Healthy Home Build

The Lot

  1. Location
  2. Costs
  3. EMR/EMF profile
  4. Chemical profile
  5. Zoning restrictions and permits
  6. Utilities
  7. Road access
  8. Easements
  9. Flooding and Fires
  10. Ordinances and Covenants

Once we decided where we wanted to build our home and our price range, the next most important step was determining if the lot had a good electromagnetic field (EMF) profile. Power lines, net currents, transformers, radar, cell towers, proximity to neighbors, smart meters and dirty electricity are all things we measured while touring the different vacant lots with our realtor.

Choose a site free of sources of external pollution of air, water, noise, electro-magnetic radiation, and geopathic stress zones.

From there, the most time-consuming step was making sure the vacant land was buildable. Every lot has its own unique challenges so having a realtor who knows the market and understands vacant land inspections, zoning requirements, and permits is helpful.

For example, the first lot we investigated was a stunning acre in an existing five home development neighborhood. It checked all of our boxes—except 1.) there was an HOA for utilities and 2.) there was a riparian corridor (a.k.a. protected “wet lands”) which made permitting an unknown risk. We learned this only after reading carefully through the lengthy disclosures and then hiring a consultant referred to us by our realtor to confirm what we understood was correct.

Another lot we investigated was also a beautiful acre parcel at the end of a tree-lined private road with a national park to one side and a peekaboo view of the ocean on the other. Unfortunately—or fortunately—the zoning regulations had setback rules which prohibited placing septic, the home, and a driveway easement all together on parcel without triggering a permit exception. We hired a geotechnical engineer, septic specialist, local architect, and easement attorney just to determine if the lot was possibly buildable.

The final lot we considered was a smaller parcel. It checked most of our boxes and delighted us with an ocean and mountain view. There were several complications with this lot that took well over a year to sort through. The good news is that we made it to the other side and have officially broken ground!

Note: there are only a few banks like US Bank and Umpqua that provide mortgages for vacant land and construction. Finding a knowledgable loan officer, or two, was imperative.