Finding the perfect lot for your new custom home can often be one of the most challenging phases of the entire process. Size and location are the main criteria, but there are other considerations you will need to keep in mind while hunting for the perfect site to build your dream home on. Here are five tips from REA Homes.
Work With A “Lot Specialist” Real Estate Agent
Finding and purchasing a lot for a new home to be built on is a process that’s very different from buying an existing home. Real Estate Agents that normally work with buyers looking for existing homes are usually not the best choice.
An agent that specializes in finding and purchasing lots for builds have developed a unique knowledge base and skill set that could be invaluable to you during the lot selection phase. Ask your builder if they recommend any agents with this experience.
Get Your Entire Team Involved
The most successful custom home projects are a collaborative effort between the buyer, agent, builder, architect and interior designer. This collaboration works best when it begins with lot selection. After the buyer lets everyone know what their priorities are, the other members of the team can evaluate lots the agent presents using their own unique viewpoints.
The builder will be looking at the lot from a construction and code standpoint, the architect will need to make sure the lot works for how the home will be designed and the interior designer can offer thoughts about lighting, views, room layouts and more. If one of these parties is not involved with lot selection, you risk something important being overlooked.
Don’t Try to Force a “Square Peg in a Round Hole”
A home needs to be designed around the lot it will be on. It’s a bad idea to try to use a cookie-cutter or existing home design plan on a lot it was not designed for. When considering a lot for a home, you and your team should be asking questions like:
- How should the home best be oriented on the home site?
- Is north-south orientation possible for better energy efficiency and more enjoyable sunlight/less direct glaring sunlight?
- What is the best shape for the home in order to harmonize with the shape of the lot?
- Should the home be built wider, or deeper?
- Regarding the placement of windows, what are the views out of the home that a client wants to see every day?
- Just as importantly, what are the views out of the home that a client does not want to see?
Be Prepared to Compromise
There are very few homebuyers that can say they found the “perfect” lot… and those that did likely either got lucky or waited a long time to find it. Usually a lot will meet some of your criteria, but not all of them. It might be the right shape and size, but in a location you weren’t considering; or the location is perfect, but it is slightly too big or small; or the lot’s size and location is right, but the neighborhood only allows Ranch homes and you want to build two story Colonial.
Something might have to give if you don’t want this phase of the process to drag on too long. The good news is, if you are willing to compromise on the lot to meet the criteria that are MOST important to you, you are less likely to have to make other compromises when designing and building your home later on.
Get Ready to “Tie Up” the Lot
A frustrating situation can occur when a buyer finds a lot they really love, but doesn’t take any immediate action to “tie up” the lot and another buyer sweeps it out from under them. Even if a lot has been on the market for a long time, don’t get complacent thinking that “no one will move on it this week, so we’ll keep looking.“
If you find a lot you feel could be the right one, go ahead and have your agent make an offer to keep someone else from grabbing it. If you find something else, you can withdraw your offer and move on. But if you ultimately decide it is the right lot, you don’t want to take the chance you’ll miss out on it.
Although you can envision what you want your Dream Home to be, there are many things that cannot move forward until the lot for your home has been selected. The lot is much like an artist’s canvas… and you cannot begin to paint your new home until the canvas has been prepared.
REA Homes builds high performance luxury homes with the customer’s entire well-being in mind. To learn more about our custom built homes in St. Louis, MO, visit our blog or Facebook page.
