A five-part series
Part 1: Choosing the lot
Building a new custom home is an exhilarating experience, but it does entail hundreds of decisions along the way. Knowing what to expect during the home building process can make your experience more enjoyable and help you avoid costly mistakes.
To help you understand all the key steps involved in building your dream home, we’ve created this five-part series. Let the adventure begin.
Learn a lot about the lot
Probably the most difficult part of the entire process is choosing the perfect lot to build your dream home. Whether you’re building in the city, the suburbs or cottage county, it’s recommended that you locate and purchase the land before designing your home and selecting floor plans. The lot you choose will determine most of your building options. You can always design a home to suit a landscape, but it’s not so easy to alter the landscape to fit a floor plan.
Here are key considerations when selecting a building site:
The cost
How big is the lot and what is the price? There are exceptions, but in most communities your land will represent 20% to 25% of your total building costs.
The landscape
What are the general characteristics of the land? Is the property flat and suitable for building or on a steep incline? Are there hills or streams that might affect the design or placement of your home? If the lot is sloped and you want to work with it, there are interesting design solutions you can explore.
Reminder … in some cottage country locations, most of the easy lots have already been built on. The remaining lots are often “challenging”. Be sure you know what you’re getting into before you buy.
Nearby structures
Can other structures be clearly seen from the building lot and what are they used for? Will the size of your house be proportionate to the size of the lot and fit with others in the area?
The view
Where should you place the house for the most pleasing views? Where does the sun rise and set? Which views would you like to see from the living areas, the kitchen and bedrooms?
The neighbourhood
Where are nearby schools, hospitals, shopping, transit, airports, and services in the area? If you are building in cottage country you may have other important considerations that are important such as accessibility to a lake and area attractions.
Road access
Is there a street or road? Should the house face toward or away from the road? Where should the driveway be located?
Accessing the site
If the lot is out in the country, will access be a problem during construction or bad weather? This is often manageable but you need to be comfortable dealing with unexpected situations once the trades start accessing the site.
Landscaping
How much landscaping will be required? Can you protect trees or the shoreline during construction?
Evaluating land conditions
Soil. Dig test holes to locate the water table and determine soil type and bearing capacity. Find out if the property has been affected by hazardous waste or pollutants.
Land stability. Find out if the property is susceptible to land slides or sinkages.
Water drainage. Check if the property is located near a river, with any hills or low spots that could make it subject to water runoff. Have you seen the property during a heavy rain? What are the severe weather conditions, if any, in the area?
Noise. Determine if there is an airport, highway or railroad nearby and how noisy it is.
Zoning. Review the zoning regulations to see what could be built in the surrounding area that might affect your view. Find out the future development plans for the area.
Building codes. Review ordinances on where your new home can be placed on the lot. See if there are regulations that specify how close you can build to the property line, roads, streams and lakes.
Easements. Easements for electrical and telephone poles will limit the space you have for building your home. Determine if there are setbacks for water or waste water.
Public utilities. If the property is out in the country, determine what public utilities are available, such as electricity, gas, telephone, cable television or public water lines. Find out where you can locate a well.
Sewers. If there are no municipal sewers, you’ll need to know where you may legally place your septic system.
Coming soon, watch for Part 2 in our Adventures in Building series where we discuss how to plan your budget and determine your costs.
