Building Homes to Match the Lot

Lately, many homes that were not built to really do good from its environment have come to my attention. This hurts the resale value. These said homes are most likely in tract subdivisions. One very conspicuous example is a home standing near the greenbelt space on a dead-end lot. To the left of the home, and straight out the cul-de-sac as you go into the street is natural ranchland dotted with beautiful mature oak trees, native vegetation, and a wet weather creek. A space that is devoted not to be developed. It's pure Texas Hill Country scenery of the kind one sees in pictures and that you envision appreciating from a back porch rocking chair or swing. It sure beats the heck out of staring at a neighbor's house. The person who made the house really did blow it.

Much to my amazement, the beautiful wholesome area encircling the floorplan of the house presents no recognition of the scenery. Had I built on this lot, I would have selected a floorplan that permitted the living room and/or kitchen windows to point out onto the open space, and I would have added a huge roofed patio from which the native Texas landscape could be enjoyed. This home was built without even a roofed patio in back, and the patio itself is a small 58 foot concrete lump. Upstairs, the master bedroom is on the other side of the home from the open space and presents no view.

If there is none to choose from, the whole floorplan could have been reversed and flipped to the other side, the kitchen as well as the breakfast area would have had the sight of the native Texas scenery, and the master bedroom would be overlooking it, while windows could have been added or moved to more proper places.

So why in the world would someone construct a home on this lot that doesn't make full advantage of this beautiful and peaceful sight In my opinion, individuals would choose first a floorplan and then choose a lot to place it on when buying for a new home, although they don't make time to decide whether the home is a fine match for the selected lot. I've also witnessed builder spec homes with floorplans with the same deficiency of thinking of which floorplan will best fit to make advantage of the orientation and/or sceneries of the lot.

On the other hand, negative characteristics of a lot can be lessen by thinking better. An example, would you construct a home with the windows of the master bedroom in the frontage of the home at the 'T' end of the street No, because the headlights from cars at night will shine into your bedroom windows. If you don't think of things like this ahead of time, you will unfortunately notice it the first night after you transfer in.

Concentrate on how good both the home and the lot compliment each other if you're prepared to buy or construct a new home. Stay away from homes that grossly ignore this relationship. Focus on how the streets are associated and whether there may be possible light intrusion into your home from night time road traffic. Focus on the compass orientation of the home, the natural sunlight may either compliment or torment your living space .

When previewing homes for buyer prospects, I eliminate a lot of candidate properties off of the list because of these sorts of issues. Many of these homes will seem perfect on paper and in Internet photos, but they don't survive the first visit because it takes more than a fine floorplan to make a fine home. It has to be the right floorplan for that lot.