Yes. Get pre-approved before you talk to more builders, the same way you would before touring resale homes. You need your budget before you shop. A realtor will not spend days showing homes without a pre-approval, and a builder is unlikely to invest real time estimating a large custom build without evidence you can pay for it. Pre-approval makes you a serious, credible buyer, and it keeps you from designing toward a number you cannot finance. One wrinkle specific to building: a ground-up build typically runs through a construction loan, which works differently from a standard mortgage on an existing home. Construction financing has its own qualification, its own draw schedule as the build progresses, and its own structure, and not every lender offers it. You want someone who handles construction loans in the conversation before you get deep with builders. Knowing your number and the right loan type up front also protects you from falling in love with a plan that does not pencil. The free Roadmap conversation, about 20 minutes where we run your real numbers, is a good first step to set the budget and figure out whether a construction loan or another path fits what you want to build, so you walk into builder meetings knowing exactly what you can spend.