Things To Consider Before You Build Your Own House

Where are we going to find that lot, so we can build the new house?

Before you buy a lot, be absolutely certain about the water supply. Is the water supplied by a private company, or by the city? Does the water come from wells, streams, lakes or springs? Is there assurance of a continuing supply? If water is from a well, is the water level dropping or rising?

Traffic is increasing so tremendously around our metropolitan centers, and will probably get worse, that travel must be a big consideration in selecting a location.

To be near a main arterial highway or a freeway ought to be a partial solution, but when so many thousands of others are all trying to use the same highway at the same time, it seems impossible to build highways wide enough, or enough of them to handle the traffic. Don't get too far away from your work.

After you are satisfied that getting to and from work will not be too difficult, there are other considerations. How will the children get to school? Be sure there is a proper school not too far away, or that a school bus picks up the children in the neighborhood.

Then there is the simple matter of shopping for the daily groceries. Are suitable markets not too far away? If you have a preference as to the church you attend, can one be reached within a reasonable distance?

Utilities

Although many people think that such things as electricity, gas, water, and telephone lines come automatically, there are places where one or more of these services is not available, and it is well to make a thorough check to see that all of these are satisfactory and that their cost is reasonable.

If sewers are not available, you can usually get along with a septic tank, but this will cost more than connecting to a sewer. If, however, there is a monthly charge for the sewer, perhaps in time this would make things come out about even.

A good water supply is, of course, the first necessity. You wouldn't want a house where you could not get good water and plenty of it.

It is well to inquire about the water supply. Is the pressure adequate during the dry season? Is the water safe to drink, and does it taste good? Is the cost unreasonable? Is water rationed at certain seasons of the year?

Can you afford enough water to keep a good lawn?

I do not like to drive forty miles through heavy traffic to get to work every morning and back again at night. While it is not desirable to have the home in the same block with the factory, or between the First National Bank and the Post Office, a house can easily get too far away from the job, and distance can become a real problem.

Time spent on the road is practically wasted, and traveling long distances every day costs a great deal of money in the course of a year, to say nothing of the wear on a person's nerves and blood pressure.

If you decide to buy or build your own house always use a mortgage calculator to help you get the best mortgage