Choosing your lot

Choosing your lot is probably one of the most important decisions you will make regarding your new home.  So you think you may have found the lot to build your dream home, first you will want to make sure that you consider several items such as: price, impact fees, views, neighborhood, drainage and utility location before you make that purchase.

• Price

The price of the lot should fit into your construction budget.  you will want to go to you county clerks office a look up what land is going for in the area.  You could hire a realtor to do this for you but you are spending money on something you can do yourself.  You may want to weigh your options when considering this.  Also, keep in mind the purchase price of the lot is not the final price of the lot or what is known as the acquisition price.  You will have to consider the location to the existing utilities.  Is there public water on the lot or will you have to drill a well, is there public sewer or will you have to install a septic tank and what are the impact fees for building in this jurisdiction.  All of these factor can drive up the acquisition price of the lot.  You can usually find all of this information with the governing authority of the land, i.e. city hall and county offices.

• Views

When considering views you will also want to consider the size of the house and what upgrades you will want in your home.  Take for example you will not want to build a 900 square foot home with minor amenities on a lot that is over looking the pristine view of the river like wise you will not want to build a 4,000 square foot smart home right behind the local landfill. 

• Neighborhood

The neighborhood is another important factor when purchasing your lot.  What do the surrounding areas look like?  If you have young children, how does the local school stack up and what is its driving distance.  Is there police and fire rescue near by?  How far is shopping?  Is this a high crime area?

• Drainage

I live in the dessert southwest and have to consider storm drainage on all of my purchases.  you will have to look at the topography and try to determine where the water runs to when it rains.  Also ask yourself what is going to happen if there is a an extortionate amount of rain fall in a short period of time.  You can contact you local governing body and they can help you with this.

I hope that this information is helpful to you when you go lot shopping.  Next I will discuss what impact fees and building permit costs.

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Welcome To Costruction Secrets

Welcome to “Construction Secrets“.  This is my first issue and there are many more to come.

Are you thinking of building your own home?  Many people do, infact they supplement their income by doing so.  They will build their home and save 20-30% doing so.  Those saving are built into the equity of the home and in 2 years they will build another home and roll that equity into the new home, tax free, and have a reduced house payment.  Do this enough times and you will no longer have a house payment and very nice home.

You tell yourself it can’t be that hard, and in fact you are correct.  However, if you do not have the right tools available to you, you might make a mistake that can cost you thousands of dollars and you can have sightly mistake that you will have to look at for as long as you own that home.   I am going to dedicate my time to provide you with those tools.

I am a General Contractor with 20 years of experaince in the field of building and remodeling home.  So you ask yourself why should I trust you, you are just another Genral Contractor?  I am also a Mechanical Sub-Contractor with over 10 years of experiance in that field.  I have worked for the Home/Owner Builder in the past and wished that there was some sort of manuel out there to guide them through the process.  I enjoyed working with the Home Owner/Builder because they are generaly well educated, intellegant and pleasant , unlike some of the gruff, rude and know-it-all contractor.

So wheather you are someone who just wants to build his dream home, doesn’t trust a General Contactor or you are trying to build your way out of a house payment then this blog will be very helpful for you.  

That concludes todays issue, next time I will discuss selecting where to build.

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