Before buying land where a house will be built, the prospective buyer must assign an experienced civil engineer to check out the land in order to avoid any problems in the future. The basic control points are the following:...

Key criteria for the purchase of land

Before buying land where a house will be built, the prospective buyer must assign an experienced civil engineer to check out the land in order to avoid any problems in the future. The basic control points are the following:

• Building adequacy and completeness: the building adequacy usually differs from region to region. If the land is not adequate it cannot be built. In some cases building may be possible using a smaller structure factor. The result is a smaller building that may not cater to the needs of the owner.
• Checking building regulations (building factor, coverage, allowable height, mandatory distances from adjacent buildings, lawns). All of the above factors must be studied in order to decide whether the building we want to construct covers the requirements.
• Permitted use of land. Every region has certain specifications as to what buildings may be constructed eg. homes, shops, hotels, factories and so on. For example we cannot build a department store or a nightclub in an area that has been classified as residential.
• The presence of a stream in or around the land must be checked. If a stream is present we must comply with the regional laws as to the distance of the building from the stream. Furthermore, we may be forced, due to existing regional regulations, to build flood walls which will increase the expenses.
• Checking if high voltage wires go through the land. Besides the health problems due to the high voltage wires there are very important restrictions affecting the height of the building.
• Checking for possible backlog and awaited decisions from the Ministry of Environment or other bodies. Along with the above, we must consider the future value of the land in case there are planned projects for the upgrading of the area.