Finding the Right Location for Your Custom Home

If you have built a custom home in the past, you know that location is everything when it comes to the construction process. It sounds simple, but it can affect every part of the decision-making process. If you take the time to find the right place for your custom home, you can reduce your land and purchase expenses by a significant amount. It can also make the building process easier, because you may have to deal with fewer regulations. It can even help you to sell your home at a higher value later on.

Things to Consider While Finding a Custom Home Location

While the decision about where to build your custom home can seem overwhelming, following some simple steps can help you to find the right place. You most likely have an answer in your head already, but you need to decide whether you want to be in a city, suburb, or rural area. You also need to think about what kind of lifestyle you want to have. If you want to raise your own chickens and don’t like closing your blinds, an urban setting might not be the best choice.

You may not think about it while you’re looking for the right location, but it’s a good idea to think about what kind of amenities you want. If you have children or plan to have them, you should think about how close the schools are and whether they’re of good quality. How close are you to work, and do you have access to other facilities (such as transportation stations, shops, and hospitals)?

Make a list of the people you want living nearby and whether you want close neighbors. What kind of people are living in each neighborhood, and what are the locals like? Getting answers to these questions can help you to determine if you’re building your home in a good area. You also want to think about how close you are to friends and family. Some people don’t want to build a house within 50 miles of their extended family members. And while it is a personal decision, it’s something you should take into consideration.

Geographical Features to Consider

This is one part of the decision-making process that you have less control over, and it’s something you may not have thought too much about. It does, however, affect the overall cost of building your custom home. The slope of your property can cause a significant increase in the cost of construction. A house that’s built on a steep ridge will cost a lot more to build than one that sits on a flat lot. Things like extra time, building materials, and risk are all things that contractors will consider.

There are a number of other factors that will cause the price to go up. Some of them include the following:

• Sunlight — Most homes are designed in a way that will bring more sunlight into the rooms you want by adding larger and more expensive windows, and you need them to face the south. Adding larger windows will bring in more natural light and will lower your heating expenses. But if your house is facing the north or east, it can be a logistical nightmare.
• Utilities Placement — Does your lot already have utilities, or will you need to add them beforehand? Most utility lines are located within 30 feet of the building pad and are supplied with taps, but it isn’t always the case.
• Soil Condition — The type of soil and the amount of growth will determine the cost of clearing the lot and compacting the soil for construction. It will also determine the type of foundation that’s most suitable for your site. You should do a soil test before you design a foundation, because it will make sure the plan is suitable for your site. Active soils will need a sturdier foundation with deeper beams, more steel reinforcements, and more concrete. Some of them will even require concrete piers.
• Grading and Drainage — This is an important consideration for building any custom home. You need to have a level site that has been well compacted. After the foundation has been poured, you need to grade it in a way that will allow dirt to fall away from the foundation while also moving water into draining swales.

If you’re looking for one of the best custom home builders in Corpus Christi, be sure to get in touch with Devonshire Custom Homes.