There are several good reasons for buying land and building your own house. Maybe you just want to customize a house that fits your family and needs. Maybe you're tired of losing bidding wars. Maybe you have 6-9 months left on a lease and don't want to continue renting. Whatever the reason, you have decided to buy land and build. Where to start? The process is different than buying a resale.
(1) You'll need an experienced loan officer and lender that understands and finances new construction.
(2) You'll need at least 4 copies of blueprints. You can buy house plans then make some adjustments to them, or hire an architect to draw them.
(3) You'll need a building lot. How many acres will depend on what you're going to do with the land. Nothing but build a house, garage, and maybe a pool, farm it, raise livestock, train horses, etc?
(4) Zoning and location. Where do you want to live that works for commuting, and your lifestyle?
(5) You should find an agent familiar with all phases of buying land and building.
(6) You'll need an experienced builder. Are you going to stick build, or have a modular delivered?
(7) Once you've zeroed in on workable locations, you will have to start looking at and evaluating lots.
(8) You'll have to get familiar with reading survey plats, and verifying information at your county building and health departments.
(9) You'll need to understand wells and drain fields, and conventional and alternative septic systems.
(10) You'll need to research Access, ingress and egress easements, utility easements, flood plains, building setbacks, deed restrictions, building height limits, maximum ground coverage, road maintenance agreements, etc.
Many of items 1-10 will have varying prices which can affect building costs by several thousand dollars. For example, conventional septic systems with gravity fall can costs $6-$10,000.00. An alternative system that requires more engineering and a pump chamber can cost $40 - $60,000.00, plus requires an annual maintenance contract. So you need to know the maximum amount you can spend ahead of time.
There are additional factors that need to be analyzed, but 1-10 above can give you a good feel of what to expect. This 3.7 acre lot in Lovettsville is listed for $156,000.00, has an approved 4 BDR conventional drain field site, 360 degree mountain views, no HOA or covenants, is 40% open and 60% wooded. The knoll in center of the photo consists of 1 acre and offers several locations to build a home. The drain field site in just down hill on edge of woods so you have gravity fall and no pump needed. This view is looking over Lovettsville Rd at bottom of hill, and Leesburg is to the right and Point of Rocks is to the left. Call me if interested. We also have a 2.7 acre lot next to this one that is ready to build and listed for $141,000.00. Both of these lots are convenient to Towns, Hospitals, 3 public boat launches, hiking-biking-horseback riding trails on the C&O Canal Towpath, numerous Civil War sites and parks, Sugarloaf Mountain, several wineries, two MARC commuter train stations to DC. ( One at Point of Rocks and one at Brunswick), etc.
Jeff Pearl
Remax Distinctive
703-727-4876
Homes | Land | Farms | Historic
www.jeffpearlhomes.com
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