By Miki Mullor

(This series is based on my experience building a custom home in Hideout, Utah, near Park City. I am not a professional developer, so this is not expert guidance. It is simply what I have learned—often the hard way—and what I wish I had known before beginning.)

You find land in a beautiful location, the price seems reasonable, and you imagine the house that could sit there. But how do you know whether the lot is right for you—or whether you can actually build the home you are envisioning ?

Im this article I share my own lessons learned from going through the process of building my family’s home.

It all starts with the lot

Once the seller accepts your offer, it is easy to become emotionally committed. That is when you need to slow down. Give yourself enough time in the purchase agreement for due diligence—a careful investigation before the purchase becomes final. What you uncover may justify renegotiating, changing your plans, or walking away.

Put the lot price in context

The land price is only one part of the financial decision. Estimate the complete project, including design, permits, site preparation, utilities, construction, landscaping, financing, and a reserve for surprises. Compare that total with a realistic estimate of the finished property’s value based on recent comparable sales and professional advice.

A rare location, exceptional view, or favorable site may justify paying more for the land. A steep or difficult lot requiring major excavation, retaining walls, utilities, or specialized foundations may justify less. Evaluate the lot as part of the complete project, not as an isolated purchase. Overpaying for the land—or underestimating site costs—can leave too little room for construction overruns and push the total investment beyond the home’s eventual value.

Bring in the right experts

Do not evaluate the lot entirely on your own. Before the purchase becomes final, consider consulting an architect familiar with local custom homes and approvals, a land-use or site planner, a licensed surveyor, a geotechnical engineer, and an attorney who understands zoning, land use, recorded covenants, HOA restrictions, and building approvals.

Each examines a different risk; no one person is likely to identify everything. Their fees may seem expensive, but they are minor compared with discovering a serious restriction or site problem after you own the land.

Confirm what you are allowed to build

Determine whether the house you want can legally and practically be built on the lot. Start with the local planning and building departments. Review zoning, height limits, setbacks—the required distance from property lines—and lot-coverage limits, which control how much land the buildings may occupy.

In a planned development, government rules are only part of the picture. Also review the covenants, conditions, and restrictions, or CC&Rs—the private rules legally attached to the property—and the HOA’s architectural guidelines. A land-use or real-estate attorney should examine them.

Understand the HOA and design-review process

For a custom home, the HOA and its design review committee, or DRC, can be as important as the local building department. The town determines whether your plans comply with building and zoning laws. The HOA conducts a separate review under the private restrictions attached to your property. You may need approval from both.

Before buying, identify who serves on the HOA and DRC and what experience they bring. Committees may include architects, engineers, planners, builders, homeowners, or appointed representatives. Meet with the HOA president, a board member, or a DRC representative. Ask how the committee handles technical questions, whether it consults outside professionals, how it addresses potential conflicts, and what it has previously permitted.

Do not assume you can include a feature simply because a neighboring home has it. The rules may have changed, or conditions unique to that property may have justified special approval or a variance—permission to depart from a rule. Treat nearby homes as examples, not binding precedents. Ask the HOA or DRC in writing which rules apply to your lot and whether the features you want would be allowed.

Investigate timing as carefully as requirements. Ask how long recent permits and DRC reviews took, how often the committee meets, how many revisions are typical, and whether response deadlines exist. Depending on the jurisdiction, government agencies may have legal review deadlines; an HOA or DRC may follow different timelines in its governing documents. Approval can take a year or longer. In my case, the HOA design-review process took nearly three years. Consider the delay and continuing costs, including interest, taxes, and HOA fees.

Written rules may be interpreted differently, and approval practices can change over time. Ask detailed questions and obtain important interpretations in writing. Litigation may be available when disputes arise, but it is slow, expensive, and stressful. If early conversations suggest that the HOA, DRC, town, or neighbors will make the project difficult, consider another lot. Custom building is already hard and expensive enough.

Protect the views and setting you are buying

In a new or partially built development, study every surrounding lot. Do not rely on a realtor’s description of protected views or on what the neighborhood looks like today.

Obtain the plats and surveys. Review the land’s slopes and elevations, the area of each lot where construction is permitted, the required distances from property lines, and the height limits. If views matter, ask an architect or surveyor to model the likely size and location of future nearby homes.

A neighboring house can follow every rule and still block a view, overlook your patio, or change the property’s character. A lower house does not necessarily mean you will see over it. Rooflines, grading, retaining walls, patios, and placement all matter. Once you buy the land, your options narrow dramatically. Have an architect model a worse case scenario of a house across from your lot building to the maximum height limit. 

Investigate the ground beneath the house

Soil and geology can transform construction costs. Is the lot rocky or steep? Will it require major excavation, retaining walls, specially prepared soil, or extra foundation support? Is there groundwater, poor drainage, or a path where stormwater crosses the property? 

Consult a contractor and a geotechnical or civil engineer. Spending a few thousand dollars on testing before buying can save far more later. You are not looking for certainty; you are looking for major risks and expensive surprises.

Check utilities, access, and future development

Confirm access to water, sewer, electricity, gas and internet service. Do not assume utilities are available because the lot is within a development. Find out where the connections are, who controls them, what approvals are required, and what each service will cost.

Investigate road access, snow removal, drainage, flooding, and nearby development plans. Could adjoining land be subdivided or developed more densely? Are roads, utility facilities, or multifamily buildings planned? If the property is near a lake, river, slope, or drainage channel, consider flooding and erosion.

Formal disclosures may identify some issues, but they do not replace your investigation. Neighbors are often among the best practical sources. Ask what surprised them, what problems they encountered, and what they wish they had known.

The bottom line

The lot determines what you can build, the project’s total cost, the approval timeline, and the finished property’s value. Before committing, investigate the price, rules, approvals, views, geology, utilities, access, and nearby development.

The warning is simple: do not confuse what appears possible with what you have verified. Once you close, hidden restrictions, unexpected costs, and years of delay become your problem. Spend the time and money upfront, demand clear answers, and preserve your ability to walk away.