Building on Land Is Different From Building in a Neighborhood

Another area that homeowners sometimes underestimate is the property itself.

Many custom homes are built on larger lots or acreage that has never been prepared for construction. In those situations, you are not only building a house—you are developing a building site.

There may be clearing, grading, driveway construction, drainage, septic systems, wells, utilities, erosion control, soil conditions and other site-related work that has to happen before or during construction.

Those items can require a significant amount of time, money and planning.

A prepared subdivision lot may already have many of those issues addressed. Raw land usually does not.

That is why evaluating the property early is so important. Before someone falls in love with a particular house plan or establishes a construction budget, the builder should help them understand what may be required to actually build that home on their property.