You don’t want any surprises after you signed your name to the deed.
NOW IS THE TIME TO DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
When evaluating land for a custom home, restrictions typically fall into five broad categories. These vary by jurisdiction, but the types of limits are surprisingly consistent.
Below is a framework of the five general items you need to look at to avoid problems.
Local zoning ordinances determine what you are allowed to build and how it must be positioned on the site.
Typical restrictions include:
Many jurisdictions will list maximum height limits.
When you read this, pay special attention to how they measure the height. Some jurisdictions measure from grade to ridge, some from average grade to the midpoint of the roof, etc.
Even though there may be a statewide height requirement, the way each county measures can vary significantly.
Many jurisdictions will have a maximum percentage of the lot that can be covered by buildings
Again, read this carefully because some will measure the ‘impervious’ area, which includes driveways and swimming pools.
This is more of an HOA requirement where they’re requiring a certain size of home to be built.
Example: an upscale neighborhood might require you to build a 3,000 s.f. house.
I have also seen requirements that limit the size to prevent ‘McMansions’ from being built in cottage-sized neighborhoods.
Many areas have restrictions on guest houses, garages, barns, or ADUs.
Many areas zoned for ‘single-family’ also have strict requirements prohibiting any spaces that may be used as rental properties. The thing that usually triggers these red flags is putting a kitchen in a space, such as an in-law suite or an office above a garage. In these cases, they may let you get away with it if you sign an affidavit saying that the space is for direct relatives and not paying tenants.
Some rural zones limit the number of homes per acre.
Make sure you read the small print, because some agricultural zones allow for structures to house farmhands, etc.
Common restrictions include:
Many jurisdictions require:
Areas inside a 100-year floodplain may require:
In some area, building in the floodplain may be prohibited entirely. (I
Protected wetlands usually require:
Some sites require special approvals if they contain:
These may require:
Many municipalities require:
Large ‘specimen trees’ may be protected.
Properties in these watershed protection zones often require:
Sometimes affects:
These are often local ordinance or HOA restrictions
Common in hillside or waterfront communities:
Restrictions may include:
Typical in subdivisions with HOAs or Historical Districts
Restrictions can include:
Get into this one in detail also. I’ve been involved with projects where they really get into a lot of detail in an attempt to have a ‘uniform’ design for the neighborhood. They generally can’t stop you from building, but they can really restrict your design. 🙁
These often surprise first-time (or rural) builders.
I am going to stick my neck out and say that 99% of all properties in the United States can get access to electricity, phone, and Internet.
However, the electric company may need to run power over long distances, and there may be a surcharge.
Not all areas in the country have cellphone service, and you may need to run a landline or use an expensive satellite service. We ran into this problem on our custom home project, and although we eventually had phone service, it was spotty at best. There were times when I had an important phone call and had to drive into town and park in the library parking lot to use their Wi-Fi.
Same with the internet. We ended up with a satellite system that was slow and frequently cut off. In this day and age, with our dependence on the Internet, if I were to build again, I would have checked it more closely.
If you are not connected to a municipal sewer system:
Some sites simply cannot support septic systems. There are a lot of exotic (expensive) systems out there, but there are some sites where septic is impossible. Unless you are totally convinced by a professional with experience in your neighborhood, my recommendation to you is to get a contingency added to the sales contract that gives you a chance to make sure you have water and sewer before you settle.
Health departments may require:
Again, add this as a contingency to your purchase agreement if there isn’t a working well on your site when you buy. There are some places in the country where they flat don’t have water.
Jurisdictions may require:
Also, as strange as it sounds, I have seen properties that didn’t have any access to a public road. I was involved in a couple of projects where you had to drive across your neighbor’s property to reach the lot, and the neighbor hadn’t granted an egress easement. The buyer didn’t realize the problem until after the settlement. One project was tied up in litigation for years, and the other was abandoned.
A good feasibility study wall also look for:
You may not build over:
Large homes may require:
Inside a historic district.”
A parcel may have three buildable areas:
This last area is often much smaller than buyers expect.
I really recommend looking at this final area before you sign on to your lot, and I will get into more detail on how to do that in the next few posts.
Choose The Land First – Then Design the House To Compliment It
