Steps to Purchasing Land and Building a Home

How to undertake the construction of your own home is a recurring topic on our blog. However, we have not yet thoroughly covered the steps involved in purchasing land and building a house. Our aim is for you to gain a clear understanding of what this exciting process entails, grasp your current position, and know what each subsequent step will require.

The steps to purchasing land and building a home are complex and demand significant involvement, which not all families are prepared for. This is a multi-year process that begins the moment you decide to search for land, continues through architect selection, securing a self-build mortgage, and finally, the construction of the house itself.

In this regard, we will need to make decisions that are not always easy, and often we will have to consult experts for advice at each stage. For this reason, we have summarized this complex process into 5 key steps for purchasing land and building a home, which will be of great help in your endeavor.

The 5 steps to purchasing land and building a home are:

1. Establish a maximum budget

The first thing we must consider is how much we are willing to spend on purchasing land and building a house. We must remember that the available budget needs to be divided between two aspects that can often be equally important.

Just as we cannot spend more than we have, it is also not advisable to excessively reduce the budget. We must consider that, in addition to the cost of the land and construction itself, a portion of the total budget will need to be invested in technical professionals to carry out the project, advisors or lawyers to manage the purchase and sale, deeds, or other legal matters, as well as a series of taxes, licenses, and permits that must be paid at each phase.

In this regard, we always recommend consulting with an architect from the outset, even before beginning your land search.

At Slow Studio, we always advise clients on budget definition, as we can provide a highly reliable estimate of the house’s cost, as well as associated project and construction costs. This ensures that before embarking on the process, you understand what you are facing and can approach banks with a clear idea of your needs and possibilities.

From this point, the first step in purchasing land and building a home is, of course, finding the land where your dwelling will be located. For this step, a series of observations, explained below, must be taken into account.

2. Search for land

Searching for land is perhaps one of the most complex and personal steps, as a multitude of factors must align with your requirements. Once you find a plot that meets all criteria, you must visit it and feel comfortable in the location.

In fact, at our studio, the first visit to a plot with a client always feels very unique. We are at the place where they plan to start a life project with their family, a place where everything is yet to be done, everything yet to be thought through. It is crucial to evaluate it objectively, considering all the characteristics and conditions of the land.

As always, remember that it is important, before buying or signing an earnest money contract, to call us so we can visit the land with you and conduct some preliminary checks regarding regulations and potential urban or fiscal encumbrances.

That said, let’s delve into the key points to assess when visiting a plot of land:

Evaluate its location

Often, location is one of the primary reasons we choose one house over another. Whether it’s in a secluded, quiet place or in the heart of the city, these are choices we make based on our lifestyle or needs.

However, it is important to consider that a plot located in an urban center will likely lead us towards a dwelling that maximizes floor space and may even grow in height.

On the other hand, in a more rural setting or in housing developments with yards, your house will also have a larger outdoor space.

Consider infrastructure and communications

Before purchasing land, we must also ensure that all necessary services are available, such as water supply, electricity, telephone lines, as well as public lighting and sewerage.

If any of these services are not available, it is essential to consult with a technician and the city council, as additional costs may arise after the purchase.

Furthermore, the availability or lack of public transport, or even road connections to your workplace, is also an important factor to consider, especially if you are not close to the places you frequent.

When purchasing land, we should not only focus on its location and surroundings, but also on its inherent characteristics, which will subsequently influence the construction of the house.

Sunlight exposure

Light is always something we appreciate in a home. The ability for our house to be illuminated by natural sunlight, without needing to keep the lights on all day, is essential in any home.

For this reason, and to help reduce electricity and heating consumption, it is important that the land we intend to buy has good sun exposure. Ideally, it should have a south-facing orientation, allowing for large windows in daytime areas like the living room and dining room.

It is important to remember that not only orientation matters, but it is also necessary to check that nearby elements such as adjoining homes or trees do not create shadows.

Slope level and orientation

If we search and compare prices, we will see that flat plots are usually more expensive than those with a slope. This is because a sloped terrain will increase construction costs, as earthworks and retaining walls will be required.

In this sense, a north-facing slope can be detrimental to receiving light and harnessing the sun, whereas a south-facing slope will be beneficial if utilized by opening windows and insulating the north facade.

Check the ground’s hardness

Another significant budget item is the foundation of our house. Therefore, the type of subsoil encountered will be of great importance.

Softer ground will require deeper foundations to reach a more resistant subsoil layer for support.

In harder ground, it won’t be necessary to excavate to such depths, and we can work with shallow foundations like footings or continuous slabs. However, in this type of terrain, excavating basements will either be impossible or much more expensive.

Thus, one of the key steps in purchasing land and building a house will be to conduct a geotechnical study. This study will tell us which layers make up our soil and their respective thicknesses. With this information, the type of foundation the house will need and its associated cost can be determined.

Check for water presence on the land

The presence of water in the subsoil, much like the quality of the ground, can influence the type of foundation we must use. Water presence is also detected through a geotechnical study, but we can also commission a geobiologist to check for subterranean faults.

One check regarding water that is not always considered is the land’s flood risk. If your plot is located near a river or in a depression, it is important to anticipate that the land might be flooded during certain times of the year and take appropriate measures. In this regard, you can consult flood records for the area at the Catalan Water Agency (ACA).

Review municipal regulations regarding buildability and land occupancy

The buildability and occupancy of a plot are defined in the municipal regulations of each town or city.

The buildability of a plot refers to the percentage of the total surface area that can be built upon, meaning the square meters that can be constructed across all floors of the dwelling.

Occupancy, on the other hand, refers to the amount of square meters that can be occupied within the plot, i.e., the percentage of the surface area that can be built upon within our plot.

Review construction regulations

In addition to buildability and occupancy factors, it is essential to read carefully and, if necessary, seek technical assistance to understand the complete construction regulations for your plot.

These regulations often vary from one development to another within the same municipality and can define everything from the color or materials of the facade to the number of floors, the type of roof, or the appearance of the exterior enclosure.

Check for possible encumbrances or charges

It is also important to check if the land is affected by easements, such as the passage of underground pipes belonging to the city council or even a neighbor, or the future opening of a pathway or street along one side of the plot.

These are rights previously acquired by both individuals and municipal entities that cannot be modified after the land purchase.

Furthermore, it is necessary to verify that there are no outstanding debts from the previous owner with the bank or the city council, as these would be transferred to you.

This can be checked in the property registry by requesting a simple note and is an important factor in negotiating the purchase price.

3. House Design

We arrive at one of the key steps in purchasing land and building a house: entering the design phase for what will become your home.

Although each case is unique and there are no universal architectural solutions, there are a series of issues that we must focus on.

Needs and use of the house

Naturally, every person considering building a house from scratch has different needs and preferences. That is why it is so important to define your requirements from the beginning and discuss them with the architect to achieve the most suitable design for you.

Thermal, Luminous, and Acoustic Comfort

When building a house, it is important to remember that it will be your home and likely where you will spend most of your time. Therefore, achieving thermal, luminous, and acoustic comfort is crucial.

To achieve a comfortable temperature, we must rely on various architectural strategies in addition to any heating system.

In winter, the proper placement of windows will help us gain energy to heat the house, and thermal insulation will prevent this heat from being lost.

In summer, however, porches will prevent excessive solar radiation, and windows on different facades will allow for cross-ventilation.

To achieve luminous comfort, it will be important to define the use of each room and orient them towards the appropriate facades. Bedrooms, for example, are best placed facing east to receive the first light of day; it is also possible to orient them west to warm up with the afternoon sun. The living room, however, having a more general use, will be placed facing south to receive light for most of the day.

Acoustic comfort, a quality sometimes overlooked, can improve our quality of life if we manage to avoid annoying noises.

Vegetation acts as a good screen against noise. If we cannot plant anything, working with high-mass materials will help contain noise outside the dwelling.

Achieve energy efficiency

One of the essential factors today is for our house to be energy-efficient. By improving efficiency through passive construction strategies, we will achieve a more environmentally friendly home that consumes less energy and also provides economic savings.

We can achieve an efficient house with good facade insulation and windows with excellent thermal performance. Depending on the climate, we will also incorporate other architectural elements such as porches or pergolas to protect us from the sun in summer, or courtyards to illuminate and ventilate our house from a more controlled environment.

4. Application for Architect’s College Approval and Building Permits

After finalizing the project design and all its technical specifications, it must be reviewed by the provincial College of Architects to assess its feasibility.

Once the project is approved by the College, it must be submitted to the city council, where the municipal architect will approve the project and ensure it complies with local regulations.

In our office, before starting a project, we always review regulations even before purchasing land. This way, we avoid having to make modifications once the project is defined, and all the inconveniences this entails for the client, the architect, and the city council itself.

5. House Construction

We have reached the final step in purchasing land and building a house. Up to this point, we have defined a budget, chosen a location to live, designed a home, and obtained the necessary permits.