What to Consider When Looking For Land to Build a Custom Home
September 23, 2024Purchasing a piece of land for a new home can be incredibly exciting. At each lot, you may envision days and nights in the backyard hosting cookouts, campfires, and pool parties. You may also imagine a beautiful porch or patio for your family to enjoy. Or possibly a state-of-the-art kitchen to explore all of your culinary endeavors. After you have taken in the possibilities of each piece of land, you will need to come to a decision. Here are some considerations when looking for land to keep in mind:
Where to Start When Looking for Land to Build Your Custom Home
Before you can visit and review potential lots, you need to find available land in the areas you’re interested in first. Here’s where to start when looking for land:
- Research
- Check the Zoning
- Prepare a List
- Get Opinions
- Visit Each Lot
1. Research
Research lots online before visiting them or talking to a contractor. This will help you understand what you want and what you will need before making major choices about potential lots. If you’re already working on partnering with a custom home builder, they may be able to give you some insight into available lots in the area you want.
2. Check the Zoning
As you are researching available land, make sure you take zoning into account. Zoning and land use regulations can influence how land can be developed and what can be built on it. When you are looking for land to build a custom home, you need to make sure there aren’t zoning restrictions that would prevent you from building what you need or using your lot the way you want to.
3. Prepare a List
It’s a good idea to prepare a list of needs and wants for your future home. Once completed, you will want to talk to custom home builders to confirm what will be best for you. A custom home builder who has pre-purchased and prepared land before will be able to provide valuable insight and experience to you.
This will avoid a few steps when it comes to addressing sewage, plumbing, and electricity. Builders also often take care of certain paperwork and obtain permits that need to be submitted – saving you plenty of stress and time in the long run. Plus, they will be a valuable resource in making sure the land you’re interested in will be a good fit for the custom home you want.
4. Get Opinions
An experienced custom home builder is an invaluable resource when it comes to finding and evaluating land for building a custom home. At the same time, while working with a custom home builder, don’t forget your friends and family in your network.
Depending on your relationships and their experiences, they may be able to provide some insight and opinions on land that will be helpful for you. Plus, you will have different perspectives to consider that may help you make or refine your final decision.
5. Visit Each Lot
Visit each lot you’re interested in. Seeing land first-hand is essential to the decision-making process. Feeling the grass, looking at the soil, and imagining the home already built and ready are fundamental when you are looking for land and making a decision on a lot.
9 Things to Consider When Buying Land to Build a Custom Home
There are several things to consider and to take into account when you are looking for land to build a custom home. Here are a few to keep in mind:
- Size and Shape
- Terrain and Slope
- Utilities, Sewage, and Plumbing
- Drainage
- Township Requirements
- Property Taxes
- Location
- Soil Quality
- Local Climate and Weather
1. Size and Shape
The size and shape of a lot can make a big difference in whether it is right for you or not. You have to consider the custom home you want to build and make sure the land you are buying is large enough and in the right shape to accommodate that.
You want to make sure your lot is large enough for the home you have planned. This is also one of the considerations for single-story house design, as single-story custom homes tend to sprawl. Your lot needs to be able to accommodate that if that is what you want in your home.
In addition to the footprint of the home design itself, you also want to consider how much yard space you want, and how much space you want to make sure you have between yourself and neighboring land. Even if those lots are empty now, you want to make sure that no matter what gets developed around you, your lot offers you the space you want from it.
2. Terrain and Slope
As well as overall size and shape, you also want to consider the terrain and slope of your lot. Sloped lots have benefits and drawbacks, as does any piece of land. What matters is that the land you’re interested in suits your home design needs or can be leveled during construction to meet your needs.
If your lot has a lot of uneven or steep terrain and you need a lot of leveling during construction, you will need to make sure you account for that cost in your budget to accommodate it. This is also true for rock excavation, tree removal, etc.
Your builder should be able to work through this with you, but if you are still evaluating lots on your own, you want to make sure you are taking note of these things and discussing them with builders you’re considering for the project.
3. Utilities, Sewage, and Plumbing
If you decide to purchase land, make sure it can have sewage and plumbing constructed on the property and that access to the utilities you need is available. Sewage, water, power, internet, cell service, etc. should all be accessible for the lot you’re interested in.
This is one of the most important aspects of each lot to ensure you and your loved ones will be comfortable in your new home. After you have learned about these from the realtor or your builder, you should take a look at drainage.
4. Drainage
Ensuring the lot is well-drained is paramount before you begin building the home’s foundation. If a lot’s natural drainage is not suitable for home building, your builder may be able to work on the lot before construction to make it suitable as part of the build.
But, if the lot presents obstacles that mean they can’t, you will need to find a different lot that can support your needs. Not only can this affect permits and other things, but reputable builders are also not going to build on a lot that makes the home susceptible to mold, cracking, sinking, and other foundational issues.
This is also something to think about when looking for land and evaluating the pros and cons of sloped lots or other lots. Your builder should be able to go over these things with you if you are looking for your own land instead of purchasing one of their available lots. Usually, they have already evaluated these things for the lots they have purchased.
5. Township Requirements
In addition to zoning and land use requirements, there are other legal considerations, local building codes, and township requirements you will need to consider when buying land to build a custom home. For example, municipalities across the region are being forced to increase regulations on stormwater management for new residential construction projects.
When you find a lot you’re interested in, make sure you contact the local township or county municipality or talk to your builder to get an idea of what the requirements and ordinances call for. If you’re partnered with a custom home builder, they can help walk you through the regulations and ensure there won’t be conflicts between your home design and local building codes.
6. Property Taxes
Although it’s not a lot of fun, one of the things to consider when looking for land to build a custom home is the property taxes associated with living there. If you’re working with a real estate agent, you can ask them about property taxes in the area. Your builder can also be a good resource.
You can also take a look at local government documentation to get a sense of property taxes for similar homes in your area over time. This will give you an idea of how much your property taxes might increase once your empty lot has a building on it and how often and how much property taxes fluctuate over time in the area.
7. Location
Another thing to consider when looking for land and buying a lot to build a custom home is the location. Not only do you need to consider road access and accessibility to your lot, but also consider how close you are to major routes, to amenities, to attractions, etc.
These are things to consider when choosing a neighborhood, and many of them also apply to choosing a lot, whether that is through a builder or a scattered lot. Think about what living in that location will be like for both short-term and long-term activities. What is your commute to work like if you’ll be making one every day?
If you mostly work from home, how busy is the area around your lot? Is there a good grocery store nearby, or will you have to allocate a lot of time for weekly or monthly grocery runs? How about a pharmacy? Schools? Doctor’s offices? Take the time to think about everything you need outside of your home and how the location of the lot you’re interested in affects those.
8. Soil Quality
Testing the soil will also be an important step when building your custom home. You want to make sure there aren’t any soil quality issues lurking out of sight. This will also test soil depth and overall composition.
If the soil on the lot could damage your home’s foundation or create possible strife for the construction of the home, you may want to consider another lot. Here, too, a reputable custom home builder will not build on an unsuitable lot.
Soil testing is also useful for planning landscaping or starting a backyard garden. If there is anything in the soil that could affect these plans, even if it’s just low nutrients, it’s critical to know beforehand. Testing the soil can save you stress and money in the long run.
9. Local Climate and Weather
The local climate and weather may also affect the lot you want. An open, spacious lot with nothing around it could deal with straight-line winds and snow drift. A heavily forested lot may have storm damage or even fire considerations. If the lot is near a water source or the site is near the water table, there could be flooding considerations.
If these risks are too great, you may want to look for a different lot. Depending on the overall climate and any local weather considerations, you should work with a builder to evaluate your lot to evaluate potential risk for anything that should be considered, determine whether the lot addresses those risks, and mitigate them as much as possible where needed.
Build the Home You Want on the Lot You Want
These are some considerations when looking for land. Finding land for your future custom home can be a fun and educational experience. It does, however, require a lot of research on your part and conversations with a builder to make sure it’s the best place for you to build a home.
You can avoid a lot of it if the builder you want to work with already has available lots that you like. But, if you are committed to finding your own land, always visit the lot, and be sure your builder knows exactly what you want and how to make it happen.
Whether you want to build on one of our lots or your own in Central Pennsylvania and Northeastern Maryland, Custom Home Group can help. If you’re ready to get started on your custom home, contact CHG at 717-284-4090. We can help bring your dream home to life!