The article was provided by Andrea Erickson and Innovative Build Materials

What to Know Before Buying Property for Building a New Home

Building a new home is exciting, as it gives people the opportunity to realize their dreams from scratch. However, in order to begin building, you must first find a piece of land to build on. When looking into property to start a new build, consider the following important points to ensure that your dream home ends up being the dream it should be. 

Know How Adjacent Land is Zoned

Although it is unlikely that you would ever find yourself in a situation where you are attempting to build on a lot that prohibits residential development (let’s hope), the zoning of adjacent land can go a long way toward impacting your future enjoyment of the property. For example, if you chose a lot on the outskirts of the suburbs for its proximity to the city while still providing a peaceful vibe, construction machinery showing up in the green fields that you thought were going to be an extension of your backyard will quickly spoil the views that you thought were going to make your house unique.   

Be Aware of Potential Disasters

While building a house from scratch ensures that you are not buying anyone else’s problems, there are some unknowns with a new build that are not present with homes that have been around for a while. If you are in a region that is known for severe weather, wildfires, earthquakes, or any other type of natural disaster, it is important that the house construction best matches what is likely to endure in the region as opposed to what your personal preferences may be. 

Have a Plan for Getting Utilities 

Although it seems like every inch of the world has been explored and that everything is technologically connected, there are still some remote areas that are relatively off the grid. This can make getting utilities such as electricity, running water, and Internet access difficult to some plots of land. If getting utilities to your land will be expensive or inefficient, look into building materials that can help make a home energy independent, such as solar panels, new construction vinyl casement windows, polyiso wall and roof insulation, and impact-resistant roofing shingles. 

Find Out Why People Haven’t Built Before

As it seems like every square inch of desirable land has already been developed, you may be surprised when the ideal building opportunity falls into your lap. While there is likely nothing more to it than you being the first person to pull the trigger, you definitely want to look into why development has yet to take place. It could be because of one of the aforementioned concerns, or there may be some underlying issue that you have yet to consider, such as local economic trends that may make the land depreciate in value in the years to come. 

Factor the Cost of Land into Your Budget

While it may seem obvious, there are a surprising number of land buyers who do not factor the cost of land into their budget for constructing a new home. This is because many development companies own subdivisions and factor lot premiums into the final cost of the build, making it seem like the land is just there for the taking.

However, the land itself has its own cost. Any time you are building independent of a residential development project, you will have to pay the cost of the land for sale and then pay the cost of all associated contracting work. Depending on the location, the cost of the piece of land will be substantial enough that it will limit the type of home you plan on building. 

Be Prepared to Extend Your Timeline

When people buy a new home, they usually do so with the expectation that they can move in and start living. When building, however, the process is not nearly as simple. From closing on the land to getting the proper approvals for construction to weather delays in the building process, there are myriad factors that can delay your move-in date when building a new home. Have a contingency plan in the face of such eventualities. 

Conclusion

Building a new home gives people the chance to bring the home of their dreams to life. Nonetheless, despite these exciting possibilities, there are a number of factors that can make these plans go awry. Therefore, when buying property to build a new home, consider the aforementioned advice to ensure that nothing throughout the process takes you by surprise. 

Andrea Erickson is a contributor to Innovative Building Materials. She is a blogger and content writer for the real estate industry. Andrea is focused on helping fellow homeowners, contractors, and architects discover materials and methods of construction that increase property value, maximize energy savings, and turn houses into homes.