FROM CONCEPT TO CONSTRUCTION

    

It is an exciting thing to make the decision to build a new custom home.  To make it your own with the perfect size and features with all the colors and textures to adorn your personal space.  It is too easy for that excitement and drive to be lost in what I call "The No Mans Land" of the often confusing and frustrating planning and seemingly endless tasks that need to be done even before construction can begin. City and state rules and regulations, forms to be filled out, fees to be paid just to mention a few hurdles to be overcome.

So lets just sit back, relax and take a look at the process one step at a time to see if we can make some sense of this ball of tangled wire.  

Should I attempt to navigate this landscape alone?
Some have the organizational skills to be able to walk this plank and defy the pitfalls of a moving landscape with the end goal ever in mind of developing a property suitable for constructing a custom home and obtaining a permit to do so.

If you select a suitable contractor to help you during this phase you can judge his performance at the same time to see if you will continue the relationship into the building phase.  If things are going well or not here, it will be a good indication of what is to be expected later.  Make sure your agreement is conditional so you have an easy out if needed.

Example: I was approached by a potential client to build a custom home.  He didn't have a plan yet and was under contract to buy a lot in a nice subdivision.  I explained the "No Mans Land" issues and he declined to have me help.  I did explain that even though it would cost some for my participation, in the long run the savings could be substantial.  He said he would call me when he had his plan completed for me to put together a bid.  The plan turned out to be very nice but I new right away due to the complexity, it was going to be very expensive to build.  It had four different ceiling heights over 10 feet and the roof design was extremely complex.  I knew his budget could not withstand the cost.

The second issue was the lot.  I visited the lot after a good rain and found it had at least a foot of water covering it.  The cost to make it a good buildable lot was prohibitive to his budget, and sadly he was left with a lot he couldn't build on and a complex home design he couldn't afford.  In hind sight I could have very easily saved him tens of thousands on both issues..  After two years I noticed a for sale by owner sign on the lot.

To cover all the variables in each category would turn out to be a lengthily book so I will list the categories with bullet points to give an over all idea how much work needs to be done.  Now, not all properties will need everything listed below.  In many cases especially in an established subdivision most all the work has been completed by the developer. 

Lot/Land:

•  Legal ownership
• Survey & legal description
• Plat map
• Zoning
• County & city requirements
• Flood plain?
• Clearing & grubbing 
• Drainage
• Toxic or environmental issues

Property Access:

•  Access road
• Fencing
• Security gate
• Culvert

Building Pad:

• Grading
• Soil import
• Soils testing and engineering
• Soil compaction 

 Power:

• Underground
• Overhead
• Transformer
• Temporary power location

Sewer:

• City connection
• Sewer stub
• Septic system
• Soils engineering

Water Supply:

• City connection
• Water stub
• Water meter 
• Well

Plan Development:

•  Developing the complete set of plans

Engineering:

• Foundation engineering
• Framing engineering
• Specialty engineering

Permits & Fees:

• Building permit
• Septic permit
• Well permit
• Specialty permits

 This looks like a nice clean and organized list of tasks to be completed but it gets messy pretty fast, and the sequence shown could be completely different.  Many of the tasks can be completed at the same time thus saving a lot of time by multitasking, but there is also a critical path involved as well meaning some of the items have to be completed before others can be started.

Each one of these elements may or may not be an issue on your property but it takes time and knowing the county and city systems with all the different departments making decisions and demanding the right form in the right sequence.  They really don't make it easy and certainty not fun.

Sometimes the requirements change depending on who is handling your file and how this particular person is interpreting the statute in the code. 

 Conclusion:

It is a good idea at the very minimum to have a competent contractor take a look at the property and discuss your goals to discover the possible issues that may become a stumbling block to your desire to develop your property and build an awesome custom home.  At Woodscape Homes we offer a complementary consultation to discuss steps you may want to take to move forward on your project.