What is the Playbook?

The Playbook is your phase-by-phase construction guide. Learn how it works and why it matters.

Revision staged for the published article at `/help/the-playbook/what-is-playbook`
(category **The Playbook**, slug `what-is-playbook`, title and URL unchanged).
Reason: the live body claims the Playbook "tells you when to do it" and that "phases align with
typical draw schedules so you know when to request funds". The **Build Playbook** page holds no
dates, and nothing in it feeds a draw request or a draw schedule — draw stages are built on
**SOV / Draw Schedule** and requested on **Draw Requests**. The live body also does not mention that
progress is stored per account, or that a second, different page is also called **Playbook**.
Apply at release; do not change the slug, title or URL.

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Overview

**Build Playbook** is the order-of-operations view of an owner-built home: eight phases —
Land Acquisition, Feasibility & Planning, Plans & Design, Budget & Estimating, Loan & Financing,
Pre-Construction, Construction, Closeout — holding 60 steps you tick off as you complete them.

A separate page, **Playbook**, is something else entirely: your own private notebook of written
procedures (SOPs). Nobody else can see those.

How it differs from a checklist

A step is not just a line to tick. Where our guidance library covers a step, its panel explains why
the step matters, what to watch for, what to say to a vendor, the relevant IRC code section and
related Knowledge Base articles. Steps without that material say so plainly.

What it does for you

  • **You always know the next thing.** The **Your Next Step** banner shows the first step you have not
  • ticked, wherever it sits in the list.
  • **Construction knowledge is built in.** The guidance is written for someone building for the first
  • time.
  • **It is a reading list as much as a task list.** Read a phase before you reach it, not during it.

What it does not do

  • It holds **no dates**. Dates live on **Schedule**; personal reminders live on **To-Dos**.
  • It does **not** drive money. Draw stages are set up on **SOV / Draw Schedule** and requested on
  • **Draw Requests**. No lender ever sees your Playbook progress, and it is not in the lender packet.
  • It does **not** change your Loan Readiness score on **Bank Ready** or your Project Health score.
  • Progress is stored against **your account**, not the selected project, so it looks the same on
  • every project you own.

Related

  • Your Build Playbook (and your own SOP Playbook) — `/help/the-playbook/playbook-page-guide`
  • How Draws Work — `/help/draws/how-draws-work`