New Home Construction Check list
Hello All,
A friend of mine recently purchased some land. Since purchasing the land he’s been contemplating the idea of constructing a home.
He’s asked me for help on his hoke construction journey since I’m a recently licensed Realtor. However I’m afraid I’ll be learning on the fly. I am not familiar with this process.
So, this is what I know so far.
1) zoning -> checked out, he will be able to build his home on his land.
2) building permit -> in order to get a building permit he’ll need a survey done.
3) survey - before we get the survey we will first find out the integrity of the soil by preforming a Soil Test.
4) Soil Test -> after completing the soil test a Perc Test would be needed for the septic tank.
5) Perc Test -> required for septic tank
note, the piece of land does not have a sewer line so a septic tank is needed…. And if a septic tank is needed a soil test is needed.
So what I am asking for is advice and/or a heads up on any steps I may encounter for this new construction. Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated.
-Isrrael Mendoza
Hey Isrrael, I am currently in the process of builing a custom home in Dawson County. I'm also a realtor. The above items look right, although in Dawson County you do not need a survey, a plat is sufficient, perhaps it's different in the county your client is building in though.
Beyond that, I'm assuming he'll be using a GC and/or architect? They will really be the ones to guide them through the process.
If he wants to do DIY, that's a whole other can of worms, if he's going to finance through a bank they typically require a licensed GC to manage the project.
I hope that helps!
Isrrael,
I have drafted homes for years and have only had to order a survey if there were topography constraints to overcome or the jurisdiction required it. Holly is correct, in most cases you do not need a survey, but if the land is steep you would want a survey to properly place the home, determine crawlspace height/basement depth, and grade the land accordingly. Can you share the jurisdiction? This will be the key piece of information as you also need to know the inspections that are required once the permit is issued. You can find the boundaries of the property and zoning via the City/County GIS website and the County Tax Assessor's website.
Hope this helps,
Michael Luczka
M.A.R.S. Drafting and Design
Hello All, apologies for the WAY WAY overdue response. My buddy actually held of for now and along with that my full time job was demanding 150% percent of my time.
However, even with that being said, he still has hopes of building his home. So, I am still pondering on this action item.
lastly, thank you to those who have responded thus far. Your time, attention, and inputs are much appreciated.
@Holly Barrett any updates on your custom home build? I am eager to hear about your experience!
Unfortunately it seems like he will not be using a GC. He has worked in construction for quite some time now and claims he knows the required parties.
As far as I know he will not be getting financing from the bank, so that elevates the GC issues but leaves us with the whole process!
@Michael Luczka thank you solidifying the survey vs plat dilemma, I will keep that in mind as he proceeds with his project. The property is located in Douglas County, Commission District 4.
The zoning checked out, he is good to build his home. The step we left on was obtaining the Level 3 Soil Survey. I printed out the "Individuals Approved by Georgia DPH to Conduct Soil Investigations Throughout Georgia for on-site Sewage management systems" document. Which contains all the companies and names one may need. However, I called several of them and at least from my experience it seems they were reluctant to do the soil test. I will reach out to other companies the second time around but my first experience was not all that good.... actually had one individual tell me, "do not call me again"... interesting to say the least.
Perhaps, they were looking for the information to be presented in a particular manner I am not aware of or perhaps it comes down to simple cost opportunity... they would much rather deal with commercial deals or builders rather than one single home owner.
Hey Isrrael - I have a good soil survey company up here in Dawsonville I'd be happy to recommend, hit me up on backchannel if you want their info. :)
Sadly our construction financing plan fell apart, so now we are building a pole barn house w/cash to live in until we can make the dream home a reality! I'll be framing the house plans as expensive art on my wall in the meantime ;)