If you’ve decided to take the exciting leap to design and build your sustainable home from scratch, you’ve probably realised that the first step in this journey is to choose the right piece of land for your home build. It may seem simple, but finding the right piece of land is usually easier said than done, and many aspects need to be taken into consideration if you truly want to build a sustainable home with minimal environmental footprint. I hope that, by sharing our experience, you gain some knowledge and confidence to navigate the process.
It’s important to say that I am, by no means, an expert in this area. I am simply sharing my knowledge and ideas based on our experience in the hope that you may find it useful in your search for the right piece of land to build your new home. I wholeheartedly advise people to seek professional guidance before making any decisions or purchases.
Why the right piece of land is so important
I believe that choosing the right piece of land to build your sustainable home on might be one of the most important decisions you’ll make in the whole building process. This may seem like an exaggeration, until you realise that the land you purchase can affect every aspect of your sustainable home build journey, especially when you are trying to stick to a budget.
You see, things like size, shape, orientation, gradient, amenities, titles, covenants, zoning and vegetation can all affect the planning, permit, design, and build process to either fall in your favour, or not. It really pays to do your research and understand what you do and don’t need before looking into the real estate market. This will make it much easier to make a good analysis of a property when it pops up. Although it’s super important to make sure you secure the right piece of land for your sustainable home building objectives, you don’t have to feel overwhelmed or discouraged. I believe that it’s so worth the effort to buy land and build your own home from scratch.
What is a sustainable home build?
Firstly, let’s talk about what it actually means to build a sustainable home, as this helps to shape the rest of the discussion. To us, a sustainable home is one that is built with the natural environment in mind and contributes a low overall environmental footprint. It prioritises energy efficiency, recycled or sustainable materials, natural materials, natural ventilation, low water consumption, indoor air quality, natural light, and a reduced carbon footprint. A sustainable home has minimal environmental impact throughout the whole process from building right through to day-to-day living in the home.
Things to consider when searching for the right piece of land
Location
Location is a major factor for obvious (or perhaps not so obvious) reasons. So many considerations come into play when thinking about where it is you want to build your eco-friendly home. Are you looking to be in the city? In the suburbs? In a small town? In the bush? In the country side? Do you need to be near your workplace, family, school or friends? It really depends on so many factors that are unique to each individual and family unit. With a huge shift in people being able to work from home, it’s becoming more and more common for people to move from cities to regional and rural areas. Many people are seeking a slower pace and more space to achieve the visions of their future.
Location also has a major impact on the price of land, and many people may find that they have to compromise on location in order to fit their dream into their budget.
Additionally, location impacts the kind of construction materials you choose, the overall energy consumption, and the type of sustainable house design you wish to pursue. For example:
- Homes built in a warm climate require different considerations compared to homes built in a cold climate.
- Some sustainable designs such as off grid homes rely on renewable energy sources such as solar panels to meet their household energy requirements, but some locations may make this difficult or even impossible due to orientation or shading issues in winter.
- In dryer climates, predicted water use and storage needs to be carefully considered, especially if mains water is not available for connection.
I recommend that you have a really good think about where you’d like to living, be as this will help narrow down your options.
Size and shape of the land
The size and shape of the land plays a significant role in the design of your home. A larger piece of land can offer more choice in relation to the size, shape, and location of the home on the land. In saying this, there will still be limitations as to when your home can be situated on the land such as topography, vegetation, low-lying/wet areas, drainage lines, views, soil type, orientation and accessibility.
A smaller block may restrict your options in terms of size, shape and position of your house on the land. You may need to get creative in your thinking and it is quite possible that you will need to be willing to compromise on the size and shape of your home to ensure that it meets your sustainability goals.
We personally decided to build a smaller home, even though our land allowed for a larger dwelling. A smaller home with a simple floor plan seemed like the best option to achieve both a green home design and as well as a lower cost of building.
Orientation of the land
I would say that the orientation of the land is one of the most important considerations when choosing a piece of land to build your home from scratch, especially if you are limited by the size and shape of the land. Orientation refers to the direction of the block in relation to north, south, east and west.
Ideally, you want land that allows you to take advantage of passive solar design principles. Passive solar design involves orientating the dwelling so that you can the optimise solar gain from the sun’s path throughout the year.
For example, a dwelling with many north-facing (or south facing in the northern hemisphere) windows allows the low winter sun to enter the home and passively heat it in winter, whilst preventing the high summer sun from entering the dwelling, thus keeping it cool in summer. Additionally, reducing the number of large windows on the south side of the house prevents excessive heat loss in winter.
These principles, along with optimal insulation and adequate thermal mass, reduce the need for heating and cooling, which means you will use less energy to keep your home comfortable. We were very fortunate that the land we fell in love with offered us the opportunity to orientate our home to be north-facing to take advantage of these passive solar design principles.
Gradient
The gradient, or steepness of a slope, may impact both the sustainable design elements and the cost to build your home. If you have a concrete slab in mind for your foundation, a steep gradient/slope may make this difficult and more expensive to achieve, as the earthworks required to level the block can add up very quickly. We were happy to build our home on stumps/steel footings, so the slope of our land wasn’t an issue for us. However, because we weren’t using a concrete slab, it means that we had to find other ways to insulate the floor and add thermal mass to our build to improve the energy efficiency of our home.
Access is also an important consideration. If the land is so steep that it’s difficult to maneuver vehicles and machinery, tradespeople may need to use specialised equipment and spend more time completely site works, which may also drive up the cost.
Amenities available
This refers to the availability and ease of connection to mains water, electricity, gas, sewerage etc. If you are planning to build your home completely ‘off grid’, this may not be a factor to consider. However, if you are looking to connect to amenities, you will need to consider what is available for connection and the costs involved to make this happen.
Titles and covenants
It is so important to be diligent and look into the less fun stuff such as titles and covenants. A land title document is an official record of land ownership and any other relevant dealings such as mortgages, easements, planning agreements and restrictive covenants. These important documents outline information that you must be aware of before purchasing a piece of land.
Our land, for example had quite a restrictive covenant stating things such as minimum dwelling size, land use, and even stipulated the kind and number of pets that we could own in the future. Despite this, we went ahead with the purchase as we were able to make our plans work within these limitations.
Zoning and permits
You will also need to be aware of the zoning of your land and the associated permits that are required before you begin your new build. With our land being located in a high bushfire risk area and within an area of environmental significance, we had to make provisions for additional costs associated with Planning Permits and Bushfire Management Plans, as well as costs associated with native vegetation removal and works within a road reserve. These costs are usually required to be paid upfront, and need to be allowed for.
Your budget
When considering how much you are prepared to spend on land for your home build, you really need to factor in a few key things. Remember, the price of the land is only one piece of the puzzle, and there are many other costs involved in building your dream home apart from the build itself. Sometimes these costs are obvious, sometimes they’re not. Here are some examples of the various costs associated with buying land and building a home:
- The cost of the land and how that fits into your overall budget for the build.
- Conveyancing fees.
- Surveying fees.
- The cost of all required permits (planning permit, building permit, amendment fees).
- The cost of the design and construction of the home.
- The length of time between purchasing land and building your home. We hoped to start building within six months, and didn’t end up starting until two years later.
- Mortgage repayments will be, will you also be renting while you wait for the build to be completed?
- The cost of rates in your area.
- Interest, which may be variable depending on your loan.
- Insurance.
A note on Tiny Homes
We personally love the idea of Tiny Homes and we believe they are a fantastic idea that can make home ownership possible for many people who may not be able to afford to buy land and construct a larger home. There are also benefits for people wishing to offer short or long term rental accommodation to those who wish to live in a Tiny Home. Additionally, Tiny Homes, when built correctly, can significantly reduce energy usage and produce an energy-efficient home that uses less water and often produces no energy bills if self-contained.
It is however, important to look into the finer details when seeking to buy or build a Tiny Home. Some parts of Australia, unfortunately, have strict rules and regulations surrounding the use of Tiny Homes as primary dwellings. For this reason, Tiny Homes on wheels (which are technically classified as caravans as of 2024) are often built and parked on private property with an existing dwelling. These rules and regulations may change over time, but for now, it’s always best to check with your local council to see whether living in a Tiny Home is a viable option for you.
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