Buying a House Lot?

02 - What to look for when buying land to build a house.

To build a house we need a good site. A good site is one with fewest problems. Each of these problems should be capable of being solved without spending disproportionate amounts relative to their respective importance within the general scheme. Spending should generally follow the promptings of common sense.

Start looking for a site at least a year in advance because you need to have a relaxed level of accumulated knowledge by the time of purchase. Always look for sites on the ground. Do not restrict yourself to looking at survey maps. Take a date record camera but use it discretely. You should visit each site in all conditions of season light and weather. Always wear calf length easily cleaned rubber boots. Wear old warm comfortable clothes. Look first at the whole site in its environment context. Observe traffic type and frequency such as motorbikes speeders and heavy-duty vehicles.

Demand for land is increasing at an alarming rate hence it is becoming more expensive. The competition for land is due to many factors. Increased population is one. Movement of population is another. Climate change and fire hazards are a new factor. Governments are expanding their influence over the population and need staff accommodation to do this. Government appetites for cash are bottomless. All of this inflates land prices. Huge areas are also required for government land banks held for deferred development. Even more land is demanded for social and emergency social services. Military services always expand in times of uncertainty. Commercial demands never end. Available land for individual private development is thus diminishing.

Buying land in this kind of market environment is more expensive because easily built on land is the first to be swallowed up. This is why the cost of public housing is so difficult to finance as an undue amount has to be spent on site acquisition. Remaining sites have increasingly more problems than those previously bought.

When a buyer approaches an owner the owner immediately begins to feel a sense of loss translatable first into an emotional stress then equated into the asking price of the land.

The value of land however is the value to the buyer. Without a buyer there seems to be no absolute way to determine land cost. Comparison with similar sites in roughly equivalent circumstances will provide some sort of guide but no more than this.

The site should slope gently away from the house location for gradual surface rain drainage. Hard surfaces such as paths drives roofs are usually drained to underground pipes or to soak ways if there is no public works trunk system. Some systems take both surface water and foul water. Where water is in short supply or even if rainfall is heavy separate drainage systems are often employed to conserve water. Look out for new legislation services costs in development areas.

Buying mistakes are very expensive. Once purchased these mistakes have to be paid for. The value you give to the site rests on your assessment of all the separate development costs that need to be taken into account.

Topsoil condition is one value indictor when judging the value of a building site. Good topsoil is a minimum six inches thin layer of vegetable soil supporting plant growth. Take a dig-spade lift it high and slam the blade end down into the soil. Turn the soil over to see if the topsoil is the same quality and color throughout its depth. Topsoil should cover all cultivable areas over the site. It is composed of rock particles vegetable and animal organisms insects nutrients and decayed vegetable matter. If these are in proper balance without toxic chemicals it will hold moisture to support plant growth without going sour.

Such soil drains surface water well yet retains adequate moisture because of its structure. Sandy topsoil remains sweet to the nose and acts somewhat like mulch for plant growth. The total thickness of the topsoil insulates both plant roots and subsoil below from excess heat and cold transfer.

Take a fistful of topsoil and gently squeeze. It should be moist and hold in a ball. Open the hand and sniff.

Hands should not feel dirty afterwards and still smell sweet.

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