Home Site Check List

Know your boundaries....

Its essential to have your property lines surveyed accurately and to be sure you have deeded access if your property doesn't have road frontage.  If you are using a lender they will require to have documentation of a survey on file before releasing funds to start.



Let the light shine....

If the lights are going to shine better think about getting utilities to the site.  This seems simple but can be a booger.  The electrical company will have to sign right of way easements from you and any other landowners they have to cross.  Are you going to go overhead or underground with the power?  Most rural water authorities will not run the water to your house just down the highway easement.   Do you have the room on your road or driveway right of way for both of these utilities along with natural gas, cable, dsl, etc.?  



Be sure the brown will go down....

The very first thing I would do before I throw money down on a house site or lot that is rural; be sure it will perk.  What does that mean you ask? It means the sewage produced from the house will be absorbed by the ground at a rate the ground will not become saturated.  You may have heard that every site will work, and its true it will.  What's not mentioned is the cost involved.... A basic septic system will cost between $3,000 - $4,000, a system that  works with ground that wont perk is $15,000 - $25,000.  A simple 400.00 perk test by a engineer or surveyor will determine what system is needed.​



Building on hollow ground.....

All dirt is not created equal; some make great foundations others make great ponds.  A red clay or sandy clay is an awesome material to build on and is very stable.  A joint clay or "slip joint" clay makes a great pond but horrible foundation material.  Like its nickname states it constantly moves and shifts, a few years after construction the slab will crack, doors drag and windows hard to open.  Can it be fixed? Most defiantly! The fix is simple, dig the footers down 4 or 5 feet and feel with concrete.  Sounds simple don't it?  Well it is, the cost is 12,000 to 20,000 for the average 3,000 sqft home.  How can this be avoided?  Before you settle on a spot take a pair of post hole diggers and dig down 5 foot.  Or hire us to bring our mini ex and we will do it for you.  



If you build it they will come.....

They will come by dump truck, vans, concrete trucks, eighteen wheelers full of lumber, cars and trucks usually when the weather is the worst.  The road must be constructed to withstand all the materials and tradesman that will build your home.  A fully loaded eighteen wheeler will weigh in excess of 88,000 lbs!  Any problems with bad soil, hills, seeps, bogs, curves will need to be addressed so you wont be paying a wrecker to pull these guys out.  We can guide you in the right direction to keep the materials and tradesmen moving forward.