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Before You Start Work
on Your New Property!
When buying a new piece of property, especially for residential use, it is important to do these three steps before ANY soil or dirt is broke on the property. We know it's exciting and you want to get the building process started, however, failing to adhere to these steps can cost exceptionally more money in the long run or ruin the property altogether. In many cases, new property owners hire a consultant to help them in this process and minimize costly mistakes.
Starting work without first having the property surveyed and a septic permit issued could result in the only places the house site, well, and septic CAN go as unusable. If this happens, a secondary septic system MAY be able to be installed, however, it is a more expensive and timely install process. If it is determined a secondary system cannot be installed, the property will not be able to pass inspection later on. Doing these 3 steps not only saves money by not having to buy a secondary septic system, but it saves on costs installing. Ready to get started? Read the steps below!
Whether you are in the due diligence or you have just bought the property, get the property surveyed!
There are only certain places a well can go, the septic system can go, and therefore the house can only go where it's ALLOWED to go (determined by the specific locations the well and septic system can go). Besides determining where the house can go, it also influences the driveway, retaining walls, drains, everything involved in getting a raw piece of property primed for a house site. Only knowing where the septic and well can go, can you start to plan the layout of the land.
Step 2.
Get Septic Application Done
While septic applications will vary from area to area, typically by county, one thing that is common with most all septic applications is having to make a crude drawing illustrating where on the property the well, septic, and house will sit.
Most applications include an example of what they are looking for. These applications are usually around 2-4 pages long. Besides asking for a hand-drawn illustration, the application asks for development information, residential specifications, water supply, and more.
Only when you have your survey and septic permit in-hand is it advised to move on to step 3.
Step 3.
Breaking Ground
The real "start" to the house/property developing process can now begin! You can work with your grading contractor to plan the installation of the driveway, house site work, etc. It will be in this phase that you should know if your home will have a basement or crawl space, if you will need a retaining wall or other preventative grading work done, or anything else needed to ensure your satisfaction with your property for many years to come!
CONGRATULATIONS!
You're ready to begin the prep and development process of your property!
Now that you have your survey and septic permit and you know where the fundamental parts of your future home can go, it's time to start bring your dream to life!
There is some work that can happen on the property before these three steps are completed, such as underbrushing. This is removing trees WITHOUT removing the stumps, roots, and without disturbing the ground at and around the trees. Doing this requires an expert that knows how to navigate the job without hindering any future progress by damaging the ground. While underbrushing may help in the developmental phase of the property later on, if this isn't not done correctly, it could result in the same problems from not doing steps 1-3 listed above.
Creating your dream home isn't as simple as buying land, picking where you want your home, and paying to have it done. We understand the process and want to make it as close to this simple for you as we can. Have questions? Ready to start? Check out our Grading Services here, and see how we can help you. We are eager to help bring your dream property into reality!
Beautiful properties start here, and that starts with connection.
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