The average single-family home takes just under 10 months to build, according to the latest data from the National Association of Home Builders. Custom homes typically take longer. And when it comes to commercial construction, time from permit to project completion varies widely depending on project scope and size.

Be realistic when you answer this question for your client, knowing that delays due to weather, materials availability, and other factors are likely. Build a buffer into your timetable. If you know it usually takes 12 months to complete a project like the one on which you’re bidding, add another month or two to the timeline.

No client ever complained about having his or her home or office structure available for early occupancy. It’s always best to err on the side of overestimating time to project completion.

Prospective clients want to know this for two reasons:

1. They see your book of current business as an indicator of how in demand you are. An in-demand builder is likely a good builder.
2. They want to know if you really have time to devote to their project. If you’re a home builder with six homes currently under construction, does your team have the bandwidth to handle them all concurrently, or are you moving teams around so that some job sites have no activity for days or weeks on end?

To earn a client’s trust, you have to be able to strike the proper balance between having a solid book of business while also assuring them you have a team that will be devoted to completion of their home or office building on schedule

Some clients want to be deeply involved in the design and construction of their new home or office structure, and others prefer to give you guidance and see what recommendations you make. Before you answer this question, make sure you have a sense of your client’s desired level of involvement and his or her expectations for making approvals of designs, materials, and change orders.

Then be very clear about what you need from him or her. Do you want to talk on the phone once a week? Would you like the client to visit the job site regularly to provide feedback? Is he or she open to answering questions as they come up, or would the client prefer a weekly email update with a list of questions or actions items? Talk about what systems you have in place for keeping the client apprised of project progress, and make sure those systems work for your client (or be willing to make adjustments to meet his or her needs).

This is a fair question, and one you should be prepared to answer honestly because your prospective clients will verify what you say in talking to past customers. If your track record isn’t perfect (and it’s likely not), then be honest about that and explain what the special challenges were that led a project to go over budget or past the proposed occupancy date. Trust is a critical component of your relationship with the project owner