Tip #1 for Building a New Home on Your Lot: Make Lot Purchase Contingent on Soil Test

Make your lot purchase contract contingent on a satisfactory soil test and verification of utility locations.

To mitigate costs and delays, soil should be tested to be sure the ground is safe to build on and to ensure builders don’t have to deal with pollutants during excavation.

As for utilities, learn if you have a public water supply or need a septic system. It is typically up to the homeowner to provide a septic system for sewage. Septic systems vary in cost, depending on how much room you have for the drain field and the type of soil in that drain field. The other item that can have a significant cost impact is the location of the utilities. For example, if the location of your home is 300′ away from electrical services it can add several thousand dollars of cost to your build.

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Tip #2 for Building a New Home on Your Lot: Get Good Plans

At CMS Homes, many customers try to use plans they have purchased online. Most often, these plans are inaccurate and don’t contain detailed information. They rarely contain accurate building code items which means a builder could take shortcuts unless those are addressed. With a DIY online home plan, you might save a couple of thousand dollars on the plan but it can cost three times that much when you build. Go to a trusted architect or use your builder’s in-house architect and get good plans. It will protect you in the long run.

Tip #3 for Building a New Home on Your Lot: Get a 10-Year Warranty

When you build a new home, get a 10-year warranty. This may seem obvious, but surprisingly, many custom home builders don’t provide their clients with a 10-year warranty. If your building company provides a long-term home warranty, then it has agreed with the warranty company to follow relevant codes. This protects the builder and the homeowner in case something unforeseen happens. A great warranty reduces or eliminates the likelihood of problems for everyone involved.

Ready to Build a Home on Your Lot?

We hope knowing these three tips helps as you plan to build a new home on your lot. Building a house is a huge undertaking, but when you partner with an experienced builder like CMS Homes, with a team that takes care of the details, it can be fun, exciting, and much simpler than if you try to do it on your own. We’re here to help! If you live in the Troy, Missouri area, contact us today for more information on our Build Anywhere program.  636-462-3500