the plan. Patrizio Murdocca explains how May designed the rear home around a private backyard.
