For those building their home
Build your home without losing the money
In a self-build you put years of savings up front to raise something that does not exist yet. The risk is not building: it is paying. Every instalment is handed over before you can check the work, and that is where a project goes wrong. Protecting yourself is not about distrusting your builder, but about money advancing at exactly the pace of the works.
Where the money is lost on a project
Almost never in the final price: it is lost in the order of the payments. A large advance is handed over, payment follows the calendar instead of progress, and when a delay or a walk-off appears, what has already been paid has no backing. The pattern repeats and it is avoidable.
The four rules that protect you
| Rule | What it prevents |
|---|---|
| Keep the advance minimal unless it is backed | Exposing too much money before any work exists |
| Pay against certified progress, not by date | Paying for something that is not done yet |
| Retain a percentage until the end | Final snags being left unfinished |
| Contract with milestones and evidence in writing | Arguing later with no ordered proof |
The first payment carries the most exposure and deserves its own chapter: we cover it in protecting the advance payment. And the mechanism that ties each payment to its progress is in milestone payments.
What changes when the money is held in custody
When the project's capital sits neither in your account nor the builder's, but in a regulated escrow account, the conflict over each payment disappears. The money is visible to both sides and only moves when the technical director certifies the progress. You stop being the one who argues whether a stretch is done; an independent professional decides it.
The advance, the payment that shouldn't be frightening
For that first stretch there is the Insured Milestone 0 programme, designed to back it with a surety bond from a leading insurer, under negotiation: there is no signed contract and we do not present it as if there were. It is optional and taken out by the developing party.
What this asks of you
Very little: define the milestones with your technical director and your builder, and let the money follow the works rather than run ahead of them. The rest — the custody, the verification, the ordered record of each payment — happens by design.
Frequently asked questions
What is the risk of paying for a self-build project?
The main one is paying ahead of the work executed: if the builder is delayed or walks away, recovering what you handed over depends on their solvency and, in practice, on a long claim. It is reduced by paying against certified progress and backing the advance.
How do I make sure the money advances at the pace of the works?
By tying each payment to a milestone that the technical director certifies. Capital stays in a regulated escrow account and each stretch is released only when progress is verified.
Who decides that a payment is released?
The technical director, with their certification. AI verification scores the evidence as support, but the decision is the professional's, not the calendar's.
Does this cost me anything as the developer?
The custody is paid by the builder. The developer gains the protection without taking on that cost.
PactStream is built and switching on with our first clients. If you are about to build your home, reserve your spot and we will let you know when we open.
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