If you are like many others, you may have dreamt about living in a gorgeous home for years. In fact, you may have a great concept in mind of what this dream home will look like and which exceptional features it will have. Now that you have decided to actually design and build a custom home, you may be eager to start seeing progress made. Before any construction work can begin, however, you must choose a desirable piece of land to build on. This may seem like a fairly straightforward task to tackle at first glance. A closer look reveals that the location of your dream home can dramatically affect your living experience. With this in mind, focus on a few tips before you finalize your decision about where to build your custom home.
Conduct Ample Online Research
While you may already have a solid idea about which area you want to live in, there may be numerous neighborhoods within that region or area that you need to explore more closely. You can learn a lot about each neighborhood by sitting in front of the computer and conducting online research. For example, if your kids will attend a local school, you can research statistics about various schools. Crime statistics, planned development and local amenities or services can also be found online. Keep in mind that there are many factors that can affect how enjoyable it is to live in your custom home other than the home itself. For example, if you have to fight heavy traffic for an hour or more just to get to work each day, or if the area is constant construction zone, your dream home may not be quite as appealing long-term or short-term.
Spend Time in Preferred Communities
Even when a community or neighborhood looks great on paper, you may find that the ambiance in a specific community is not desirable. Each person has a different comfort level in different areas. This could be caused by many factors, including the style and condition of the homes, the prevalence of mature vegetation, traffic, how many people are or are not out and about and more. After you have found a few communities that are appealing to you on paper, plan to visit them several times in person. Choose morning, midday and evening visits during the week and on the weekends so that you experience what life may be like for you on a regular basis if you build in that area.
Choose Your Land Carefully
An important factor that is easy to overlook at first glance is the land or lot selection available. The lots should meet your needs in terms of size and general features. For example, you may prefer a lot with or without many trees. You may need a lot with specific dimensions to accommodate the house plan that you have designed. While you need the land to meet these requirements, it also should have a fair sales price, at or below comps in the area. Deciding on a lot is something your general contractor can help with. Work closely with the professional you have hired to ensure your home works on the lot.
The team at Alair Homes Parksville-Qualicum is available to assist you with all stages of the custom home building process. Contact us today to request a consultation and to learn more about our services.