Six Items to Consider When Building Your Custom Dream
Home on Your Own Lot
Evaluating your new home building site is just as exciting and
important as choosing your custom home. It may feel like a daunting task
to evaluate a piece of property for its building suitability, but
knowing the basics of land selection will help you make the decision. At
America’s Home Place, our building consultants are trained to assess the
suitability of land to your custom home. But you can be more prepared if
you know about the following six considerations.
1. Walk the Line: Know What You Are Buying:
It’s always advisable to walk the property and see where its lines
begin and end. Try to visualize your new custom home within the
property’s parameters. Ask your building consultant to accompany you
and ask questions about your land’s suitability and feasibility for
sustaining your custom home. The best way to do this is to find the 1-
or 2-inch metal survey stakes at the corners of the property.
2. What Easements Exist On The Property?
An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another
without possessing it. In the case of your custom home, this may
affect access, position of your home and even access to utilities. If
your property is “land locked” by other pieces of property, you will
need an easement to build a driveway.
3. Setback Requirements for Your Home
Ask your building consultant or your local building municipality
for information about “setback laws.” Setbacks are the distances you
cannot build within from the perimeter of your property. These will
vary from state to state or even county to county. For example, in
some rural areas home must be built 100 feet from the road, specific
distances from adjoining lots and specific distances from septic
systems. In urban settings setbacks are often less.
4. Well & Septic vs. Municipal Sewer and Water
Verify with your local building codes whether or not your property
is served by municipal sewer and water. Discuss the costs and
feasibility of hooking in to these services. If municipal sewer and
water are not available, get an estimate for the cost to install the
septic system and drill a well.
5. Know the Slope: Walking in the Rain
The slope of a piece of land is important when evaluating its
suitability for your new custom home. Having a close look at it during
rainy conditions is helpful. Make note of the low spots where rain
water accumulates. The key is to find and/or excavate a place for the
building site where standing water pockets do not compromise the
foundation. A skilled building consultant can help you visualize this.
6. See the Forest and the Trees
Having trees on your building lot can provide some significant
character to your finished custom home. But consider where the trees
are. Are their root systems a threat to your home’s foundation or
septic system? Are the trees healthy? What species are they? Will your
soft pine forest fall on your home during and ice storm? Will the
leaves of your hardwoods provide shade or block sunlight? If some
trees have to be cleared, how much will that impact the cost of
developing your land? Ask and get answers to these questions before
buying that wooded lot.
Building your new custom home with Americas Homer Place is a lot like doing business with a neighbor whom you’ve known for years and can trust implicitly. That’s because we are. Our custom home building centers are located in the cities and towns where we build our homes. We employ local craftsman to build our homes, so chances are you will know the people who are working on your home.
We are very proud of the fact that 3 out of 5 customers who build a new custom home with us make the following recommendation to their friends and neighbors: “Choose Americas Home Place.”