The following information is a more-or-less chronological presentation of the tasks we have performed to build our new house.
Before You Close on the Purchase of Land
After you select your building lot, but prior to closing, do the following tasks so that you know you can use the land as you anticipate:
1) Obtain restrictive covenants (rules) for your subdivision, if applicable, and verify that you would not violate any covenants in your planned or future use of the property. (For example, we have an RV that we would like to store on our property. Many covenants do not allow you to store RVs on your property.) Always respect the covenants; they are in place to protect the future value of your property!
2) Obtain a plat survey of the property. Service performed by a Land Survey Company (fee $275). You must obtain at least 3 original plats from the survey company. Note: When it was time to obtain a building permit, we had to record the plats with the county. I received 5 copies from the survey company and I had all of them stamped "recorded" for a fee of $8.
3) If your property requires a septic system, obtain a soil sample test (aka: perk test). Service performed by a Land Survey Company (fee: $300). You will need at least one original for the Health Dept (I just made color copies for my own records).
4) If you are satisfied with the results of Steps 1 through 3, purchase the property (fees: typical closing costs and attorney fees based upon the purchase price)
Selecting a Builder
Although price is a huge consideration in selecting your builder, getting to know who your personality works best with is more important. If you have bad "vibes" about the personality of someone in the builder's organization, just think how stressful this relationship will become if you begin to question any aspect of the build. Being able to work together without a strained relationship is critical.
I'd suggest that you visit and "get serious" with at least 3 builders. This will not only give you the overall impression of how easily you can work with the builder, but you will learn a lot of facts as you go though the interview process. You will also find out what each builder includes in their pricing (or excludes) and then you can compare pricing, apples-to-apples. Create a spreadsheet or checklist with the various items each builder quotes so that you will know what you have to add or delete from their pricing.
Educate Yourself
Building can be a daunting task. The more you educate yourself on building practices, the better informed you will be. It's hard to "pull the wool over your eyes" if you are knowledgeable. Read books. Learn the general building codes and practices. For example, know how walls should be insulated for your climate zone. Watch a lot of building shows. One of my favorites is Holmes on Homes. This builder fixes mistakes of other builders. It's quite enlightening.
Keep a Notebook
Create a small notebook and add tabs so that you can jot down notes about the building process or ideas that you want to record. My spiral book was approx. 4-in. x 5-in. so that I could carry it with me when I went shopping or watched a TV program. I created tabs, such as General Building, Finishing Ideas (for trim or painting), Kitchen, Bathroom, Bedroom, Laundry Area, Garage & Storage, Landscaping, etc.
I also recorded the sizes of furniture that I know I want to take with me so that when I later created room drawings, I could verify everything would fit into a selected plan.
Create a Binder
I created a 3-ring binder that I take with me everywhere. This binder contains everything I may need if I'm questioned about any aspect of the build. I put all information in individual sheet protectors as this binder gets "flipped through" quite frequently and I do not want pages to get torn out. I put samples in a sheet protector and then I add binder clips to the top of the page to keep the samples snug and secure.
The types of information that I keep in the binder are as follows:
- Contracts (from builder, construction loans, insurance company)
- Property Details (includes plat plan, site survey, deed, covenants, building codes)
- Utilities (includes information from water, power, gas, cable/satellite)
- Plans (includes floorplan, kitchen design, deco ideas, site layout diagrams--where I want the house placed within the property boundaries)
- Samples (includes paint chips, tile samples, deco ideas, floor samples, etc.)
When You Are Ready to Begin Building, Get Answers
1) Electric Company: Personally visit the electric company to discuss the services you will need for your building project, and ask them what fees they will charge to you. Here's a list of what we needed:
a) Power source to your property/land (typically, a power pole). There should no charge for getting power to your property line. Generally, the electric company decides where to place the power pole. If you do not like the placement of a power pole that already exists, you may want it moved. We didn't like the placement of a pole in our yard, but the cost to move the pole was $750--too much for my liking. So, we became happy with its current location!
b) Temporary construction power pole erected to which the electric company attaches a meter (fee $20 for the meter). Note: Many builders provide this pole--ask the builder (sometimes they charge you separately). Important: You are typically responsible for the power bill used by your builder.
c) Electric lines from the power source (permanent pole) to the meter box on your finished house. In our case, the $20 fee for the meter that will be attached to the construction power pole covers moving the power lines from the construction pole to the house when the build is complete. However, you might be able to obtain underground power lines for your build. This, of course, would be an additional charge. In our case, the underground line fee is $200 for the first 66 ft and $3.00 each additional foot to bring the lines from power pole to the meter attached to house. We will opt for this expense because we have ice storms in our area. Note that if the power line on your property falls or is damaged, you are responsible for the cost of its repair. However, if the power lines come down outside of your property, the power company is responsible for the repair of those lines.
d) Request a street light, if necessary (our fee $7.75 per month)
e) Open an account with the power company. There is no charge for the account until you begin to use services.
2) 911 Address . If a 911 address does not already exist for your property, you must have an address assigned before you can build (fee $25). Personally visit their office to discuss your property. In our case, the street name had changed since the last time the plat was filed in 1974. Therefore, later in the process, we had to re-file a plat before we could obtain a building permit. Note: When you are ready to obtain an address, you will need to have the general house footprint completed to know where on the property your driveway will be cut. Contact your county for the location of the 911 Addressing Office. Find out if the county provides a culvert later in the building process for your driveway. Because our driveway had not been "cut," we obtained two white flags from their office. We had to go to the property and place these flags 20-ft apart (to indicate the driveway location) on the property at the street level. FYI: To obtain an address, the 911 Addressing Office measures the distance from the nearest cross street to the center of your flag placement. In our county, one address number is added for approx. every 5.25 ft.
White Flags Indicate Location of Future Driveway
Distance View of Our Lot with White Driveway Flags
3) Health Department: If your property requires a septic system, contact the Health Department to determine the process for obtaining a permit and the fees involved. When you are ready to build, your builder will contact them to obtain a permit (fee $275). FYI: The Health Dept must have an original copy of your soil test. You or your builder should provide the Health Dept. with a drawing of your lot showing the proposed location of the house and where the builder would like to place the drain field. The Health Dept. will make the final determination for the location of the septic tank and drain field.
Drawing of Our Lot and House Location
4) Water Department: Contact the Water Department to find out the Tap Fees (bringing water to your property) and what they do and don't do for those Tap Fee (fee $810). There can be extra charges if the street has to be repaired or if your street does not already include water lines. This can be an expensive process.
5) County/City Ordinances: Find out the set-back requirements for your property (know how far from each property line can you build a structure). I obtained a copy of the building codes from the 911 Addressing Office.
6) Homeowner's Association (HOA): If applicable, contact the association. When you purchase the property, your real estate agent should have contact information. Obtain from the HOA the following information:
- Subdivision set-back requirements Note: If the set-back requirements differ from the county/city ordinances, use the greater of the set-back requirements.
- Contact for submitting your house plans/layout for approval to build, if required.
REMAINDER OF THIS ARTICLE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION. CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES.
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