How To Build House on your lot?

Nowadays construction in mega city like Toronto has more restrictions than ever. Home development has to follow building codes, city bylaws, safety measures and other lot restrictions.

Here are the major things to find out before you build on your lot:

Bylaw Restrictions – Every part of the city has specific bylaw restriction on new home construction. It is mandatory to list maximum height, lot coverage, overall limit on construction square footage, setbacks and other details before starting architectural drawings. The idea is always to avoid going to committee of adjustments and to follow limitations.

Soil Testing – To know exactly what to expect after excavation it is better to test the soil where you plan to build on your land. There are several things to look for during this process. First is always to avoid contaminated soil and underground water that make structure unstable. Finding actual type of soil can help understand slope of excavation and shoring system if needed.

Designated Substances Check – If lot to build has structure that will be demolished, building inspector and examiner always want to make sure it is safe to do so. Unfortunately back in the days designated substances (asbestos, lead, silica and mercury) were used in construction materials. Crushing old house can get particles airborne, which is dangerous for workers and nearby premises. Lab tests are suggested for substances inside old house.

Main Communications – New home has to be equipped and connected to main communication city or major distributors provide.  We are talking about drain and water connections, gas line, electrical service and internet. New lines take time and substantial costs to install.  Even houses that already have existing lines need temporary disconnect and re-connection services afterwards.

Construction Costs – The biggest mistake is to start building new home on your lot without understanding budgets. Running out of money midway is extremely stressful and unpleasant situation. If you are building home without set cost contract, always expect to spend 10% – 15% more than you think.

ALBO Homes provides all of above listed services for clients that hire us for design and build services. With us there are not mistakes and we assure everyone their home construction starts as soon as possible with following regulations and bylaws.

First of all lest start with saying that there are not that many empty lots in Toronto or similarly populated cities in Ontario. There are tons of them in rural areas and suburbs, but in urban cities they are mostly the result of severance of larger lot.

Biggest problem with this type of construction is starting from scratch and getting new communication lines like drain, water, electricity, gas and internet. On areas far away from city lines it may not even be possible and you have to deal with septic system and water wells. Empty lots can also have forestry that is protected and cannot be cut down. During construction consider expenses for driveway.

On a good note, empty lots are probably bigger in size and have more potential for new home construction. If budget is not a big issue, the sky is the limit (not really) for new design and build project on your empty lot.

Working with property that has existing home is much more popular in Greater Toronto Area. More companies are used to this specific setup, where they have to tear down old home to build new.

Neighbours and restrictions make demolition and new build on your lot homes difficult. Unfortunately cities do not want unlimited size structures to be construction in residential neighbourhoods and have specific restrictions for size and height.

When excavating too close to neighbour, city examiner, building inspector or Ministry of Labour may request shoring system to protect adjacent house from falling down. It can cost additional $40 000 – $50 000 to install I-beams shoring support.

The good thing with old property, is knowing exactly how to build house on your lot. It is easy to get all restrictions and know exactly boundaries of construction.

Does it make sense financially to build new home and sell instead of just selling lot with old tiny house? It definitely does make profit and we want to explain how to earn more money.

For example the house stands of 1400 sq ft sells as is for $1 000 000. The question we want to clear is how to build on your lot and sell for much more than invested? Area may allow to build new property of 3000 sq ft. Modern new home of that size can be done for under 1 million dollars in expenses with permits and all documents. Potentially it can be sold for $2 300 000 – $2 600 000 in Toronto.

But what if we told you, that it’s not necessary to have a million dollars in cash to invest for new home construction. The first option is always to refinance older home and get money from bank for work ahead. There are many private landers that can provide financing for such project.

Yes, Yes, and again Yes you absolutely must have licensed builder in charge of new home construction in Toronto. Do not fall into trap that can cause you tons of wasted money and time.

All home construction without TARION and now HCRA (Home Construction Regulatory Authority) can lead to stop orders and huge fines. Is it worth trying to save a buck with companies that claim to know what they are doing without proper documents and license?

Even property owners now need to be approved before building on their land and taking a role of general contractor.