Change Order

When work is added, dropped, or altered after your construction contract is signed, that shift gets captured in a change order, a written record of exactly what is different, the new cost, and any change to the completion date. Both the owner and the builder sign it before the work happens, so the original contract stays accurate as the project evolves.

Change orders come up on almost every custom home. You might upgrade from the allowance tile to a pricier one, move a wall, add a casita, or hit a hidden site condition like rock that needs blasting. Each of those is a change to the agreed scope, and each gets its own change order showing the added or credited dollars. That paper trail is what keeps the final price from drifting without anyone noticing.

For example, on a $750,000 Scottsdale build, a homeowner who decides mid-framing to add a 200-square-foot covered patio would get a change order listing the patio's cost, say $18,000, and any days it adds to the schedule. Once signed, that amount folds into the contract and the draw schedule.

In Arizona, the Registrar of Contractors (ROC) licenses home builders and handles disputes, and unclear or undocumented changes are a common source of complaints. A signed change order protects everyone by putting the agreement in writing. A change order is different from an allowance, which is a budget placeholder set at signing; a change order is the formal record when reality differs from the original plan. We require a signed change order before extra work starts, so there are no surprise costs at the end.