Here is the call I get more than any other: “Brent, we put in an offer on a piece of land last weekend. Can you come look at it?”
My honest answer is always the same. Yes, I will come look at it. But I would rather have walked it with you before you put in the offer.
I have spent almost two decades looking at residential land through three different lenses at once, and these days that land is in Oconee, Clarke, and Jackson counties. As a licensed Professional Landscape Architect, I am looking at how the home will sit on the land and how water moves across it. As a licensed Residential General Contractor, I am thinking about what it will cost to build on this specific site. As a Georgia Real Estate Agent, I am thinking about what this land will be worth in 20 years.
Most lots have at least one or two real issues that are not visible from the road. A few of them have issues serious enough to kill the project. This is the checklist I run through before I tell a client whether a piece of land is a good buy.
First, what is a Professional Landscape Architect, and why does this matter to you?
A lot of people hear “landscape architect” and picture someone designing flower beds. That is not what this license is.
A Professional Landscape Architect (PLA) is licensed by the state of Georgia to plan and design land. The license covers site planning, grading, drainage, stormwater management, hardscape design, and the integration of all of that with the buildings that go on the land. Becoming a PLA requires a four-year accredited degree, multiple years of supervised experience under another licensed PLA, and passage of a national licensing exam. In Georgia, the title is regulated by the state, just like a licensed architect or licensed engineer. You cannot legally call yourself a landscape architect without a license.
In practical terms, that means a PLA is qualified to do something most builders cannot: read a piece of raw land and tell you what it actually wants to be. Where the home should sit. How the driveway should approach. Where water is going to run when it storms. What stays usable and what becomes problematic. Many HOAs and Georgia municipalities require that site plans be stamped by a licensed PLA before they will approve a build. Almost no local builders have one on staff. We do.
That credential is the lens behind every item on this list.
The checklist
Here is what I look at, in roughly the order I look at it, when I walk a lot with a client.
1. Topography and slope
The first thing I do on any lot is walk it from end to end. I am paying attention to how the ground rises and falls and where the natural pad for a home wants to be.
What I am looking for: a buildable area large enough for your home, your driveway, your motor court, and any future amenities like a pool, sport court, or detached garage. (If a pool is on your list, here is what custom pools cost in our area.) I am also looking at the slope. A mild slope is your friend. It helps water drain away from the house, it can give you a daylight basement (which is essentially free square footage), and it usually creates better long views.
What I do not love: steep slope right where the home wants to go, or land that drops sharply toward the front of the property. Heavy grading is expensive. Retaining walls run roughly $50 to $200 per face foot installed, depending on material and height. A lot that “needs to be flattened” can quietly add $30,000 to $100,000 in site work before the foundation is poured.
A flat lot with no slope at all is not better, by the way. Flat lots often have drainage problems. You want a gentle grade away from the home pad in every direction.
2. How water moves across the land
This is the most undervalued thing on any lot, and it is where my PLA training pays off the most. Anyone can see the slope. Reading water takes training.
I am looking at the high points and low points. Where would water collect during a heavy rain? Where does it want to leave the property? Are there any low spots that show signs of standing water (matted grass, certain plant species, soil discoloration)? Is there a creek or stream on the property, and if so, where is its flood line during a hard storm?
If a lot has a wet spot in the middle of where you want the house to go, that is not necessarily a deal-breaker, but the cost to manage it (drains, swales, regrading, sometimes a French drain system) needs to be in your budget from day one. If a lot has water flowing through the buildable area from off-site, you are inheriting somebody else’s drainage problem, and that is much harder and more expensive to fix.
3. Soil and the percolation test
If your lot is not on a public sewer, you need a septic system. To get a septic permit, the soil has to pass a percolation test (a “perc test”) performed by the county. Different soil types pass at very different rates.
Here is the part most buyers do not know: a perc test is not optional and it is not transferable. Some lots fail. Some pass but only for a more expensive alternative system. Some pass conventionally but the drain field has to go in a location that constrains your home placement.
Do not close on a rural lot in Oconee, Jackson, or unincorporated Clarke County without a successful perc test. If the seller has one, ask when it was performed and where on the lot. If they do not have one, make your offer contingent on one. The test takes a few days and costs a few hundred dollars. It is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy on land.
Lots in city limits or in subdivisions with public sewer do not need this test. If you are not sure which category your lot falls into, the county environmental health department can tell you in one phone call.
4. Utilities and what they actually cost to bring in
A lot with public water, public sewer, underground power, and natural gas at the road is the cheapest possible buildable lot from a utilities standpoint. Most lots in the Athens area are not that lot.
Things to check before you buy:
- Power. Is there an existing service drop, or will the power company need to run a line? Long runs from the road can run several thousand dollars per pole. Underground service from the property line to the home is sometimes required and adds cost.
- Water. Public, well, or shared well? A new well in our area runs $8,000 to $15,000 depending on depth. Public water hookup is typically much less but has its own fees and meter installation.
- Sewer or septic. Public sewer is rare in most of Oconee and Jackson outside of municipalities. Septic was covered above.
- Gas. Natural gas is available in pockets of the area but not most of it. Propane is the common alternative and adds the cost of a tank (lease or buy) plus regular delivery.
- Internet. This is not a joke. Some parts of Oconee and Jackson still have inconsistent broadband. If you work from home, ask before you buy.
For a typical rural Oconee lot, expect to spend $30,000 to $100,000 just to bring utilities to the house, depending on distance from the road and what services already exist. That is real money and it belongs in your budget from day one. (For the full build picture, see what it costs to build a custom home in Oconee County.)
5. Setbacks, easements, and the buildable envelope
This is the technical one, and it is where a lot of dream homes get smaller than the buyer expected.
Every lot has setbacks: minimum distances from your property lines where you cannot build. The required setbacks vary by zoning and by HOA. Typical residential setbacks in Oconee County are 50 feet from the front property line, 15 to 25 feet from the sides, and 30 feet from the rear. They can be larger in lake communities or rural zones.
Every lot also has easements. These are areas of your land that other parties (usually utilities) have legal rights to. You cannot build over a utility easement. A 30-foot drainage easement running through the middle of your lot dramatically reduces what you can do with it.
I trace the buildable envelope on every lot I walk. That is the actual ground left after setbacks and easements are subtracted. Sometimes the buildable envelope is much smaller than the lot looks. A 2-acre lot with a creek easement on the back, a power easement on one side, and front and side setbacks can leave you with a buildable area smaller than half an acre. That is still plenty for a custom home, but it is not what the listing photo suggests.
Easements and setbacks live in the property’s survey, the title commitment, and the county GIS. I look at all three before I make a recommendation.
6. Zoning and what you are actually allowed to build
Zoning controls what kind of structures can go on the lot. Residential zoning is what you want for a custom home, but residential zoning has subcategories that control minimum lot size, minimum home size, maximum height, and sometimes even architectural style.
Some Oconee County zones, for example, require a minimum home size of 2,400 finished square feet on the main floor. That does not stop you from building larger. It does stop you from building a 1,800-square-foot cottage if you want one.
If you are buying a lot in an HOA, the HOA covenants are a second layer on top of county zoning. HOAs can be stricter than the county, and almost always are. They commonly control roof pitch, exterior materials, paint colors, fence styles, outbuildings, and even what kind of trees you can plant.
Read the covenants before you close. If you do not understand them, have someone read them with you. This is where I wear the real estate hat.
7. Trees and what they are worth
This part will sound soft until you have lived it.
Mature trees on a lot can be worth tens of thousands of dollars in value. Specimen hardwoods, well-placed oaks, healthy mature pines that anchor the entry, mature plantings near a creek: these are not replaceable in your lifetime. A lot with mature trees in the right places sells higher and lives nicer than the same lot stripped.
But a lot with mature trees in the wrong places means clearing cost, root system disruption, and the very real risk of trees wanting to die within five years from construction stress.
I walk every lot looking at three things on the trees: which ones are worth protecting at all costs, which ones are coming down to make room for the house, and which ones are sick or stressed and would need to come down anyway. The ones I am most protective of often get a temporary fence during construction and tree protection language in the contract.
If a lot has been completely clear-cut already, that is not necessarily bad. It does mean you will be starting from scratch on the canopy. Plan for it in the landscape budget.
8. Access and the driveway
Drivers underestimate driveways. A driveway is just a strip of pavement until you look at the cost of building one.
What I check: how does the lot meet the road? Is the entry going to be safe (line of sight in both directions)? Is the elevation change between the road and the home pad reasonable? Is there a creek or drainage between the road and the building site that needs a culvert? How long is the run from the road to the home?
A 100-foot driveway from the road to the home pad on flat ground is cheap. A 600-foot driveway up a slope with a creek crossing is a meaningful infrastructure project. Driveways in our area can run anywhere from $10,000 for a basic asphalt run to $80,000 or more for a long, paved, well-engineered approach. Make sure you know which one you are buying.
9. HOA architectural review and what it actually requires
If your lot is in an HOA with an architectural review board (ARB), every detail of your home plan needs ARB approval before you can pull permits. This is true in most of our nicer neighborhoods, including the lake communities, Lane Creek, Long Shoals, and many of the newer Oconee subdivisions.
ARB requirements vary widely. Some boards focus on exterior materials and rooflines. Some get into landscape, lighting, and exterior color. Some require specific drawing formats and stamps. Some require that the site plan be stamped by a licensed landscape architect. When that is required, you either need to hire one (typically a few thousand dollars to several thousand depending on scope), or you need a builder who has one on staff. We do.
ARB review typically takes two to six weeks per round, and most builds go through one or two rounds. Get a copy of the ARB guidelines before you close. Know what you are agreeing to.
10. The 30-year view
This is the one I think about most as a real estate agent.
What is going on around this lot that will affect what it is worth in 20 or 30 years? Is the surrounding area growing residential, or commercial? Is there a planned road expansion or development that will change the character of the area? Are the schools strong and stable? Is the lot in a flood zone (even partially)? Does the lot have any feature that makes it materially more or less marketable than the neighbors (a long pond view, road noise, a power line crossing)?
I have walked lots that were technically buildable and structurally fine but had a long-term problem the buyer had not seen. A lot facing a planned commercial expansion. A lot in a school district that was about to redistrict. A lot at the bottom of a slope that everyone above it would eventually drain into.
None of these are visible on a Saturday afternoon walkthrough. They are the reason an experienced eye is worth bringing along.
How a complimentary lot walk works
If you are seriously considering a piece of land in Oconee, Clarke, or Jackson County and want a knowledgeable eye on it before you close, we offer a complimentary lot walk for serious buyers. Here is what that looks like:
- You send us the listing or the address and roughly what you are hoping to build.
- We do a quick desktop review (GIS, zoning, soil maps, flood maps) before we meet.
- We walk a lot together. Typically 60 to 90 minutes on the ground.
- You leave with a clear list of what is great about the lot, what to watch out for, and what realistic site work will likely cost.
There is no obligation on either side. We do this because the right lot makes the rest of the project easier, and the wrong one costs everyone money and stress. We would rather you find the right one, with us or without us.
If you do end up working with Chart South on the build, the lot walk becomes the first step in your site planning. If you do not, you still have better information than the next buyer.
A few more things worth knowing
On title insurance. Standard, but make sure your title work catches every easement on the property. The cheapest title policies sometimes miss things. Ask the closing attorney to walk you through every encumbrance.
On surveys. If the seller has a recent survey, ask for it. If they do not, get one ordered during due diligence. A pin survey shows the property corners. A boundary survey shows the full boundary line. For a lot you are about to build on, you want a boundary survey at minimum.
On HOA documents. Get them before you close. Read the covenants, the bylaws, and the ARB guidelines. If you cannot tell what they say, have someone who can read them with you.
On flood maps. FEMA flood maps are online and free. Type the address into the FEMA flood map tool and read the result. If any part of your lot is in a flood zone, your insurance changes and your buildable envelope may shrink.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a soil test before I buy a building lot in Oconee County? If the lot is not on public sewer, yes, you absolutely should. A percolation test confirms the soil can support a septic system. Without a successful perc, you cannot get a septic permit, and without a septic permit, you cannot build. The test takes a few days and is the cheapest insurance you will buy on land.
What is the difference between a landscape architect and a landscaper? A landscape architect is a state-licensed professional trained in site planning, grading, drainage, hardscape, and the integration of buildings with their land. The license requires a four-year accredited degree, supervised work experience, and a national exam. A landscaper installs and maintains plantings. Both have a role, but the work is different.
Why does my HOA require a landscape architect to stamp the plans? HOAs in our area require this because a licensed PLA is the only credential that combines site planning, grading, and design under one signature. The stamp is the HOA’s assurance that the plan has been reviewed by a qualified, accountable professional.
Can you help me find a lot to build on? Yes. Brent holds a Georgia real estate license through Drake Realty, so we can represent you on the land search, walk lots with you before you commit, and bring the construction and site planning lens to the buy. There is no obligation to build with us if we help you find the land.
How much should I budget for site work on a typical Oconee County lot? For a relatively buildable lot with reasonable access and utilities at the road, plan on $30,000 to $80,000 for site work (clearing, grading, driveway, erosion control, bringing utilities to the home). Difficult lots can easily run higher. We give every client an honest site work estimate before we sign a build contract.
What does it cost to have a Professional Landscape Architect look at a lot for me? Walking a lot with a client during due diligence is something we do at no charge for serious buyers in our service area. A full site plan, once a build is moving forward, is part of the design service.
Bring us with you before you close
If you are looking at land in Oconee, Clarke, or Jackson County and would feel better with a licensed PLA, GC, and Realtor on the walk, that is exactly what we are here for. The right lot is worth waiting for. Wrong lot, right lot, every lot, we are happy to help you tell the difference.
