I talk to a lot of people who either own land already or looking at buying a piece of property with the intention of building a custom home.

Usually, the conversation starts with the house, then the property and amenities.

How big can we build? What will it cost per square foot? What kind of floor plan makes sense? What are the have-to-haves vs the wants?

Those are important questions, but they're not where I'd start.

Start with the land.

One of the biggest misconceptions about building a custom home is that if you own a piece of property, you can just pick a house plan, get a permit, and start building. Sometimes it's that easy.

Before spending a lot of money designing a house, you need to understand what you're actually working with.

First: Can You Actually Build What You Want on the Property?

A five-acre parcel doesn't necessarily mean you have five acres available to build on. Setbacks, easements, septic areas, wetlands, floodplains, zoning requirements, and other restrictions can all affect where a house can be located. Would it make sense to build a $2.5mm house with nearby comps for half that?

Before getting too far into design, I want to know things like:

• What is the property zoned for?
• Where are the property lines?
• What are the required setbacks?
• Are there easements or other encumbrances?
• How much clearing is needed?
• Is there a floodplain or wetland area?
• Is there an HOA or subdivision restriction?
• Where can the driveway go?
• What about utility access?
• Is there enough usable area for the house and everything else you eventually want on the property?

Most of these aren't difficult questions to answer. They're just much cheaper to answer before you've designed a house.

i.e. A Septic Design Can Change the Entire Project

If you're building outside an area served by public sewer, this is one of the first things I'd investigate. You'll need to know whether the property will support a septic system and what type of system will be required. Soil conditions and available drainfield area can affect not only cost but also where the house can sit and potentially how many bedrooms it can have. I've navigated pretty tight lots and believe it or not, the drainfield takes priority and will affect the overall footprint of the house.

And not every property is going to qualify for a conventional septic system. Alternative systems can sometimes solve difficult site conditions, but they can also be considerably more expensive. That's why I wouldn't design a four- or five-bedroom house and then figure out the septic system afterward.

Figure out what the property can support first.

Then There's the Well. If public water isn't available, you'll probably need a private well. Again, that's not necessarily a problem. Plenty of homes throughout Central Virginia are on wells. But the well doesn't exist independently from everything else. Its location needs to work with the house, septic system, property lines, driveway, utilities, and anything else you're planning to build.

This is where thinking about the entire property as one project starts to matter.

Site Development Is Where Budgets Can Get Away From You

This is probably the biggest thing I wish more people understood before they started looking at house plans. The house is only part of the project.

Before we can build it, we may need to clear the property, excavate, grade the site, install erosion controls, build a driveway, manage drainage, install septic and a well, and bring electricity and other utilities to the homesite.

That can represent a significant amount of money before we've framed the first wall.

It's also why I'm skeptical whenever someone says: "I heard houses cost $___ per square foot to build."

Ahhh, Maybe?

But what does that number include?

Does it include a 400-foot driveway? A well? Septic? Clearing two acres? Utility extensions? Difficult grading? Retaining walls? What about topography?

Two identical houses can have very different total project costs simply because they're sitting on two different pieces of land. That Long Driveway Isn't Free

This one catches people more often than you'd think. You'll find a beautiful wooded property and decide you want the house tucked way back off the road, I get it. I'd probably want the same thing--but that decision has consequences. A long driveway can require clearing, grading, stone, drainage, culverts, and eventually whatever finished surface you choose.

Then consider the utilities. If the house is several hundred feet from the road, we may also be bringing electrical service and communications that same distance. I've seen power lines run into five figures. None of this means you shouldn't put the house back there, just that there are expenses to consider and we should understand what that decision costs before making it.

Where You Put the House Matters

One of the best things about building on your own land is getting to choose how the house relates to the property. But I wouldn't base that decision on the view alone.

Homesite placement affects:

• Driveway length
• Excavation
• Drainage
• Utility costs
• Privacy
• Natural light
• Tree clearing and grading
• Outdoor living areas
• Septic location
• Future buildings

Sometimes moving a house fifty or a hundred feet can make a big difference in site-development costs. Other times, spending more on the homesite is absolutely worth it because that's where you're going to want the house for the next thirty years--the point is to make the decision thoughtfully.

Think About What You Might Build Later

This is something I bring up even when it isn't part of the current project.

Do you eventually want a detached garage?

A pool?

An ADU?

A workshop?

A pole barn?

A large outdoor living area?

You don't have to build any of those things now, and it's honestly cheaper to plan ahead. But if there's a reasonable chance you'll want them later, let's think about them before we locate the house, driveway, septic field, utilities, and drainage.

I've seen plenty of situations where today's decisions make tomorrow's project unnecessarily difficult--a little planning can prevent that.

Budget for the Project, Not Just the House.

If you're building a custom home, I think the most useful number is your total project budget, and that includes a contingency.

That may include:

• Architectural and engineering costs
• Surveys
• Permits
• Clearing and grading
• Driveway
• Well and septic
• Utilities
• Construction of the house
• Appliances
• Landscaping
• Outdoor improvements
• Financing costs

If you have $800,000 available for the project, that doesn't necessarily mean you have $800,000 available for the house. Maybe the site requires $75,000 of work before we ever get to the foundation. I'd much rather discover that at the beginning than after you've designed an $800,000 house.

Don't Design the House in a Vacuum

Get the builder involved before the plans are finished. Seriously.

I've seen the traditional process where someone hires an architect, spends months designing exactly what they want, completes the drawings, and then sends them to builders, then the bids come back and oof, they're nowhere near the homeowner's budget.

Now everyone has to figure out what to remove from a house the homeowner has already fallen in love with. Not a great start.

The design, property, construction method, and budget should be informing each other from the beginning. That doesn't mean the builder replaces the architect or designer. They have completely different expertise.

It means the people designing the project and the people responsible for figuring out how to build it should be talking to each other 100% of the time. Builder feedback is important.

So, that should answer the question: Do You Call a Builder Before You Buy the Land? Yes.

If you're buying property specifically to build a home, I'd much rather talk to you while you're still in your due-diligence period than six months after you've purchased it.

I'm not going to replace the surveyor, soil engineer, civil engineer, attorney, or county zoning department, but I can and should look at the property from a construction perspective.

Where might the house go?

How are we getting equipment onto the site?

How much clearing are we looking at?

What might the driveway involve?

Where are the utilities?

What obvious conditions could affect the construction budget?

Sometimes everything looks great, and sometimes we find something worth investigating before you buy. Either result is information. I'd rather this be useful than a surprise. Let's make some informed decisions.

What About Building on Family Land?

We see this opportunity throughout Central Virginia, particularly in Hanover, Goochland, and New Kent. Maybe your parents own acreage. Maybe you're dividing a larger family property. Maybe you've inherited land. That can be a fantastic way to build.

But don't skip the due diligence just because the land is already in the family.

We still need to understand ownership, parcel configuration, access, easements, septic, utilities, and financing.

If the property needs to be subdivided or an access easement needs to be established, it's much better to work through that before you're ready to break ground.

The Best House Starts With the Property

One of the things I enjoy about custom construction is that there isn't one correct answer. The same house shouldn't necessarily be dropped onto every piece of property. A good custom home should respond to the land.

Maybe that means orienting the house to capture a particular view. Or, it means preserving mature trees.

Maybe it means positioning the garage differently to shorten the driveway, Or, maybe it means designing around a future pool or detached garage.

Maybe it means changing the house because the site conditions tell us there's a smarter way to build it.

That's the value of doing the homework before construction starts.

Where I Would Start

If you're thinking about building a custom home on land you already own—or you're looking at buying property in Central Virginia—I wouldn't start by shopping for floor plans. I'd start by understanding the property, figure out what's buildable/feasible.

Understand the septic and water situation. Look at access and utilities. Let's develop a realistic site-development budget.

Then start designing the house around the property and the total budget.

That's a much better way to approach a custom build.

At Lakewood Custom Builders, that's exactly the kind of conversation we like having early in the process.

If you're considering property in Hanover, Goochland, New Kent, Chesterfield, or elsewhere in Central Virginia, give us a call before you've made every decision. Sometimes the most valuable thing a builder can do for you is help you figure out what you're getting into before you start building.