When should I bring in help with the money side?

Money help on a build has a simple rule: the earlier it arrives, the cheaper it works. Before the design is frozen, a budget problem is solved with a pencil - the design moves, nothing is lost. After the quotes are in, the same problem is a negotiation. After the contract is signed, it is a variation - a change to what was agreed - priced by a builder who no longer has any competition. And after the work is built, it is a dispute. Most people bring help in one stage after it would have done the most good, usually when the first number has already gone wrong. If your budget is still forming, that is not too early - it is exactly on time. It costs nothing to ask which side of that line your build is on.