Source: Https://www.hommboo.com
Welcome, dear reader! My name is Federica, and I'm thrilled to have you join me on a journey of a lifetime. My partner and I embarked on the adventure of building our dream home, and we can't wait to share with you the ups and downs at every step of the process in this multi-part series. After years of living in rented apartments and homes, we created an interior space that truly reflects our unique style, needs, and long-term goals. But unfortunately, the places themselves where we lived did not respond to our dreams and aspirations.
Thus, some time ago, we moved to a new city and scouted for potential neighborhoods and lots for our future home. This process opened our eyes to the many intricate steps involved in building a home, and we're excited to share our knowledge with you.
We're a young couple eager to start a family and create lasting memories in a place "our dream home" that fulfills our functional needs and reflects our lifestyle and values inside and out. We understand that building a home can be daunting and challenging, but we have decided to take it step-by-step and create a beautiful home we can be proud of. From the beginning, we realized that building a home involves an enormous investment and debt, yet the payoff is incredible if done correctly. On the other hand, it made more sense to us to pay for a mortgage than to pay for rent.
By sharing our experiences throughout the journey, we hope to help others better understand the process's pros and cons and ups and downs. If you are also looping around pursuing your dream home, we hope we make it more smoothly and efficiently. Together, we'll navigate the ups and downs from finding the perfect lot to selecting the right design style, floor plan, home builder, and finish materials to add the appropriate finish touches and in between.
I can't wait to start sharing our experiences and hear your thoughts. So, let's embark on this journey together and see where this adventure takes us.
Our first step was locating the right site for our dream home...
We didn't own a piece of land, so we had to shop for the right one. We started by looking online but quickly realized we needed a real estate agent to help us. We found a great agent who specializes in land sales, and she helped us identify lots for sale fitting our criteria in our area.
Source: https://elements.envato.com/es/architects-talking-in-the-office-LHYEA7H
It was challenging at first. There were many lots to choose from, and we had to consider everything from location to topography. For example, we visualized our house in a quiet neighborhood close to the city with good transportation access. But we learned that all suburbs are not equal. In the process, we discovered other issues that needed to be considered, such as our lifestyle, low crime rate, type of schools (does it have an excellent primary, middle, and high school?), and does it have a comfortable walkable system? what about parks close by, does it have a family-friendly composition? nearby cafes, food groceries stores, etc.?
Therefore, we had to sit and write down a list of critical issues our neighborhood should have. Then, as we evaluated all aspects our prospective community should have, we did our best to match them to our daily needs.
Also, other issues needed our attention, such as 1) What type of land steep grading to consider (Flat or hilly)? There are pros and cons to this. For example, a steep slope typically makes a pricier construction process and the design more complex, but the reward will often be a fantastic view and an exciting home design. As we lived in Toronto, there are no valleys or hills with sloped lots with views overlooking the city that were worth the money. We decided to search for a flat lot for a more straightforward design-building process and thus a more economical construction, but the potential view is something we'll miss!
We also wanted to avoid being in a flood zone (a.k.a. an area of land prone to flooding). Flood zones are designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) based on the likelihood and severity of flooding in the area. A lot in a flood zone may be subject to additional building regulations and require additional flood insurance. Given this, we avoided it during our search.
We, again, narrowed our choices and started looping in a builder. They helped us determine if the lot we were interested in would fit the needs of our home's floor plan and design. They also helped us check zoning laws and restrictions, which was incredibly helpful. For example, we learned that some lots have height restrictions or setbacks that could impact our plans. Local zoning regulations typically determine these and may vary depending on the location and type of property.
So, we're all on the same page: Height restrictions refer to the maximum height allowed for a building on a given lot. It can impact the design and layout of your home, particularly if you have plans for multiple stories or a unique roofline. On the other hand, setbacks refer to the minimum distance required between a building and the property line. This ensures sufficient space between buildings for safety, privacy, and aesthetics. Again, setbacks can impact the size and placement of your home on the lot.
Source: https://elements.envato.com/es/property-gate-and-driveway-U7HG8Y4
It was challenging at first. There were many lots to choose from, and we had to consider everything from location to topography. For example, we visualized our house in a quiet neighborhood close to the city with good transportation access. But we learned that all suburbs are not equal. In the process, we discovered other issues that needed to be considered, such as our lifestyle, low crime rate, type of schools (does it have an excellent primary, middle, and high school?), and does it have a comfortable walkable system? what about parks close by, does it have a family-friendly composition? nearby cafes, food groceries stores, etc.?
Therefore, we had to sit and write down a list of critical issues our neighborhood should have. Then, as we evaluated all aspects our prospective community should have, we did our best to match them to our daily needs.
Also, other issues needed our attention, such as 1) What type of land steep grading to consider (Flat or hilly)? There are pros and cons to this. For example, a steep slope typically makes a pricier construction process and the design more complex, but the reward will often be a fantastic view and an exciting home design. As we lived in Toronto, there are no valleys or hills with sloped lots with views overlooking the city that were worth the money. We decided to search for a flat lot for a more straightforward design-building process an thus a more economical construction, but the potential view is something we'll miss!
We also wanted to avoid being in a flood zone (a.k.a. an area of land prone to flooding). Flood zones are designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) based on the likelihood and severity of flooding in the area. A lot in a flood zone may be subject to additional building regulations and require additional flood insurance. Given this, we avoided it during our search.
We, again, narrowed our choices and started looping in a builder. They helped us determine if the lot we were interested in would fit the needs of our home's floor plan and design. They also helped us check zoning laws and restrictions, which was incredibly helpful. For example, we learned that some lots have height restrictions or setbacks that could impact our plans. Local zoning regulations typically determine these and may vary depending on the location and type of property.
So, we're all on the same page: Height restrictions refer to the maximum height allowed for a building on a given lot. It can impact the design and layout of your home, particularly if you have plans for multiple stories or a unique roofline. On the other hand, setbacks refer to the minimum distance required between a building and the property line. This ensures sufficient space between buildings for safety, privacy, and aesthetics. Again, setbacks can impact the size and placement of your home on the lot.