We are looking to purchase land and eventually build a house on it. My husband works in excavating and can do the site prep but we will have to do each step that follows in stages and we are planning to pay cash. We expect this to be a very long process. Has anyone dealt with building a house in stages like this? Can you make any recommendations about materials or planning? Thank you.

I guess you would have to be very careful what stages you pause at so weather doesn't damage the structure or materials you are using.

After having been through two months of the worst weather in history, I'd recommend that you start with enough money to do what you need to do to finish the foundation and backfill, so you can "get out of the dirt" quickly.

Went through and sorta still going. Bought land in95 with cash. Set 5 0r 6 years. Rented back hoe and dug grade beam for slab and concrete block walls. Set one year and poured slab. Set another year and did concrete block with contractor. Used employees of my steel erection business. Not to cheap though. Used friends for various phases such as metal stud framing and sheet rock. Learned a lot.Found electrician to help with electric. Wired house myself, not hard. Ran ac duct work myself, not hard. Save by doing what you can yourself. Built 4600 sq ft house for under $100,000. Now do concrete houses and storm shelters for my business.

keep your permit active by scheduling periodic partial inspections

a camping toilet with a curtain will satisfy the "chemical toilet" requirement so you don't have to rent a port-o-let long term

I took over 2 years to build my house -- not particularly long but long enough to require some special planning. Here's what I learned:

1. If the footings/foundation are left exposed to freezing temps over winter, insulate or reinforce them to avoid foundation cracking due to frost heaving.

2. Avoid the use of OSB if it will be exposed to wet weather for more than a month or so. It develops smelly mildew and mold pretty quickly. Douglas fir plywood holds up best.

3. Make provisions for insulating and heating the house if planning to work inside over winter on plumbing, electrical and mechanicals (before drywall is installed).

4. Wood frame interior partitions exposed to the weather for long will need considerable straightening before drywall is installed. Steel studs might be a better choice.

5. If building in a denser neighborhood, keep a neat, clean site to minimize complaints from your neighbors. Focus on completing the exterior before working inside.

6. Be sure to have sufficient liability and builder's risk insurance, especially if neighborhood children are nearby. A fence around the building site will discourage kids from "playing" on site.

7. Make sure material quotes are fixed for the duration of the project, if possible. Order quanities and schedule deliveries to minimize exposure to jobsite theft.

8. My permit was good for 2 years. Beyond that, an extension had to be requested. Ditto on scheduling inspections to keep permit active.

We just entered the 5th year of OB our cabin. Agree wth everyone else here.
We are now on the second year of the second permit. Next year we have to request for a 1-year extension. If we are still not done, we can pull another permit based on whatever left. At least here we live, this can technically go on and on as long as you are making progress. You may need to check with your building department first.
The biggest headache we ran into is insurance. They finanlly dumped us. Today is the last day of our full coverage. We have been shopping for new policy for a month and the best we can get will cost us 12X more and cover only "limited causes of loss", no liability, either.
We decided to go for temporary occupancy certificate. My husband is there now building a temporary stair and gardrails. We'll call for inspection on Monday. Once we get a C of O (temorary or final), our insurance carrier will treat it as a residence and give us homeowner policy. And we can legally stay there overnight.
Good luck!

Good luck to you for your home.