Module 5 — Building Lot Purchase Considerations
Once you’ve decided to build a new home, selecting and purchasing the property is the next step. Evaluating your property and home needs before you buy involves three interrelated groups of considerations.
1. Location - and Habitability
- Town or neighborhood preferences
- Proximity to roadways, highways, transit, shopping, schools, parks and recreation, work, or family
- Distinctive content: privacy or closeness of neighbors, family area or private community, water or mountain views, lake rights, or recreational amenities
- Any habitability factor that motivates you to build in a given location
2. Property Physicality and Zoning
- Land topography — sloping or level, wooded or pasture
- Zoning rules for home placement on the site
- Zoning for residential, multi-family, or commercial use
- Deed restrictions governing home architecture, size, or content
- Home-site orientation for passive or active solar, if desired
- Access to town water and/or sewer; well-water availability
- Location and availability of electric and natural-gas utilities
3. Purchase Economics and Site Development
- The purchase price and its impact on your building budget
- Potential appreciation or depreciation of the completed land-and-home package
- Building components or system installations that add to or reduce project cost
- Financing costs and the type of financing required
- Engineering or surveying requirements and costs
Summary
Defining these underlying considerations — location, then physical, zoning, economic, and site-development conditions — sharpens your decision-making before you commit to a property.
Next steps: See the Property Evaluation Tool and the Property Evaluation Form Instruction Booklet to score and compare the properties you’re considering.