Before you buy a building site, there is a lot more to check than where north is. Over my career I’ve watched a client pour their $30,000 contingency into the ground as concrete because the foundations didn’t suit the ground conditions, and worked with clients whose dream double storey gabled home didn’t suit the steep site they had already bought. When something on a site isn’t easy, it tends to get expensive.

In this episode of Babe, Let’s Build a House, I walk you through the five things to be aware of before you purchase:

• Site physicality: topography, size, a buildable platform, slope stability, access, and why north isn’t always the deal breaker

• What’s in the ground: soil tests, geotechnical reports, council property files, and the surprises that can turn up once you excavate

• Surroundings: wind, hills, planting, traffic noise, how the neighbourhood feels at different times of day, and what the zoning allows next door

• Planning requirements: district plan rules, site coverage, boundary setbacks, height control planes, resource consent versus building consent, and subdivision caveats

• Infrastructure: what an unserviced site means for your lender and your budget, from septic and water tanks to getting electricity onto the site

There is a site checklist in the book, also available to purchase on my website, and a design consultation with a professional can help you make an informed decision before you buy.

Next week in Episode 04, I cover choosing your team, who to speak to first and what questions to ask them.