Before You Buy the Lot: Questions for a Mountain Building Site

People buy a lot for the view, the trees, and the walk to the trail. All good reasons. But the lot also decides a big share of what the house will cost, and a lot of that cost is hidden until someone starts digging.

Two lots with the same price and the same view can be very different projects. One has power and gas at the road, a gentle slope, and good soil. The other needs a well, a septic system, a long driveway, and a retaining wall. The second one costs more to build on before you've framed a single wall.

Here's what I'd look at before buying, and who to ask.

Access and the driveway

How do you get from the road to where the house will sit? A long or steep driveway costs money to build, to plow, and sometimes to heat. Check whether the access is legal and recorded, especially if it crosses someone else's land, and whether the driveway grade works for winter. Ask where trucks will park and turn around during construction. Concrete trucks and delivery trucks need room.

Utilities, or a well and septic

This is often the biggest difference between lots.

If the lot is on public water and sewer, find out where the mains are, how far the lines have to run, and what the tap fees are. Tap fees are set by the provider and can be substantial in mountain towns. Ask who pays them, and whether any have already been paid.

If the lot needs a well, ask about well records on nearby lots: depth and yield. Nobody knows exactly what a well will cost until it's drilled. If it needs septic, the system will be designed from a soils or perc test, and the design affects both cost and where the house can go. Each can run into the tens of thousands of dollars, so get real quotes before you buy.

For power, gas, and communications, ask how far they are from the building site and which side of the road they're on. A run that crosses the road or goes a long way can add cost that a standard connection fee doesn't cover.

Slope, against the survey

Get a topographic survey, and then walk the lot with it. Surveys are a model of the ground, and the ground doesn't always agree. It's not unusual for a site to turn out steeper than the topo showed, and for the plan to change once excavation starts. Slope drives excavation, foundation walls, retaining walls, and drainage.

Soils and test pits

What's under the surface matters as much as the slope. Rock means harder excavation and possibly blasting. Poor soils can mean engineered foundations. A soils report or test pits before you buy tells you what you're working with. Sometimes an older test pit exists for the lot; ask, and ask whether it's still considered valid.

HOA guidelines, the envelope, and fees

If the lot is in a subdivision with an HOA or design review, read the guidelines before you buy, not after. They can set a building envelope (where on the lot you're allowed to build), height limits, required materials, roof pitches, colors, lighting, and landscaping.

Ask about fees and deposits too. Some associations charge design review fees, and some hold a construction deposit, sometimes sized to the house, that comes back after the association's final review if the house matches the approved plans. Fees and deposits like that belong in your budget. See The all-in budget.

If the lot comes with a required builder, read You love the lot, but you're not sure about the builder first.

Snow and sun

Where does the snow go? Plowed snow needs somewhere to be stored, and roofs shed onto whatever's below them. Which way does the lot face, and when does the driveway see sun in winter? A north-facing drive can stay icy for months. These questions affect the design, the driveway, and what it costs to live there.

Who to ask

A surveyor for boundaries, topography, easements, and the building envelope. A civil engineer for grading, drainage, the driveway, and utility routing. A soils or geotechnical engineer for foundations and septic design. An attorney for the title, recorded easements, access, and HOA documents. None of this is legal advice, and the lot documents deserve a real legal review.

Questions worth asking

• Is access to the building site legal, recorded, and buildable year-round?
• Is the lot on public water and sewer, or does it need a well and septic? What are the tap fees, and who pays them?
• How far are power, gas, and communications, and which side of the road are they on?
• Is there a current topographic survey, and does the ground match it?
• Is there a soils report or test pit, and how old is it?
• What do the HOA guidelines require, where is the building envelope, and what fees or deposits apply?
• Where will the snow go, and how much winter sun does the driveway get?