Five money pitfalls when choosing a plot
+ Steeply sloped sites
These plots can be perfect for elevating your house to capture an incredible view or cutting into a hillside to create a sense of seclusion and enclosure. However, significant costs will go towards developing the site to achieve this. The site may need substantial walls to retain soil in place, additional drainage considerations and in some cases, expensive foundations. Don’t forget the labour involved in excavating and disposing of a lot of soil, costs can creep up. We organise a cut and fill survey so you can have a good handle of costs early in the project.
+ Long driveway
You’ve found a beautiful, secluded plot but how do you access it? Is it close to a main road? Is it perched on top of a hill and requires a long driveway cutting into the hillside? Driveways are often overlooked but can be costly. We can advise on the optimal location for your house on the site, taking various factors into account.
+ Expensive ground conditions
Understanding ground conditions early is extremely important. It dictates what type of foundations are suitable for your house and this alone can indicate if significant costs are likely. Whether its boggy soft land, bedrock or filled, unstable ground – these can all have impacts to your budget and build. We can organise a ground conditions survey, so you investigate this before purchasing a plot or early in the project if you are further ahead.
+ Water and electricity not close by
Is your plot near a road and other houses or nestled away in the trees? Close by connections to mains utilities will reduce expense, however, occasionally there is not enough capacity, and an extra charge may be required. Longer distances to connect to existing services, new private water supplies and off-grid electricity all come with added expense. We can advise you on which services provider to contact and the key questions to ask.
+ Drainage not considered
When you’re dreaming of your new home, drainage isn’t the first thought that springs to mind and often it’s assumed a solution is in place. Don’t assume you will have a mains connection; this is something that needs checked and occasionally there is not sufficient capacity. For rural plots, it is common to have a private drainage solution. Testing the ground conditions and meeting specific regulatory requirements reveals what works best for your site. Although not common, we have encountered a site that could not meet the regulatory requirements meaning the site could not be built on! We can consult our specialist contacts early to ensure your drainage strategy is clearly planned from the start, giving you peace of mind.