Once you’ve found land for your custom home, the next step isn’t to buy the land, but to evaluate it. That’s especially true with raw land. Picture, for example, a wooded hilltop that slopes down toward a lake. Now imagine you’re the builder responsible for preparing the site.
How many trees will you need to clear, not just for the home but also so crews can safely reach it? Will you need to haul dirt away, or truck more in? Can you even position the house where the owner wants it?
As you can see, evaluating land is complex. One overlooked detail could result in unforeseen costs, major changes to your dream home’s design, or both. When evaluating land, the main things you need to consider are:
In this blog, we’ll show you a high-level look at each of these. We highly recommend that you partner with a custom home builder who’s experienced in preparing raw land, too. That way, you’ll have professional help evaluating the land before you commit to buying it.
1. Utilities
The further your dream home is from civilization, the more effort (and budget) you’ll need to reach the grid. Start by checking out the neighboring land to get an idea of what’s currently in place. Are there power lines running beside the roads? Do you see things like satellite dishes, wells, or solar panels? Questions like these will help you create a snapshot of what utilities you’ll have access to. From there, research each one individually. Area homeowners will be one of your best resources here.
Evaluation and choosing your utilities aside; Schumacher Homes provides turnkey construction. What does that mean? There are many steps and specialists involved with building a custom home. We put it all together for you managing all the complex details so you don’t need to be the expert or project manager. We handle 100% of the construction coordination, so you can enjoy the process, without the burden and stress of trying to navigate new home construction on your own. Our team will handle the required permits, the lot prep, the installation of your utilities and the various building stages like framing, drywall, and trim.
When it comes to utilities, it’s smart to start with electricity since that will power most if not all of your other utilities.
Electricity — Call the local electric company. Most likely, a field engineer will meet you at the site to assess options, which can vary widely depending on location and the electric company’s terms. If you’re in luck, they’ll run power for free. However, they may charge a fee based on distance. In some cases, they may charge for the entire installation.
Lots of variables play into this. For instance, if underground cables aren’t an option, trees may need to be cleared for overhead lines. Maybe the electric company will do that, or maybe they’ll wait for you to do it. Or maybe they won’t do anything until your home’s foundation is in place. Get as many details as possible so you can assess how much time and money running electricity will add to your budget.
Water — Does the land have access to the public water supply? If not, a well might be an option. To find out, call a local well contractor. They can tell you if the land is viable for a well, and how deep they’ll need to drill to create enough water pressure to supply your house. In addition to the cost of drilling, you’ll also need to pay for a water supply system.
Sewer — Of all utilities, sewer systems have the shortest reach beyond developed areas, which is why septic systems are so common. Contact a professional to assess the land. Depending on local regulations, that might mean a plumber, or a different service provider with a special sanitation license. They’ll make a recommendation based on soil conditions and property size. For instance, if the land will need both a well and septic system, there must be adequate distance between them.
Natural gas — For raw land in rural locations, natural gas is more of a nice-to-have than a necessity. But if you prefer gas-fueled appliances to electric, then an easy workaround is propane.
Phone, internet, and cable — If you can access one, you can likely access the others (using the phone line to get DSL internet, for example). Also, rural services have improved over the last several years when it comes to phone, internet, and cable access with options such as satellite and fixed wireless towers. They’re not as fast or reliable as what you’d get in the city, but according to HighSpeedInternet.com, satellite services now deliver speeds of up to 25Mbps to rural homes.
2. Flood risk
If any part of the land lies within a FEMA flood map report, it could be a deal breaker. Building and insuring a home in a floodplain presents a slew of obstacles. To find out if you’re safe, ask a surveyor for help getting the land’s legal description. With that in hand, call the engineering office of the county or city the property is located in. They’ll use the legal description to see if the land sits in a floodplain or along a floodway.
If it does, you might have some options. For instance, if you feel the flood risk is overblown, you could try to prove the land is safe by hiring the surveyor to do a topographical survey. That’s no guarantee you’ll win though, so weigh the cost and risk carefully.
3. Zoning
To build a house, the land you buy must be zoned for either residential or agricultural use. If the land is zoned for something else (most likely commercial or industrial use), then you have a zoning issue. Like discovering your land sits in a floodplain, a zoning issue creates more headaches than many homeowners are willing to deal with.
So how do you figure out how the land is zoned? Bring the legal description to the county or city zoning office for review. If it’s not zoned as either residential or agricultural use, then you’ll need to apply for a variance. That’s risky, though. Planning commissions zone land with the city’s or county’s long-term interests in mind, so they may be hesitant to approve your variance.
4. Surveying
There are two types of surveys to know here, a pin survey and a title survey. You’ll need both, but the pin survey is especially important for evaluating the land. A surveyor comes out and literally pins stakes in the ground to show where the property’s legal boundaries are. You’ll also receive a report that summarizes the boundaries along with details such as easements and right-of-way, but it’s important that you see the pin survey with your own eyes.
Why? Because when it comes to property lines, you can’t take the owner’s word for it, even if a neighbor backs them up. Both may point to a tree line or cattle fence as the border between their properties, based on a handshake deal their grandfathers made decades ago. It’s a nice story, but it doesn’t change the legal boundaries.
5. Site preparation
To prepare the land for a house, first you’ll need to clear a flat spot. Then you’ll have to make sure it’s sloped for drainage, and that crews can access it. Depending on factors such as how dense the trees and vegetation are, how steep the existing slope is, and where rainwater runs off, the cost of preparing land can range widely.
On top of that, maintaining the land during construction will be necessary. Crews will probably need an access road to haul in building materials. Heavy equipment, such as a backhoe to dig out a basement, will accelerate the wear and tear. Not to mention, removing truckloads of dirt adds up fast.
How do you orchestrate all of that? Ideally, you’ve picked a builder with experience preparing land. Just like with your house, the builder should help you estimate the time and cost of preparing the land, and then transparently break down what the process will look like. If you move forward with buying the land, your builder should also help you handle the work that would be difficult to do on your own, such as pulling permits and managing subcontractors.
How to get help evaluating land
If you need help finding and evaluating land for your custom home, Schumacher Homes’ can help. We partner with homeowners and local realtors to find construction-ready lots or raw land in any market where we build. And with our network of Preferred Lenders, we can help you finance it, too.
About Schumacher Homes
Schumacher Homes, based in Canton, Ohio, is America’s largest custom homebuilder, with operations in 32 markets in 14 states across the country. The National Housing Quality award winning company has built over 19,000 homes, customized to fit each family’s lifestyle, since its founding by Paul Schumacher in 1992. Schumacher Homes takes each customer’s inspiration and gives it a home. Each Schumacher Homes location includes a one-stop shopping design studio and model homes displaying the latest in architectural and product trends. Stop in today, be inspired and receive your no obligation price quote.