“Location, location, location.”
—1926 real estate classified ad in the Chicago Tribune.
If you’re planning to build a custom, luxury home in Naples, Florida, you need to focus on the building lot before getting too deep into other elements of the planned construction. Lot size, shape, location, zoning, and other factors usually influence what you can build on it, and your chosen lot may give rise to permitting issues and complicate construction timelines. Personal preferences will also dictate where you want to live in Naples.
Choosing the perfect lot is often more challenging than you might think. However, a Naples home builder, like the residential experts of Carlson Harris General Contractors, Inc., can help you find that perfect lot by assessing all the factors necessary to ensure it’s the ideal spot for your new luxury home and lifestyle. Carlson Harris offers you this initial advice on choosing the perfect lot in Naples to get you started.
ASSESS YOUR LIFESTYLE AND IDEAL HOME PRIORITIES
Your Naples home builder is responsible for developing the custom luxury home of your dreams. However, to be perfect, it needs to conform to your lifestyle needs. Thus, consider what is essential regarding the location and design of your custom home. For example, how important are the following features for your future home build?:
- Waterfrontage or water views, whether Gulf, bay, or canal
- Boating access (bridges and depth can affect this with bay and canal lots)
- Proximity to downtown Naples
- Gated community with amenities
- Golf club access
- Located within a prestigious neighborhood
- Being able to build a sprawling estate versus a modern minimalist home
- South or west facing to maximize sunset views and natural light
- Privacy
If money is no object, then carry on. However, if you’re on a budget, you must determine how much your desired features might affect your lot choices. You can expect to pay from $500,000 to $20 million for a luxury lot in Naples, with the lower-tier priced lots likely not providing prime features.
KEY POINTS TO CONSIDER BEFORE BUYING LAND IN NAPLES
Once you find a prospective lot that appears to offer the desired features you seek in your custom home site and lifestyle, you’ll want to examine its characteristics and any potential regulatory or infrastructure limitations. For characteristics, start by assessing the lot’s size, shape, and setback requirements to ensure it will support the home’s footprint and any outdoor features like a swimming pool or guest house. You will also need to determine the lot’s flood zone status or fill requirements, and may need to conduct soil testing to ensure the lot can support a heavy build. If it’s a bay or canal waterfront lot, what condition is the seawall in, and can you secure a dock permit? Gulf-front lots are regulated with much stricter building conditions, so you’ll want to determine what these might be.
As for potential regulatory and infrastructure limitations, consider the following:
- Zoning and building codes could limit your home design
- Homeowners’ association or architectural review board design rules
- Environmental regulations are designed to protect wetlands, mangroves, and turtle nesting zones
- Flood zone elevation requirements and insurance costs
- Access to water, sewer, electricity, and high-speed Internet
- Estimated site preparation costs
COMMON LOT BUYING MISTAKES A NAPLES HOME BUILDER CAN HELP YOU AVOID
Some prospective homeowners looking for the perfect lot in Naples fail to conduct the above-recommended due diligence in their property search. Two of the most common mistakes are purchasing a lot in a community without knowing potential design restrictions and failing to account for site prep costs. At worst, this might prevent the new lot owner from building their desired custom home or otherwise limit home features. At best, this might add significant costs to their Naples home-building venture.
Thus, you should consult your Naples home builder before purchasing a building lot. An experienced general contractor can assess all the factors highlighted above. They can ensure that the lot will meet your lifestyle goals and determine the feasibility and estimated cost of building your desired custom home.
HOW A NAPLES HOME BUILDER GUIDES LOT SELECTION
With expertise in developing homes on all types of area lots, an experienced Naples home builder can prove invaluable in helping guide your lot selection. Crucial tasks a Naples home builder can conduct to ensure you purchase the perfect lot for your custom-built luxury home include:
- Assess the feasibility of your design vision by evaluating lot size, shape, and orientation, and by identifying setbacks, lot coverage ratios, height restrictions, or other potential site constraints.
- Evaluate soil, topography, drainage, flood zone, and environmental factors to ensure they won’t impede your vision or what must be done to overcome any possible build limitations.
- Use their permitting expertise to ensure the lot and home design comply with zoning, building codes, and environmental regulations.
- Evaluate the lot’s water, sewer, electricity, and high-speed Internet access.
- Ensure that waterfront lots provide boating access.
- Research zoning, city, and county planning to ensure that future developments will not impact your lot.
- Determine site prep costs.
PICK YOUR PERFECT HOME BUILDING LOT IN NAPLES WITH CARLSON HARRIS GENERAL CONTRACTORS
Your building lot is literally and figuratively the foundation of your future home. With decades of Naples home-building experience, Carlson Harris can help ensure you make the most intelligent property decisions before you build your custom luxury home. For the best luxury residential contracting in the Naples, Florida, area, contact Carlson Harris today at 239-352-2460.
