Architects and their clients have to be picky about where they choose to build. The right decision will save significant time and money. A poorly selected site can cost much more to prepare for building than anyone anticipates.
A construction project starting on a raw parcel has a long list of tasks that have to be successfully performed before the real work of house building begins. For both architects and owners, the hidden costs can be far higher than budgeted for. The utilities required to service a home include obvious ones like road and driveway access, site grading and preparation, and electric and telephone service. Water and septic development can cost substantial amounts as well as limiting what’s possible to do on a site. At the very least, delivering these services to a building site will take planning, permits, excavation, grading, and much coordination with engineers, contractors, inspectors, PG&E, AT&T, and others. It’s a full plate of work and much of it has to happen before the project moves at full speed into the house building phase.
It’s the major reason that finished lots are popular with architects and owners. Building a house is enough of a challenge without having to get bogged down with the time and major expenses required for preparing the site. It is not unusual in Sonoma County for owners to spend half a million to a million dollars or more on roads and other needed utilities on estate sites. That cost doesn’t include finance costs related to the year long process required to manage wet weather perc testing, dry weather well testing, and the need to do excavation and grading when the soils are workable. If you are planning to build from scratch, you will probably need to plan on at least a year before you are going to be able to break ground for your house.
For many architects, the year long delay is the price they have to pay to find the site they want. Most of the coveted sites that are close to town have already been built on. Some clients can afford to buy a nice home to tear down and start over, but it’s an expensive way to get a vacant, developed lot. Other sites may have perfect exposure to the sun and views that make them worthy candidates to spend time and money on. Occasionally, the perfect view and solar site may also have decent locations and privacy. Other times the pursuit of seclusion ends up chasing clients farther from the towns, restaurants, and wineries they are building their wine country estate to enjoy.
The Emerald Ridge lots just outside Healdsburg are special because they resolve the development and location issues perfectly. Architects looking for a site with great sun, views, privacy, and interesting terrain will be delighted with the potential on the three newly available sold 20 acre properties. Once they understand the costs and delays common to raw land, owners will be thrilled that the unknowns costs and delays of rural development have already been eliminated and they can work with their architect on drawing up house plans immediately. The chance to build something special that is also readily accessible to Healdsburg provides a unique opportunity.
Well, not unique. There are three zero lots available, so the chance to build at Emerald Ridge is limited rather than unique. These lots have been in development for over five years and have just become available to purchase in December of 2011 (all sold as of early 2013). Call or email me to arrange your personal tour…of other properties.
707-869-1884 or dave@sonoma.net
