Finding a Site to Build Your New Home – Do You Know Where You Want to Live?
Put Together a Team of Professionals
From the time you first decide to build your house from scratch, to the time that you actually open the door to your newly constructed house, you will have bequeathed the carrying out of your most important project to a crew of professionals that include the following:
An architect or design consultant, a site supervisor, land planners, engineers, a purchasing agent, sales representatives, subcontractors, a building inspector and a closing agent.
Make sure you compile a top-drawer team! Ask trusted friends and relatives for referrals.
Whether all these people work together at any point in time, or never set eyes on each other, this will be the group of people that brings your dream to reality.
Another item on your list of things-to-do that will require your attention from the get-go is that you must decide where you want to live.
Specifically, you must choose a site.
Choosing a Lot
Like most potential home site builders, you most likely already know what the outside of your house will look like, more or less. You can envision a brick or stone exterior. You also know how many bedrooms and bathrooms you’d like, and whether your house will sit in the middle or at the edge of a lot.
Those things are important, but before designing your home in your mind, you need to know what sort of lot to build on.
First of all, do you want an improved or unimproved lot?
An improved lot has been enhanced. It will usually have a gutter, a curb, a sidewalk, electricity, sewer connections and gas, telephone and cable lines all ready to be hooked up.
An unimproved lot will have none of these.
Your city or county housing official web site (these usually start with the name of the state, and end with .gov) will point you in the right direction if you need to know which specific improvements must be in place before you build.
Rural, Urban or Suburban?
Most housing that is available for construction is divided into Rural, Urban and Suburban. Which locales will suit you and your family the best? Here’s a breakdown of all three types:
1. Rural – This is sometimes referred to as farmland, or agricultural land. Every state has rural areas, which are usually outside the city limits. Since the state has determined that land is plentiful in this region, the cost per square foot is markedly less than the other two types of locales. Rural land is usually peaceful and slower-paced than urban life.
The drawbacks are that lots are unimproved, in most cases. When it comes time to connecting utilities or sewage facilities, you may find that the utility companies don’t extend their services to this part of the state. For this reason, it is recommended that you purchase rural plots that at least have utility lines near the property.
Keep in mind that, if sewage lines are unavailable, you may have to put in a septic tank.
2. Urban – Does city life appeal to you? Then you’ll probably decide to build on an urban part of town.
Here, lots are improved in advance. If you like urban living, you will probably appreciate easy access to the part of town where business districts and commercial entities abound.
Another upside is that, if there is public transportation in the area, you won’t need your car–or a taxi. You will most likely be able to jump on a bus, tram or train to pick up your groceries or to see a movie. (Or walking might even be an option!)
The drawback here is that urban areas become crowded very quickly. Due to this “urban sprawl” you are not apt to have a great deal of private land for children or pets.
3. Suburban – If you’re looking to settle in a locale that, theoretically, has the best of both worlds, a suburban lot will be your best bet. A suburban lot is improved: the infrastructure is in place, and utilities are ready to be piped in.
Another benefit is that the business part of town is probably only a few miles away. You won’t have far to go for errands, or for a night on the town.
Schools and churches and doctors’ offices will all be nearby, and you’ll most likely have enough land on which to plant produce, if you wish. In addition, your children and pets can romp around.
One drawback might be a proximity to factories and warehouses. Also the possibility of lengthy commutes into the business part of town should be taken into account.
Zoning Ordinances and Covenants
Once you’ve decided on your site, it’s time to explore the zoning ordinances in the area you will be building on. Who makes these policies, and why are they in place?
Policies having to do with how a house may be built are set forth by local boards or commissions, and are intended to protect the property from loss of economic value.
Once you have your lot, make note of your subdivision and check your town’s official website to find contact information for your local building department. Your yellow pages’ government listing (or a Google search) will also lead you to the local building department. If you don’t know the subdivision, or there is none specifically assigned, the address of the lot will suffice.
When speaking to the local building department, ask for details about the town’s covenant. A covenant is a regulation outlined in a deed and concerns itself with specifics about home-ownership, such as how wide your garage can be, or whether or not you can keep a certain type of animal companion. These are all things you’ll need to know before you build!
