Are you planning on building a home in a St. John’s subdivision or in a subdivision of a surrounding community? Building a new home is a complex process calling for expertise in new home construction, starting with selecting home plans right through to the final walk through. It is a daunting task that an agent who understands new home construction can help you complete.

Construction Home Buyers Agent®

At The Hann Group all our agents have new home construction experience. Each agent is a certified Construction Home Buyer’s Agent®. To get this designation they must complete a 10 week training program covering all aspects of new home construction ending with a final exam that they must pass. This means our agents possess the experience and the knowledge to guide you safely through the building process.

Week 1: Home Plans, Surveys, and Grading The first step in building any home is deciding where to put it. So as a starting point we will look at everything from what lot your dream home will fit on to how to position that home to meet city requirements. Each week we will do a quick summary to give you an idea of some of the aspects of new home construction

Converting Measurements Despite Canada’s conversion to the metric system many moons ago, you’ll still find a need to convert many measurements. New home builds are no exception. It is quite common for a lot size to be drawn in meters while the home plan is drawn in feet. Do you want to know how to tell if your house will fit on a specified lot? Simply multiply the lot meters by 3.2808 so that everything can be read in feet. If you prefer there are many apps and websites that allow you to enter a specified measurement and it will do the conversion for you. We recommend the app store’s Converter, or http://www.metric-conversions.org

Side Yard Requirements When you are deciding where to place your home on your lot you will need to look at the side-yard requirements. This is especially important in subdivisions for safety reasons (eg. if homes are too close, if one catches fire, they all may). Every region has a variety of home and lot sizes. As a result each community has varying side yard requirements. Below we have included links to the planning and development websites for many of these communities.

St. John's Mount Pearl Conception Bay South Paradise Torbay

Planning Ahead Many people put the focus on fitting their home on their lot, forgetting to plan for future additions. Are you planning on building a patio or shed? Will you need drive in access to a future garage? These are some of the things to keep in mind when planning your side yard requirements. Even though your home may fit one way on a lot, you may be able to shift the placement to accommodate your future plans.

Analyzing Your Grade Grading plans show you the slope of the land with respect to your proposed building. This is an important area, especially in terms of water drainage. Information involving land elevation can also be quite handy when you consider maintenance of your property. Many people, especially those that are aging, do not want a challenging lawn to maintain, and it is not uncommon for people to decide to move simply because they can no longer walk up the hill in their backyard.

Working With the Sun When many people imagine their dream home they think of relaxing on the back deck, cool drink in hand, watching the sunset. If this is your dream, you will need to consider where the sun will set on your property in relation to your home. In Newfoundland generally the sun sets North West in the summer, and South West in the winter. Sun exposure can also come in handy when heating your home. In the winter the sun sits lower in the sky, so its rays will enter your home at a lower angle. You may want to consider this when determining where your windows will sit. Let’s face it; we don’t see a lot of sun on this island so it’s nice to take advantage of any we do get.

Check out this article if you are serious about using the sun to your best advantage.You may want check out a select listing of new home construction projects in the region. Or a previous article on this blog Seven tips to ensure building your dream home doesn't become a nightmare.

If you are planning on building your home, why not get in touch? Our experienced and knowledgeable agents will help make your build a fun, exciting process. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions involving buying or selling a home in the St. John’s region. We are always available.

Get your hard hats on! Next week we will start construction of the home.

*This program is exclusive to the Hanlon Realty Brokerage.