Ground-up construction managed under one contract. Soils reports, grading permits, and LADBS plan check handled before a single wall goes up — with one project manager accountable from first site visit to Certificate of Occupancy.
CSLB License #1074505
Itamar Ben Asulin on every project
Valley · Westside · South Bay
Building a custom home in Los Angeles starts long before construction does. You don’t start with framing — you start with paperwork, and the paperwork in LA is substantial.
A lot that looks ready to build on may require a geotechnical report — a required engineering document analyzing soil composition, bearing capacity, and slope stability. It determines your foundation type. If the lot sits on a slope, the geotechnical findings may trigger a grading permit, required when a project moves significant soil volume.
If the lot falls within a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ), the application routes to the Los Angeles Fire Department for separate review. Then comes the LADBS building permit and plan check process itself — covering structural engineering, energy compliance, and, where applicable, fire department sign-off. Most custom-home plan checks go through at least one correction cycle before approval.
Buyers who expect to break ground within months of purchasing a lot often find themselves a year into the process before construction legally begins. Understanding what to verify before hiring a general contractor at this stage can save significant time. IBA Builders provides Los Angeles permit services for residential projects and holds CSLB License #1074505 — verify the license directly through the state. Owner Itamar Ben Asulin founded IBA Builders in 2020 and is directly involved at every project stage.
Soils reports, grading permits, fire-zone routing, and LADBS plan check — coordinated as one workstream from lot assessment through Certificate of Occupancy.
We evaluate slope, soil type, VHFHSZ proximity, existing utilities, setbacks, and recorded easements before any design work begins.
We identify whether a soils report is required, engage the soils engineer, and integrate the findings directly into the structural design (typically 4–6 weeks).
When soil disturbance triggers a grading permit, we prepare and file that application in parallel with the building permit — not sequentially.
Full submittal package: architectural plans, structural calculations, Title 24 energy compliance, and site plan. Submitted complete, tracked through review.
When a correction notice arrives, we review, coordinate revisions, and resubmit within the review window. No queue resets, no lost weeks.
Foundation, framing, rough-in MEP, insulation, final — every required inspection scheduled correctly the first time. A missed rough-in means opening completed walls.
Soil, slope, fire-zone designation, setbacks, utility access. We engage the soils engineer and coordinate directly with the architect and structural engineer before any drawings are produced.
Complete LADBS plan check package — architectural, structural, Title 24, site plan, with grading permit filed in parallel where needed. We respond to all correction notices in-window.
Construction under CSLB License #1074505 with Itamar Ben Asulin directly overseeing project execution. Sequenced trades, on-site coordination, no expediter or sub-GC handoffs.
Foundation, framing, rough-in, insulation, final — every LADBS inspection scheduled and passed in order. We close the project only after the Certificate of Occupancy is issued.
Hillside lots in Bel Air, Silver Lake, and the Santa Monica Mountains corridor — caisson foundations, VHFHSZ fire hardening, and our guide to hillside lot structural and permit realities. Valley floor properties in Sherman Oaks, Encino, Northridge, and Burbank with straightforward slab-on-grade conditions (a full house remodel can be a worthwhile alternative on existing Valley lots). Coastal and South Bay locations including Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and El Segundo — each site assessed individually before any project begins.
“The question I hear most from custom home clients isn’t about finishes or floor plans. It’s some version of: why is this taking so long before we’ve even started building? I tell every client the full timeline at the first conversation. There are no surprises later because we lay out the full sequence up front.” — ITAMAR ASSULIN, OWNER, IBA BUILDERSFrom lot assessment to permit in hand: four to eight months on a typical hillside project. From permit to Certificate of Occupancy: another eight to fourteen months depending on scope. One project manager — Itamar — holds the thread from first site visit through final sign-off. No handoffs between a permit expediter, a separate GC, and a third-party inspector. Learn more about Itamar and IBA Builders, and before signing any contract, review what to verify before hiring a general contractor. If your project also includes scope expansions, our coordinated approach applies to home extensions and additions too, and lot diligence covers LA zoning rules that affect residential lot development.
For a ground-up custom home, plan on four to eight months from lot assessment to permit in hand — sometimes longer depending on lot conditions. LADBS plan check for a new residential structure typically involves at least one correction cycle. Hillside lots, VHFHSZ-designated properties, and projects requiring grading permits add additional review layers. IBA Builders maps out the full approval sequence at the first project conversation so there are no timeline surprises.
In most cases, yes. LADBS requires a geotechnical report for new residential construction, particularly on sloped lots or in areas with known soil instability. The report analyzes bearing capacity, soil composition, and slope conditions, and its findings directly determine your foundation type. IBA Builders coordinates the soils engineer engagement and integrates the report findings into the structural design before submittal.
A Certificate of Occupancy is the final approval issued by LADBS confirming that a newly constructed home meets all applicable code requirements and is legally habitable. No one can legally occupy the home until the C of O is issued. Receiving it requires passing all required inspections in sequence — foundation, framing, rough-in, insulation, and final. IBA Builders manages inspection scheduling through every phase to ensure the C of O is issued without delays from missed or failed inspections.
Hillside lots in Los Angeles typically require deeper geotechnical investigation, caisson foundations drilled into stable bedrock, and often a separate grading permit when significant soil volume is disturbed. Many hillside locations also fall within VHFHSZ boundaries, which adds fire department routing to the plan check process and requires fire-hardened exterior materials. A flat Valley floor lot involves fewer pre-construction engineering steps, though the full LADBS plan check process still applies.
IBA Builders manages the entire pre-construction approval process — geotechnical coordination, grading permit filing, LADBS plan check submission, correction response, and inspection scheduling. Homeowners do not need to contact LADBS directly, interpret correction notices, or track plan check status. Itamar Ben Asulin manages that process directly as part of every custom home engagement.
You don’t need a completed design or a finalized budget to reach out — just a lot address and a project goal. We’ll walk through site conditions, the pre-construction approval sequence, and a realistic timeline for your specific location. We serve custom home projects across LA County from our Sherman Oaks office at 13743 Ventura Blvd, Suite 360.