A Look at the Lot
It is best not to decide you want to buy a house without first giving careful attention to the lot on which it is situated. You may think that while the house is eye-catching, the lot is just ground. However, you should be aware of the importance of that piece of earth, too. Here are some points to weigh.
Generally, rectangular or square lots with good frontage on the road and good depth behind the house are best. Pie shapes, triangles, and multiangles are more unusual, and they usually hurt resale value.
Lot size in relation to property value is a slippery thing, governed more by neighborhood and area than by any rule of proportions. A quarter of an acre is a large lot in a city; an acre is the norm for more expensive housing in the suburbs.
Large pieces of property that cannot be subdivided rarely add to the value of a house. For example, a handsome Tudor home would sell for $265,000 on a half acre, since all of its neighbors have half acres. So even if it has an additional seven acres of land, if it is virtually undevelopable (swamp or rock land) the extra land will not increase the resale value by a penny. It may, in fact, hinder resale, since the owners are paying property taxes on all that land. Owners of some such lots have dedicated (given) their excess land to the towns in which they live for open spaces. They thus reap income-tax benefits and reduce their local property taxes while being assured the land will remain in its natural state.
When choosing your lot and/or home, be aware of the area's contour as well as your particular lot's contour. Floodplain maps made by the U.S. government are available in many town halls, and will show you the contour of the land throughout the town. Some parts of town may be considered flood prone; homeowners in these areas may be required to carry flood insurance. Know if the lot you like is vulnerable to flooding, and you can save yourself a lot of suffering later.
Level land is best. Houses built on steep slopes are often hard to sell. Buyers are especially wary of houses built below the level of the road, where driveways slope sharply downward.
What is beneath the grass? Dirt may seem to be the obvious answer, but not always. Could there once have been a garbage dump there? A forest? A swamp? These become essential questions prior to purchase if you are considering a house that uses a septic tank for waste disposal, since the composition of the earth will determine how well that tank and its lines will drain. Especially poor drainage could mean a nonworking system, which taken to its farthest limit could mean an uninhabitable house.
In some developments built over the last twenty-five years or so, municipalities have required the results of percolation tests be recorded in the town hall. In a “perc” test, the rate of ground absorption is measured by digging a hole on the property and pouring water in. Sometimes notes are made on the composition of the earth to the bottom of the hole (clay, shale, gravel, rock, and so on). If your town has perc-test information, it is worth knowing.
What is underground will also affect the house-settling process. Houses built on rock will settle little. Those built on landfill may settle unevenly, especially if the fill consists of tree trunks and other debris collected as a development was cleared and constructed. You should watch out for fill lots if you are considering a house at a low point in a development, usually the youngest houses in the neighborhood. As a general rule of thumb, choose high ground if you can.
Where can I find the results of a percolation test for a property?
Try the building inspector's office or a tax assessor's office first. Ask at the city or town hall as well. You may have to do a little research, but be persistent.
Corner lots, the most desirable location for business, are usually not particularly desirable in residential real estate. They are more exposed, and they require trees or fencing for privacy. Cul-de-sacs are popular with families with young children and are especially salable if the road widens to a circle for a turnaround.
