Selecting A House Lot For Your Dream Home

Selecting A House Lot

At work this week we broke ground on a new house lot for some customers of ours and it reminded me that choosing a lot is not always easy. There are many things to consider when evaluating a piece of land to build your new home on. Several key factors include location, topography, wetlands, ledge, sustainability and utility access. These are only some of the considerations but they are all important when trying to select a lot.

Sustainable Lot

The lot we broke ground on this week has several things going against it. For starters the lot was recently logged and the logger left an incredible mess behind. Secondly this is a lot that requires both a septic system and a water well as there is no sewer or domestic water available. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, however, this lot has both wetlands and ledge all over the place. Therefore trying to find a suitable place for the house, well and septic has proven extremely difficult.

Before buying a lot be sure there is sufficient space for any on-site septic systems, sufficient space for a water source if required and lastly if there is appropriate ground to set the foundation on.

So now we’re out there trying to dig a cellar hole and guess what…yup…that’s right…ledge….nasty ledge. Guess what that means? MONEY…..lots of it.

Take Your Time When Buying A Lot

So my point here is that before you buy a piece of land you should make every effort to research the land and test it completely. Spend a few dollars and dig test pits, get a couple of opinions from septic designers and engineers, make certain you understand the potential unforeseen problems that might be located below grade. Taking some time to fully understand these issues prior to buying the land will make the home building experience much more pleasant.