I'm looking into buying a lot in the Falls Church / McLean area, it's almost a .25 acre lot, and building a semi-custom home on it. It has some shrubs, but no big trees on the lot (some big ones kind of in the way though- may need to be trimmed), in a neighborhood that is connected to county water and sewage. Basically, a lady took her .5 acre lot and split it into 2, and sold the other half. In talking to the agent for the seller, in estimating site work, they put $80,000 (prepping the land, connecting to water and sewage, and whatnot). The lender I spoke to who does construction loans say it's typical to be about $60k, but more if you have structures to demo? I'm wondering if anybody here knows what's typical and what to expect. For all I know, it could be less, but the lender would want to over-estimate so as to have me take out a bigger loan and move me into Jumbo loan territory, thus giving me a higher rate, so I don't know how much to "trust" those figures.
Before you buy, talk to the county about availability of water meters and the cost to get one. You could be looking at $10k just for that. They can also tell you what it costs to tie into the sewer line. Then talk to the local gas and electric folks to see what it'll cost to bring in those services. Around here it's $3k each for the transformer and meter and another $3k per power pole if they have to set any.
Not sure if you have to demo any buildings on the property but be aware that you can’t just take an excavator and knock structures down these days. You need permits, an asbestos inspection / sampling - if there is asbestos (very common in buildings in North America with older than 1999 build dates) you’ll need an (CERTIFIED & LICENSED) asbestos abatement company to come in , wrap the structure with plastic, set up positive ventilation fans with filters, then the team goes in and removes old drywall, insulation and tiles. Then it has to be disposed of by a CERTIFIED & LICENSED hauler at a permitted asbestos disposal site can add up $$$$$wise pretty quick I haul asbestos here - it’s around $3000 for a 40 yard bin (average house amount) of asbestos insulation to be tipped, the abatement removal costs are even higher. Drywall containing asbestos tipping costs are even higher……
Yep! completely safe if left alone in a building . It’s when you start reno’ing or demo’ing and fibers get into the air that it’s a health issue
Ah, looking at the account as a regular member it still looks active. No indication that it's banned.
