My questions would be: What specifically constitutes "start of construction" - site work, foundation work, or going vertical with walls, etc.? Also, are there any extensions on this timeframe and under what conditions?

There are a couple of covenance articles on my property too...the square footage, no temporary structures, visible vehicles must be registered, etc, etc. But you may find that you can apply for variances or extensions on things. Like some of my neighbors here, if they want to build a fence but want to put it a little closer to the sidewalk than code allows, they go get a variance approved and then they can build it. Where my property is in upstate NY, I understand that it is very simple and cheap to get permits for stuff. I had to call the state office to find out how to attach my driveway to the state road and the engineer told me that all I had to do was to draw what my intentions were on the form and to pay a small fee and then I could build the attachment. I didn't have to specify anything particular like the depth of the pavement or whether I was putting in a culvert.

Frances

Well regardless of what the PoA says, you're going to have to meet all local county and state codes anyway. Building your own home doesnt mean you can skip out of codes and more importantly inspections.

The members focused on the 18 months because that's your real bottleneck. Building your own home can take a lot of time, especially if you are not working full time on it. There are also things you cant change, like the tempretature you can pour your foundation at, or the availability of logs, and so on.

As far as the PoA, you'll probably be ok breaking the 18 months by a little bit, assuming you are making good progress. They are just trying to protect themselves from someone pouring a foundation and letting it sit for 2 years. If you are making constant progress on an LHBA log home, they will probably allow for an extension and/or look the other way. Please note this is not legal advice and you should prepare for the worst case scenario which is that you get sued 18 months in for not having your home complete.

Bottom line on the codes is that you have to meet them anyway. If you do decide to violate building codes and kick the inspector off your land, you can in fact do that. If you take the class this will be covered briefly, but it will be strongly recommended against and you will be advised to prepare to mount a legal defence. (Note that Skip's log mansion was never inspected and was done without building permits or meeting any codes other than the ones Skip decided were important). That said, it's not a very good idea and will invite a lot more trouble than just meeting codes and complying with inspectors.

Hope this helps. Also all this is covered in the class.