Advice on Building (Construction) & Excavation: Hiring Professionals-Things to Consider
For both buyers and sellers of land or real property.
By Amber Nestor - Land and Waterfront Real Estate Specialist
Whether you are a buyer or a seller, it is always important to know and understand the cost of site prep, excavation, and construction. And, if you click anywhere on this link, you can consider purchasing the book above, or one on a similar topic, if it interests you. Currently Tennessee is attracting a lot of buyers coming in from other regions of the U.S. Some of these buyers are coming from areas that are really very flat. Even some areas that are flat, like particular sections of Colorado, require a lot of excavation because there are deep layers of soft soil that can settle. TN overall can be a really great place to build, because we have a lot of good soil here. CLICK HERE TO CONSIDER THE PURCHASE OF THE BOOK ABOVE.
No matter the situation it is important to consider the potential costs of these endeavors, and the only REAL way to know or estimate for certain is to contact a builder and/or site excavator who has a proven reputation and/or references and portfolio of work to provide you with a professional opinion or estimation of what you need to know.
A beautiful piece of land with a rolling or sloped topography may cost less than a flatter piece of land with many trees on it, but these 2 properties will incur variable costs and expenses to prepare them for cutting driveways, opening up building sites, and laying a foundational footprint.
If owning big acreage is a goal for you, and a new goal, you might even want to learn about tree removal and site excavation and dabble in it yourself. If so, the book above would be an excellent resource to help you learn about things to consider.
We exists in a market that at times is very competitive. Due to this intense competition, sometimes buyers realistically must move quickly or compete with many other buyers, or they might miss out on their chance to buy at all.
Legally a real estate agent is not licensed to tell you what can or can not be accomplished on any piece of land, but we can tell you that it is valuable for you to obtain a professional opinion on things like:
high intensity soil mapping
soil and septic permitting
tree removal methods
soil and site prep and excavation
construction
etc.
Something that your real estate agent can typically provide you with, especially if they are a knowledgeable land specialist agent like myself, include topography maps, water-line maps, FEMA flood risk diagrams, property line maps, plats, and surveys, and other types of visually helpful data. They can also look up a large variety of records and research.
During the winter months, it is an excellent time to go exploring in heavily wooded land, with all safety precautions and permissions of course. The foliage, trees, and growth have thinned out from the winter time, and you and your professionals have an opportunity to more deeply hike and explore big wooded acreage to make calculations and just make an overall vision for the potential highest and best use of the property.
Lastly, I would also recommend that any portion of land you plan on clearing or opening up to input a driveway or home site, or yard enjoyment space area, you spend some time exploring in the Spring and Summer and Fall, or for whatever period of time that you can, and visually identify unique and beautiful species of plants and creatures you might want to gather and relocate to other portions of your property for preservation. You will be glad you did, and as a good steward of the land, your will have more to enjoy and explore in the future, and you will have stories to tell any buyers in the future who you might sell to one day.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW A BOOK ABOUT RARE AND BEAUTIFUL FLOWERING PLANTS OF EASTERN TN.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW A BOOK ABOUT RARE AND BEAUTIFUL FERNS OF EASTERN TN.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW A BOOK ABOUT THE TREES OF EASTERN TENNESSEE.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW A BOOK ABOUT NATIVE WHITETAIL DEER IN TN.
Well readers, I am going to get back to doing some paperwork by my window overlooking the lake, and being distracted by the mallards congregating around the dock and shoreline this morning. May God bless you with health, wisdom, and wealth. I pray TN continues to be the most beautiful and wonderful place to live.
Amber Nestor - Land and Waterfront Specialist