If you’re interested in building “on your lot,” you’ll spend a significant portion of your time, research, and budget, on the lot finishing component of your new home construction project.
The term “lot finishing” refers to the work done to prepare your land for building. When creating a lot finishing estimate for building a home on your property, your builder is looking at the costs associated with preparing your land for construction. Having the right building partner by your side at this important stage will benefit you in numerous ways!
Accurate Lot Finishing Estimates: Avoiding Costly Surprises
With well over 60 years of development and home building expertise, the Timberlake Design/Build team has created a template that provides the most transparent estimate of the costs associated with finishing your lot.
Confirm that the lot you’ve chosen is buildable.
Choosing a homesite on which to build is more complicated than simply finding one online. Online listings can be incomplete or misleading. For example, a lot might be zoned for residential use but there may be restrictions on the size or type of home that can be built on it. Additionally, there could be infrastructure or utility issues, or the land itself might be problematic with poor soil conditions, wetlands, and flood zones.
While the buyer is always responsible for the due diligence in purchasing a homesite, the Timberlake Design/Build team is a huge asset to our client’s by:
- Recommending you work with an attorney and/or engineer to determine whether the land is a buildable lot/parcel once under contract
- Confirming that the zoning allows for residential construction that matches what you want to build
- Confirming if the lot has access to public water, electricity, and gas or if utilities will need to be brought it which impacts your finishing costs
- Does the soil support a septic system?
- Are there any regulations with government agencies such as Historical Architectural Review Boards?
- Is there a flood plain that needs to be taken into consideration?
Your Timberlake Design/Build team will help you navigate the process and understand the costs associated with any buildability issues.
“The most difficult part of our build was the land we had picked. It was a wetland that couldn’t even support the weight of a car… Timberlake worked directly with our engineers and their own soil expert in an extremely detailed manner to determine the most effective and cost-efficient way to build on this lot.” Chesapeake Bay Custom Home Client
Understanding County & Agency permitting costs & fees.
There are County-specific fees which vary by jurisdiction that will impact your lot finishing costs. These fees include building permits, grading permits, school impact fees, excise taxes, and transportation fees, among others. Our extensive experience building throughout Suburban and Central Maryland and Delaware means we have a good idea of those County fees, as well as the permit times and other important considerations which will impact your lot finishing estimate as well as your build schedule.
Factors that may determine your lot finishing cost:
Engineering – preparing plans for permitting process
Permits & Fees – zoning/building permits, environmental impact fees, utility hookups, inspection fees
Site Prep – grading, excavation, soil testing, tree removal, erosion/sediment control, demo, access road prep
Utility Connections – Well & septic OR public Water/Sewer, gas, telecom
Drainage – Stormwater management, swales, drywells, rain gardens, retention ponds
Driveways & Walkways – size and shape, construction, grading/paving (impacts SWM as well)
Fencing/Landscaping/Lighting
Can you trust your lot finishing estimate?
When you partner with Timberlake Design Build you will receive a lot finishing estimate with a thorough breakdown of the costs associated with building on your specific lot.
You benefit from our 60-plus years of expertise as we guide our customers and offer our insights on the challenges and opportunities we identify on any lot. In addition to our experience, we provide references to experts as a next step if there are concerns or questions we can’t answer. We make our analysis as comprehensive as possible because we know our clients are relying on us to help them make a decision about whether to move forward with a land purchase or with architectural plans.
Have a homesite? Let’s get started building! Contact us today for your free homesite analysis.