A house commission in Adopt Me is an arrangement where one player (the commissioner) pays another player (the builder) in pets or items to design and build a custom interior for a specific house. The builder uses their own furniture (or sometimes the commissioner provides furniture) to create a unique design that the commissioner then receives — either as the finished house itself or, more commonly, as a design that the commissioner replicates in their own copy of the house.
Commissions exist because not everyone has the patience, creativity, or time to build a standout house themselves — and because some players have developed genuine skill at interior design and built reputations for it. Commissioning a build is a real economy inside Adopt Me trading, with rates, portfolios, waitlists, and all the usual complications of any service market.
You pay in pets or items. The builder designs your house interior. You trade. That's the theory. In practice: who owns the design? What if the builder ghosts? What if the finished build looks nothing like what you discussed? What if you paid half upfront and they disappeared? This guide answers all of it.
The best place to find commission builders is wherever the community congregates: r/adoptmehousetrading, the Adopt Me trading Discord servers, and TikTok. Look for players who post portfolio content — videos or images of builds they've completed for previous commissioners. A portfolio tells you more than any claim of skill.
You can also find builders directly through this site's Find a Builder page, where community builders list their rates, styles, and availability.
Builder reputation in this community is tracked informally but effectively. If a builder has been around for more than a few months and has multiple completed commissions you can point to, that's meaningful. A new account with no history asking for upfront payment should raise your guard — this is the most common setup for a commission scam.
Commission rates in Adopt Me are denominated in pets — usually described in Ride Potion (RP) equivalent. There's no fixed rate card because rates vary by builder reputation, house size, design complexity, and current demand. What follows is a rough orientation based on community norms.
These are guidelines. A highly sought-after builder can charge above these ranges; a newer builder trying to build their portfolio may work for less. The market rate is whatever the community will pay, and the best signal is asking other commissioners what they've paid recently.
This is one of the most important things to clarify upfront. Some arrangements:
The most common source of commission disputes is a misunderstanding about who pays for furniture. Agree on this in writing (screenshots of the DM conversation) before any work starts.
A well-run commission follows a predictable sequence. Understanding it helps you know what's normal and what's a warning sign.
Brief the builder
You share your vision: house type, theme, color palette, specific furniture or elements you want included, any references (screenshots, mood boards, TikTok links). The more specific you are, the closer the result will be to what you imagined.
Agree on terms
Price, furniture arrangement (who provides what), timeline, and what happens if either party needs to back out. Get this in writing via DM screenshots. If the builder won't discuss terms, that's a red flag.
Deposit or milestone payment
Many established builders ask for a portion of the payment upfront — typically 25–50% — before starting. This is normal for experienced builders with a track record. For newer builders with no history, upfront payment carries more risk (see red flags below).
Builder works on the design
The builder designs in their own copy of the house, usually sharing progress screenshots at key stages. You review, give feedback, and approve or request adjustments. Revision rounds vary by builder — clarify how many are included before the build starts.
Final review and approval
The builder shares the completed design (screenshots or a house tour). You confirm you're happy with it before the final payment is made.
Final payment and handoff
You pay the remaining balance and receive the finished house — either the builder trades you their copy of the house, or they provide the furniture list and placement guide so you can recreate it. Confirm ownership and design rights in this conversation.
The most common way commissions fail is the commissioner going silent after the builder has already done work — either because they changed their mind, couldn't afford the agreed price, or just stopped playing. Here's how to set up a commission that finishes.
Vague briefs lead to results that don't match what you had in your head. "Something cute" gives a builder almost no direction; "cottage-core with pastel purples and pinks, lots of plants, a reading nook in the corner" gives them something to work with. The clearer your brief, the fewer revision rounds you'll need, and the more likely you'll be happy with what you get.
Decide how much you can pay before the conversation starts, not after you've fallen in love with a builder's portfolio. Commission regret is a real thing — agreeing to a price and then backing out because you realize you can't afford it is exactly the situation that leads to failed comms and a damaged reputation.
If the builder sends you a progress update, respond. If you're going to be away for a few days, say so. Builders who don't hear back after sharing work-in-progress content have no way to know whether you're busy or abandoning the commission — and many will mark the comm as failed after a set waiting period and sell the house themselves. A single message keeps the project alive.
Once a builder is halfway through, asking for a complete theme change is unreasonable. Minor adjustments are usually fine; major pivots aren't, unless you've agreed in advance that they're included. If you change direction significantly, expect to renegotiate the rate.
Builders take on real risk in every commission — they invest time and often money into a design with no guarantee the commissioner will follow through. Protecting that work is about process.
Never start work without at least a partial payment upfront. A commissioner who won't pay anything before seeing results is a commissioner who has no skin in the game — and therefore nothing stopping them from disappearing once the work is done. A deposit signals genuine intent.
DM screenshots are your protection. Agree on price, furniture arrangement, revision limits, and timeline in writing. If a commissioner later claims they agreed to something different, your DM record is the evidence. Save it.
State upfront: "If you don't respond within 48 hours of a progress update, I'll treat the comm as abandoned and sell the house to recover my investment." This sets clear expectations and gives you grounds to act if the commissioner ghosts. Many builders state this in their commission sheets.
Before you trade the house to the commissioner, register the build under your username with a note that it was commissioned. This establishes you as the original designer and protects you if the commissioner later tries to claim the design as their own original work.
A failed commission is one where the arrangement broke down before it completed. This covers a range of situations, from a ghosted commissioner to a builder who delivered something completely different from what was agreed. Knowing how the community handles each case helps you navigate them.
This is the most common failure mode. The builder finishes the house, shares it for review, and the commissioner goes silent. After a reasonable waiting period (most builders set 48–72 hours), the builder can treat the commission as failed and sell the house on the open market as a "failed comm."
Buyers of failed comms should know: the house is a legitimate, custom design — just one that happened to become available. The builder is the original designer and can prove it. The price is typically fair for a commissioned build because the builder wants to recover their investment quickly.
Prevention is better than cure here. Stick to builders with verified track records, check for their name in community discussions before paying, and avoid full upfront payment with unknown builders. A 25–50% deposit is reasonable; 100% before a single screenshot is a risk not worth taking unless the builder is extremely well-known.
If the builder delivers something that genuinely doesn't match what you asked for — different theme, different furniture, completely different vibe — that's a legitimate dispute. Start by raising it directly with the builder and giving them a chance to revise. If they refuse or insist the brief was followed, you have a disagreement to resolve.
Post in the community with both the original brief (screenshot your DM) and the delivered result. Community members will give an honest read on whether the builder followed the brief. If the builder clearly didn't deliver what was agreed, community pressure usually resolves it — no one wants a reputation for not following through.
Sometimes things just don't work out — schedules change, the commissioner's priorities shift, the builder finds they can't execute the vision. A mutual cancellation where the commissioner gets their deposit back (minus any work already done) is the cleanest resolution. Document the agreement and keep the DM screenshots.
The commission market runs on trust. Builders who follow through and commissioners who pay what they agreed both build reputations that open more opportunities over time. The community remembers.
Browse community builders on this site — see their styles, rates, and availability all in one place.
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