A professional builder, someone who is used to looking at land, has a routine they follow when looking at new properties. This routine is based on their war stories from past problems, and I hope hearing them helps you avoid those same experiences.
1. No Obvious House Site
Experienced builders almost always look for a natural building area within the first seconds of steping onto a new tract of land.
If the property is:
- Steep everywhere
- Broken into multiple ravines
- Heavily cut by drainage channels
These qualities necessitate a lot of complicated grading work and possibly retaining walls to make the site work. They also require a lot of structural fill for the foundation and slab work, which adds cost.
Try to finish the finished site whenever you walk onto a fresh site, and figure out what you need to do to get to that point. A site that you can’t visualize will be a continuous challenge.
Note: One thing I like to look for is a site that slopes towards the back so the basement has a ‘walk-out’. Builders also prefer to have the garage pad a little higher than the grade of the main house.
2. Extremely Steep Access from the Road
The next thing that builders notice is how you get from the road to the house site.
Common red flags:
- Driveway slopes greater than about 12-15%
- Deep roadside ditches requiring large culverts
- Poor sight distance when entering the road
- Long uphill drives.
A difficult driveway can easily add significant project costs to a project.
Sometimes access may not meet fire or emergency vehicle requirements, preventing permits entirely.
3. Evidence of Standing Water
Water is one of the biggest risks on any building site.
Builders look for:
- Muddy depressions
- Water-loving plants (cattails, reeds) that indicate swampy spots
- Dark, organic soils
- Moss growing on tree trunks near the base
These signs can indicate wetlands or protected buffes under regulations in many jurisdisctions.
4. Rock Outcroppings Everywhere
Bedrock close to the surface can create expensive construction issues.
Possible problems include:
- Blasting for foundations
- Difficulty installing septic systems
- Expensive trenching for utilities
- Drainage complications
Rock can be beautiful on a property, but too much of it can make construction extremely expensive.
5. Power Lines or Utility Easements Through the Best Area
Builders immediately scan the property for
- Overhead transmission lines
- Underground utility markers
- Large cleared corridors
Utility easements can prohibit:
- Building structures
- Septic systems
- Pools and garage
A personal peeve of mine is when the developer of the project has all the individual septic fields on each lot in the nicest spot on the property.
6. Nearby Development That Creates Future Problems
Professionals always look beyond the property boundaries.
Things that raise concerns include:
- Adjacent industrial land
- Large vacant tracts likely to be developed
- Nearby highways or planned roads
- Drainage flowing from neighboring parcels
Zoning research may reveal future changes approved by the local government. In some instances, it’s nice to be near future amenities, such as grocery stores, etc. In other instances, growth can be a negative.
7. A Property That Feels 'Too Cheap'
Experience builders get suspicious when land seems like an incredible bargain.
Often, the reason is hidden in one of these issues:
- Failed septic tests
- Floodplain location
- Legal access problems
- Environmental buffers
- Unusable slopes
The old rule among developers is: ‘Land is rarely cheap for no reason.’
The 60-Second Gut Check
When you first walk a property, ask yourself:
- 1. Where would the house go?
- 2. How would I drive to it?
- 3. Where does the water drain?
If these three answers are not obvious, the property needs serious investigation before purchase
FINAL THOUGHTS:
On our project, we were having trouble finding a piece of property within our budget. The bargain-priced property we eventually bought (which had been on the market for a long time) was heavily forested and swampy, with a large stock pond right in the middle. The open, dry portion that might have been the best area to build, where the septic field was located.
Several ‘normal’ production builders had passed on it because a ‘standard’ plan would not have worked. We got it to work by coming up with a plan that ran ‘front-to-back’ instead of ‘side-to-side’.
