There are many important considerations to take into account when purchasing land to build a home. Typically, when you make an offer to buy land, you have 30 to 60 days to thoroughly evaluate the property before purchasing. Ideally, you will know what to look for before bidding, but this is not necessarily the case.
An important consideration is the price you pay for the property and feeling that the agreed price is a fair price. You don’t want to pay too much for the property, but the seller doesn’t want to sell it cheap. If you have taken the time to search for a property and have had the opportunity to compare it to others, you will know when you have a property at a fair price.
Another consideration may be any restrictions placed on the use of the land. This would often come in the form of agreements. Usually these are rules and regulations imposed on the property by the developer. This may include restrictions on the size of the home, the height, the color, the architectural style, or the type of exterior finishes. This is important because you don’t want to buy the land only to find that the type of house you want to build does not meet the covenants.
The topography and soil conditions of the site are important. Poor soils mean poor drainage and additional development costs. Poor soils can also affect concrete base size and construction cost. You may want to build a single story hiker house, but if the lot is sloping it can be difficult or add substantially to the cost of construction.
The availability of water and sewage is essential to build a house on the property. If the site requires an on-site sewage system, then the local municipality will need to design and approve a system. If the soils are poor or very sensitive, it may not be possible to design a septic system to meet the needs of your new home. If a well is required for domestic water, then it is important to have some idea of whether water is available, what depths of wells are in the area, and how much it could cost. Without water, a piece of land would not be buildable.
If the property does not directly adjoin a public road, then it is important to verify that there is legal access. You must have some kind of legal access to access the property. This could be by easement or right of way.
Sometimes getting power to the construction site can be difficult and expensive. It is important to determine that the power and telephone will be available and to verify the cost. Extending the power several hundred feet to the proposed construction site can be costly and prohibitive.
Selecting the right part in the right place is the most important thing to you. For this reason, only you can decide how far you will go to develop the site for your dream home.
