A. What to check with local government agencies
The city government will normally rule you if you are building within city limits. If it is outside the city limits, the county government will govern it. Even if you’re in the county, if you’re near a city boundary, check with the city to make sure they don’t have jurisdiction over the property you want to build on. This happened to the students: They would be in the county, outside the city limits, and they would do everything according to the county government, only for the city to create a lot of pain because the city was regulating certain requirements on property. The county didn’t even tell them.
1. Office of the Tax Assessor
If the property owner does not have a survey, obtain a copy of the tax plan from this office. Check the property tax rate for the area.
2. The Planning Department
In the Planning Department, if they are doing their homework, they can inform you of any future plans for your neighborhood and / or surrounding area. This is good information because you may not want to live next to a future fertilizer factory or a new 4-lane highway to be built in the near future.
3. The Zoning Department
In the Zoning Department, you will learn critical information, such as the minimum size of the house you must build on the property, how far you must build from the street right-of-way, and how far you must build from your neighbor’s property.
You may have a 1,000-square-foot dynamite blueprint, but there are many areas, due to zoning, where a 1,000-square-foot house cannot be built.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people spend thousands of dollars designing their dream home. Then they go down to the zoning department and based on the zoning they find out the distance from the street, called construction line, is, say, 30 feet. Tea setbacks or the distance you must build from your neighbor’s property line is 15 feet for the side patios and 20 feet for the backyard. When they now see the only legitimate place to build a home, based on zoning, they are surprised to see that there is not enough space on their lot for their dream home. Your only option is to request a variance to cross these lines. These variations can be very expensive, time consuming, and are often denied.
If you don’t check these things, don’t worry. Your future neighbors will be on the property in the evenings and on weekends with a tape measure, and they will check it for you! If it’s wrong, they’ll get a court order to stop the construction of your house. I tell you the city of Atlanta is wasting taxpayers’ money by hiring inspectors; the neighbors are much worse than the inspectors.
I remember a builder in Atlanta who built four houses in the million dollar price range. It was almost finished when he requested a variation to build across the building line or, in other words, closer to the street. He played the game that forgiveness is easier than permission. What he didn’t realize was how powerful the neighborhood committee was in this area. The county’s final decision, “Tear down the houses.”
The frustrated builder raised his hands, returned the homes and subdivision to the bank, and moved out of state. The bank came up with a very ingenious solution. They demolished a house and spent $ 350,000.00 to move the entire street. The three remaining houses were then the correct distance from the street.
I know you have a hard time believing it, but even I make mistakes. In the 1980s, he was building a luxury home in an old part of Atlanta. The house was sold and almost finished when we did what is called an “as built” lot inspection. It turned out that a corner of the house crossed the line of the building by less than a foot! Except for the survey, no one would have ever found out about this crime. To avoid title problems, lenders will want these problems corrected.
Unlike the good old days when you would go to the zoning department and they would sign something so small, you had to request a variance. It took three months and a good sum of money to request this variance. Not to mention, the new owner was supposed to move in by now.
At the dissent meeting, there were two powerful neighborhood committees with several hundred people saying, “Get the house torn down.” They were very serious. Your rationale: If you give this constructor a variance, you are setting a precedent so that all future constructors can have a variance. Fortunately, I got the variation, but trust me; you don’t want to get caught up in this kind of situation.
Some people will build the house up to a building or setback line. They do not think about the eaves of the roof, a porch, a deck or any step. In many areas, no part of the structure can cross this line.
to. Construction line and setbacks
The construction line is the distance from the street right-of-way. This can be confusing for a new constructor. The street pavement can be 24 feet wide, while the right-of-way can be 60 feet wide. Remember that the building line is the distance from the right-of-way, not the sidewalk to the street.
Also, don’t assume that you can measure from the center of the street to find the edge of the right-of-way. Sometimes the street is not in the center of the right-of-way. The best thing to do is have your surveyor, when surveying the lot or updating a previous survey, rethink the location of the building and the setback lines.
B. Subdivision covenants
If you are looking for a property in a subdivision, check with the court for covenants for the subdivision, which must be recorded, such as a deed.
Subdivision agreements can override city or county zoning. For example, city or county zoning may require you to build 30 feet from the street right-of-way, while the subdivision agreement may state that you must build 40 feet from the street right-of-way. Get a copy of the agreements and read every word. You may be surprised by what you find.
4. The Construction Department
Go to the Building Department and ask if there is any reason why they know you cannot get a building permit on this property. A student bought a lot and waited about a year to start construction. You bought your plans, put together your loan package, and applied for a loan. After closing the construction loan, he went to the construction department to obtain a building permit and was denied. It turned out that his property was in the future right-of-way of a new highway that the county was going to build. He paid off the construction loan, lost what he paid in closing costs, and did not build the house. This is just one of the reasons I recommend that you obtain your building permit before closing the construction loan. You knew this, but forgot, a good reason to use a checklist.
While in the Building Department, find out the fees and requirements for obtaining a building permit and obtain an application for a building permit.
For environmental reasons, tree removal is becoming very restricted and regulated in many areas. In this department, find out if there are any requirements, fees and / or restrictions regarding tree felling.
EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] I would like to see all builders complete an environmental impact study. Check with the Building Department to find out if this is necessary in your area. For more information on EPA’s studies and recommendations for housing, visit their website at www.epa.gov.
5. The Department of Health
to. Water well requirements
Check for potential problems when installing a well. Find out about the quality of the water in the area and whether or not you will need a filter.
Note: Check with a local well subcontractor in the area for any potential problems installing a well. Ask the well subcontractor what he thinks about the water quality in the area and whether or not he will need a filter.
B. Septic tank requirements
If you are going to have a septic tank, ask if there is a problem in this lot for a septic tank. Find out if the property has already been pre-approved for a septic tank.
6. Department of Public Works
to. Sewerage
Just because you see a manhole cover on the street, don’t assume you have access to a sewer line. There have been many times in Atlanta where there would be a moratorium on the sewer lines because the sewer plants were overloaded. Which means you couldn’t get a building permit.
You’ll want to look at the field drawings to see how deep the sewer line is on your property, but be aware that the contractor who installed the sewer line may not have buried them at the level shown in the drawings. It is best to remove the manhole cover on the property and measure the actual depth of the sewer line.
The reason why? Let’s say the sewer line is 10 feet below street level and the house you plan to build will be 15 feet below street level. If you didn’t know, most of these things flow downhill, not uphill. You could buy a sewer pump, but I would rather not cheat with any sewer pump if I could avoid it. Similarly, if you plan to have plumbing in a basement, check that the sewer line on your property is lower than the level of the basement floor.
Regarding all of these utilities, make sure they are on your property. Just because there is a sewer line 10 feet away on your neighbor’s lot, and the county would be happy if you connected to this line, don’t assume that everything is fine. Your neighbor may want you to pay him $ 10,000.00 to cross his property!
Also check if any fees are required to connect to the sewer line. Ask if there are any problems connecting at this time. Ask them if they see any problems connecting in the near future.
B. Water
Check the Water Department field drawing to verify that there is water on your property. Just because you see a fire hydrant on the street, don’t assume you have water on your property. That line of water can stop at the fire hydrant and getting it to your property could cost you a lot of money.
Check the fees needed to connect to the water line and buy a water meter.
Ask if there are any problems connecting at this time. Ask them if they see any problems connecting in the near future.
B. What to check with utility companies
1. Electricity
Check the electrical service on the property and any fees required to connect to the electrical lines and purchase an electric meter.
Ask if there are any problems connecting at this time. Ask them if they see any problems connecting in the near future.
If your home site is more than 100 feet from the street, find out if there will be any additional charges for this distance.
2. Gas
Check the gas service on the property and any fees required to connect to the gas line and purchase a gas meter.
Ask if there are any problems connecting at this time. Ask them if they see any problems connecting in the near future.
If your home site is more than 100 feet from the street, find out if there will be any additional charges for this distance.