Buying Land For Building Your New House

Have you ever thought about building your own home? If so, you know that you need a place to put it, some empty land. This might seem obvious, but clearly, to get started, you have to know a little bit about buying land.

After you find what appears to be a suitable lot, it's good to know what kind of soil is present. Your realtor ought to be able to help you with obtaining this information. You should also determine whether or not the land is in a flood zone. This has an impact on your purchase risk and potential insurance. Be aware that sellers might not even have this information readily available. Regardless, it is important to understand the land before buying.

Next, determine that the land is safe to build on. Ideally, whatever building contractor you choose ought to be able to make this determination for you. And the information you gathered about the soil is crucial to this determination.

You might also want to check the pH level of the soil. This can have an impact on your lawn and landscaping as well as any gardening you might want to do. Sometimes people look at their property and just think it's difficult to grow stuff in this area. They never consider the pH, which can be adjusted if it's not quite right. You can get low cost pH soil testers at Amazon.

If you are buying property in a new residential neighborhood, you can be sure the land is properly zoned. But outside of this situation, just because land is sitting vacant does not mean that you can build a house on it. You must check into the zoning. Go to the tax department of whatever jurisdiction controls the zoning in that area and take a look at the zoning map. This way you can see for yourself whether the land is appropriate for residential use or has different zoning attached.

You will also want to consider whether it will be necessary to move or remove trees. If so, be aware of the time and expense. This activity can consume a lot of both. Of course you might like the thought of leaving the land alone, trees growing as they are, but remember that digging a hole for your house will disturb many roots. Some trees may not survive the damage. Better to take care of this before you start building.

Also, consider the footprint of your new home. How much yard will remain around the house? Does the remaining space provide you with enough open land to do the landscaping you want? Does it give you room to do the other things you dreamed of in your yard?

Now that you understand a little bit about buying property for your new house, you can get some of the important questions answered right away. Take your time, look at the options, find some land that offers you everything you need. In the end you will have a wonderful new house on a great piece of land, and you can call it home.

Of course, take a look at our single family home sites. These are already perfect choices for building.