Jamaica Cottage Shop

Hand-crafted cottages and sheds created by Vermont artisans in the post-and-beam tradition.
DOWNLOAD SALE CATALOG

SALE ENDS 5/9/22

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Planning the organizational flow before you start putting stuff in your garage is a helpful task that can be done fairly quickly. You can easily draft an interior set up with graph paper and a pencil. Or use your favorite graphic design software to sketch up some props to layout on your floorplan. 

 

We have created a couple quick layouts for garage and workshops with our 24×24 GARAGE as the example. Feel free to apply any of these layouts as inspiration for your current or future garage project. 

 

LAYOUT 1 – GARAGE AND BASIC STORAGE

 

This 24×24 garage has two bays for two vehicles. There is still plenty of room to store other stuff like bikes, kayaks, recycling and your winter tires. Shelving, a tool rack and a GARDEN CLOSET free up floor space and keep everything tidy too. 

 

LAYOUT 2 – GARAGE & WORKSHOP

 

With this set up there is space for one car, and a full sized work bench, along with shelving and racks. There might be room for other stuff, but it might be a tight squeeze if you need room to move around your workspace. If you want room for your bikes still, you will love the next layout….

 

LAYOUT 3 – GARAGE & WORKSHOP WITH BONUS STORAGE

When you add an OVERHANG or ENCLOSURE to your garage, you can create an attached outdoor storage or work space. In this example we moved the bikes and kayaks under the overhang for quick access. Plenty of workbenches create ample space for woodworking projects or car tune ups. And there is still room for one vehicle and storage for tools, recycling, winter tires and shelving. Build out a storage loft above for stashing away building materials or seasonal decorations. 

 

Want to see more layouts?

What would you put in your garage?
Let us know. 

 

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One of the biggest challenges that THOW owners face is finding a reliable place to park their homes. Buying a plot of land for your home base is an excellent idea. But if you are yearning for a nomadic lifestyle, you may want to keep your options open.



8x20 Tiny House on Wheels Turn Key
This tiny home was a custom build for a customer who was going to live on a farm.

You can save cash by hitting up friends and family when you are in between spots. However, you don’t want to overstay your welcome. We put together this list of resources where you can find places to park your tiny house while exploring the world.


Parking at Campgrounds

Tiny House on Wheels with a porch, built for off-grid living.
This tiny house on wheels was custom built with lots of extra insulated windows, and a cross gable roof line.

Most campgrounds across North America offer RV lots. Because tiny homes are similar to RV’s, they can usually utilize campsites. Most campgrounds provide short-term rentals during late spring through early fall. But some places will do long-term rentals all year long. Campgrounds are affordable, safe, and usually have all of the amenities close at hand.


Electrical and running water hookups are common for RV sites. And most campgrounds have dumping tanks for getting rid of waste. Or use common bathroom areas to save on wear on tear on your tiny home plumbing system. On-site laundry machines, a general store, Wi-Fi, swimming pools, and access to fun activities are some deluxe features you might find in a campground too.
In some cases, you might be able to do a work exchange with the campground for free or discounted rent. It could be office work, cleanups, or filling in for vacationing workers.


Parking at Farms

Working farms are other areas where you might exchange labor for free rent. We have sold tiny homes to several farmhands. While many farms provide housing for their workers, it isn’t always ideal. Those who crave privacy and comfort may prefer to rest in a four-season tiny home on wheels during their spare time.


https://wwoofusa.org/ offers a database of over 1500 organic host farms looking for a helping hand. Many farms need help in planting, harvesting, livestock care, maintenance, deliveries, and administrative tasks.


tiny home village
A tiny home village or RV lot can be an option for long term parking.

Tiny House Parking in Villages & Mobile Home Lots

Thoroughly cleaning out your building is a top winter greenhouse maintenance tip. Freshen up your greenhouse by giving it a Tiny house villages are popping up all around the nation. The people who set up these small communities handle zoning and permits to develop the land for this purpose. Hookups for utilities should be standard, but always confirm what is included with the monthly fee before signing a lease. Mobile home lots have been around for a long time and are well established. Tiny home villages are less common but will provide a homier vibe while you are surrounded by other THOW enthusiasts. Lots can usually be found via newspaper classified ads, craigslist, or in directories.


Directories

If you are flexible directories can provide ever-changing lists of available lots.


• Tiny House Villages - this website offers a directory of over 250 lots that cater to tiny living. You can filter by price, location, and lifestyle requirements.

• Tiny House Hosting Facebook Group - This online community averages 50 posts a month. Many people seem to be searching for places, while others are sharing their available lots. It can't hurt to ask for parking opportunities in specific areas.

• Tiny House Communities - A small, but well curated list of nice places to park.


Conclusion

As you explore these parking options, document your travels with a journal. Keep track of where you stayed, how much you paid for rentals and utility costs, and rate how much you enjoyed each location. You can use this information to decide if you want to return or remember which areas to avoid. Having contact information for your hosts can be very useful if you find yourself in a tight spot and need to find someplace quick. Grow your community, be neighborly to those you meet along the way, and you shouldn’t have trouble finding places to park.



Did we miss a resource that you think we should share? Let us know!


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When the air starts to feel crisp and morning frost layers the ground, that means it’s time to start thinking about heating your home. I know many in New England hold out on touching their thermostats for as long as possible. But for Northerners, snow and freezing temps are inevitable. There are only so many layers of long johns, alpaca sweaters, bunny slippers, and knitted throws that can be adorned before frostbite starts settling in. Luckily, with all the innovation happening in sustainable home heating technology, there is no longer a need to torment your household with a 60-degree thermostat limit from December through February.


10x14 Florida Room four season interior with woodstove addition

Why You Should Want to Use Sustainable Heating Methods

Electric and heating bills are usually the most costly utility that homeowners need to pay on a monthly schedule. As the temperatures drop below freezing, these expenses spike! And seriously, nobody appreciates increases in their monthly bills. Switching over to energy-efficient heating systems can lower your costs. Not only that, but most states offer programs and rebates to help you save money and get started.


Utilizing newer appliances that come with an energy star rating will also cut back on your carbon footprint. These heaters burn fuel more efficiently, reducing harm to the environment and slowing down the use of non-renewable resources.


These two reasons seem good enough to me, but I have one more. Comfort. Understandably, many budgets don’t always provide the luxury of thermostats bumped up to 70-degrees. With a sustainable heating source, you may find that you can treat yourself to warmth without killing your wallet. 


Run-Down of Heating Methods

Heating sources usually fall into three categories: wood-burning, fossil fuel burning, or electrical. These are some of our favorites that we use in our buildings.


Wood Burning Heat Sources
2x3 Ready to Assemble Wooden Pellet Box
This pellet box is stored close to the pellet stove for simple and quick refueling.

Wood stoves and pellet stoves are very popular, not just in New England but everywhere. Nothing beats the dry heat of a wood-burning flame, especially when it is in a fireplace. Fireplaces are not known to be energy efficient. Since they are open, plenty of oxygen feeds the flames making firewood burn quickly. Picking out a wood stove or pellet stove will be a better choice if you want to save money and spare some trees. Toasty vibes will still thrive with either choice.


According to Efficiency Vermont, firewood is cheaper than pellets, but pellets burn much slower. They mention that there isn’t much of a difference in savings between the two. Because pellet stoves require electricity, if you live in an area with frequent power outages, a wood stove is a better option for you. Just remember, you will need a shed to store the cords of wood needed to get you through the winter. Pellet stoves also have advantages: they need to be fueled less often, and the pellets are made from the sawdust of milling operations, helping reduce waste. Store your pellets indoors, as they are sensitive to moisture. The Pellet Box is a great place to store fuel for your stove, and it can double as attractive furniture.


In our tiniest of custom houses, we have even installed solid fuel marine heaters. These are basically itty-bitty woodstoves that can burn sticks, pine codes, and leaves. One of our happy tiny home dwellers let us know that they keep a tiny house on wheels pretty warm, but having a backup heat source helps.


Sustainable Electric Heat Sources
Heat pumps are a very energy efficient heating and cooling solution.
A few heat pumps installed on this Vermont Cabin will keep it comfortable through heat and cold.

Our favorite electrical source for a tiny house is a heat pump. Why? Not only do they provide heat but they also offer air conditioning! Tiny house enthusiasts residing in the South will absolutely enjoy their heat pump for the year-round comfort it provides. Northerners will also appreciate the three days out of the year that AC is a must. Not only are heat pumps built to be energy efficient, but they can run on solar power for a triple win!


Fossil Fuel Heat Sources
Heating inside of a tiny house on wheels.
Pairing an electric or propane heater with a solid fuel marine heater ensures that the pipes won't freeze in this tiny house.

While fossil fuels are not a renewable resource, furnaces and boilers have come a long way in terms of resource conservation and efficiency. We typically resort to propane heaters as a backup rather than the main heating source in our tiny homes. You can pair a wood stove with a strategically placed wall-mounted propane heater. Installing these types of heaters in bathrooms or anywhere near plumbing pipes is a good idea to keep them from freezing. This can be essential when you aren't around to feed your wood stove, say when you want to take a tropical vacation.  For larger cabins, you may want to consider an oil-burning furnace with baseboards.


Other Ways to Efficiently Heat Your Home

If you are building a brand-new cottage there are additional ways to achieve lower heating costs. If you aren't ready to replace an older unit these tips can still be useful for getting the most out of what you already have. 


Smart thermostats are definitely a great solution. Zoned heating systems programmed room-by-room keep your heat down in under-used areas of your house. Base it on your schedule, frequency of use, and temperature preferences. 


Insulation is another way you can lower your heating costs. If you are building one of our cottages, consider ordering a four-season kit. These kits come with everything pre-cut to fully insulate your building. Or shop around for other types of insulation that you can install yourself. Our four-season packages also include double pane windows and insulated doors. Windows can provide passive heat during the day since they allow sunshine to come in. 


Interior of a 16x20 Vermont Cottage with four season options.
Making sure your new cottage is fully insulated will keep heat from escaping in the winter. A 4-Season kit will achieve this.

Conclusion

There are so many benefits to switching to a sustainable heating method that we can’t help but be excited about them. Lowered costs, limiting environmental impact, and keeping cozy all year are reasons to be happy. If you want to look for ways to efficiently heat your home, begin with this interactive map. To see which programs are available to you, click on your state.


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Our Gibraltar is an affordable tiny home that can be purchased as a four-season kit.

Once you have your mind set on your next building project, whether it’s a tiny house, deluxe shed, or large, two-car garage, you will need to figure out how to pay for it. If you, like many, are someone whose pockets aren’t overflowing with cash it is still possible to reach your post and beam building goals. All it takes is some creativity, planning, patience, common sense, and time. But there are also a number of budgeting tricks, and hacks that can get you ahead of the game. We're sharing with you our top tips for financing a new building. Try putting all, or just a few, of these tips into practice and you might end up with a Jamaica Cottage Shop village in no time!


1. Automate Your Savings

Setting up a savings account is a no-brainer, but we are all tempted to spend our paychecks on new clothing, electronics, cars, and restaurants on top of our usual bills. Moving a portion of your funds into a savings account makes spending that money a little less convenient. It forces you to think about frivolous purchases, since you probably have to take a few more steps to access that money. Most banks have systems where you can transfer a set dollar amount on recurring days. Have your bank account transfer money into your savings account every payday: we suggest trying to put away 10% of your income into your savings account. If that big a percentage sounds daunting, start with a smaller amount. A little is better than nothing, and maybe seeing your savings grow over time will motivate you to put away more!


If you are lacking in the willpower department, you might consider opening a secondary bank account at an online bank. That money will be out of sight and out of mind. Plus, it will be even less convenient to make withdrawals since a transfer to your main checking account will probably take a few days instead of a few minutes. If you think this is a good option, make sure you compare banks beforehand and choose one that offers the highest interest savings account you can find!


2. Start With the Small Stuff

The Homesteader is a budget friendly tiny home option that comes as a either a frame only, complete, 3-season or 4-season kit.
If you start with a 3-Season Kit your upfront costs will be a bit less than getting a 4-Season Kit, buying you time to save up money to finish the cabin out.

One way you can budget your build is to figure out how to minimize your upfront costs and expand your project as you go. Pick out a smaller design, or get a stripped down version. Some people opt to start with a small shed, for example. They might camp out in that while they are saving for a Vermont Cabin. Later on, when they move into their larger home, they can rent out their backyard cottage to pay off their projects.


Another idea is to try starting with a three season structure instead of buying a fully decked-out, turn-key cabin. Then you can buy insulation, interior wall sheathing, ceiling sheathing, and insulated windows. These items add up, but can be more manageable if purchased as needed. We also sell frame-only kits, which include the framing material. Buy siding, roofing, floor decking and doors as you go.


3. Half Now, Half Later

Did you know that we can get your project into production with a 50% deposit? This is an excellent option if you have most of the funds needed to get started, but need a few months to get the rest. The remainder isn’t due until right around the delivery time. Having a deadline can be very motivating for earning cash or finally getting around to applying for a loan. Contact our sales team. They can take your deposit over the phone.


4. Take Advantage of Supply and Demand

This small firewood storage shed doubles as recycling storage. This multipurpose function provides additional value.
Buying a woodbin in the winter might mean savings. Plus you will have it ready for next years firewood supply.

Changing seasons can mean savings! You may find that you can get great deals if you buy during the winter. This is because the demand drops quite a bit when the weather is chilly. People simply aren't as enthusiastic about starting outdoor projects when there is snow on the ground. Past patterns show that winter pricing on kits and prefab sheds is usually the lowest during the cold, snowy months. When spring rolls around, everyone is eager to get started on their projects. This means pricing for materials goes up and so do labor costs to pay employees’ overtime.


5. Follow Our Promotions

The best way to keep up to date on our sales is to join our Funky Chicken Newsletter. That's going to be the first, and in some cases only, place where we are going to publish new sales, discounted items, and coupons. Our Facebook business page will also be a good resource. If you don’t want to get emails from us, you can bookmark our sale flyer. We update that link every couple of weeks, so you can always peek at that to get pricing on our kits and fully assembled designs.


6. Barter for Services

In many places, you might be able to trade services you offer for painting, carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work. Someone who owns a construction business might need someone to design their business cards, or an electrician might be searching for someone to do some landscaping around their property. It might be hard to find people willing to do this, so look for community groups specializing in time trading.


Three friends work together to get their barn painted.
Turning your barn build into a community effort can be fun.

7.Bribe Your Friends and Family with Pizza

If you are buying a kit, you might be able to have a barn building party with your friends and family. Offer a tasty meal and fun music to entice your social circle to help. This could save money on carpentry costs. Just don’t forget to return the favor if they ever need a hand.


8. Apply for a Grant

This small, 3x5 foot shed, was purchased to use as a food pantry to help community members in need.
A local food pantry was in need of a shed, so they applied for grants and promoted other fundraising efforts.

If your building will be shared with your community, or you're constructing it for non-profit use, you may be able to apply for funding. For example, if you are setting up housing for Veterans, you could get involved with non-profits that focus on affordable housing. Energy-efficiency grants may also be available for homeowners who need help weatherizing their houses. While this won't necessarily pay for a building kit, it could take care of an expense that is holding you back. You can try searching a grant database if you don’t know where to start or check your state’s official .gov website.


9. Use a Credit Card

We wouldn’t say that this is a top tip, but there can be some pros when using a credit card, especially if you are savvy with money. Putting a big purchase on a new credit card that has a 0% interest term with no fees can help you delay the costs. If the card also comes with a good cashback program, you can use those rewards to pay for things you might need for your cottage or shed later on. Make sure you can sustainably make monthly payments, and plan ahead for when the 0% interest period expires. That's the time when you'll want to pay off the bulk of your purchase. If you aren't careful with remembering the final pay off, you could end up in debt! We recommend this option for people who have predictable incomes and can budget to make sure they have enough saved at the end of the 0% interest period to make a large payment.


10. Utilize Our Financing Partners

We've partnered with a handful of companies that offer solutions for purchasing fully assembled buildings and Pre-Cut Kits. You can finance some, or in many cases all of your project by working with these partners. If you are in the process of improving your credit score, the rent-to-own option will make it possible to purchase a fully assembled building without a credit check.


Conclusion

Our community is made up of people from all walks of life, and they are some of the best resources we have for finding clever ways to finance post and beam buildings. We hope that these budgeting tips will help you on your path to building the cottage, shed, garage, or tiny house of your dreams. Let us know if you have other tips for budgeting your project that we can pass on to our readers. It's our mission to make our products as attainable and accessible as possible to everyone!


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Everyone loves sticky, sweet maple syrup on their pancakes and mixed with ice cream. Others pour syrup in coffee as a sugar substitute. Production of this saccharine condiment takes place in most of New England, the Midwest, and Canada. If maple trees grow in your area, you can make maple syrup. While you may be able to DIY a small batch in your kitchen, you will also want a sap house if you plan on making batches to sell. Our post and beam Sugar Shacks make excellent space for small-time hobbyists or larger operations alike.

maple syrup production in an affordable sugar shack
An evaporator sits on the concrete slab foundation in this post and beam sugar shack.

Many people might think that they can just use any old shed for boiling sap. This misconception usually gets corrected after the first boil, but can be avoided in the first place. Heavy equipment for boiling means that the floor system needs to hold enough weight. Moisture needs to escape buildings filled with steam and smoke.

Here we walk you through four Sugar Shack building essentials and components that you will want to consider before construction.

Take a tour of a Sugar Shack in the process of being finished!

1. Floor or No Floor?

 We can cut to the chase here and say we don’t recommend getting a floor system if you are boiling sap. First, your evaporator is going to be very heavy. You will probably want to store some firewood inside for convenience, which also strains the floor system. And there will probably be some spillage. Nothing is worse than sticky wood floors! Instead, order the building with a treated sill plate, and your foundation will be the flooring. Many people settle for a gravel pad, a simple and affordable choice that works great. Concrete slabs will be stronger and easier to keep clean.

Run In Basic Interior
A treated sill plate sits right on a gravel pad or concrete slab for a fire-resistant ground.

When you order a Sugar Shack from us, the default option will be a treated sill plate. If you insist on having a floor system, we suggest upgrading the floor weight rating when you order. You may also want to install some kind of flame-retardant surface decking under and surrounding your evaporator too.

2. Vital Ventilation for your Sugar Shack

Boiling sap produces a LOT of steam, and this isn’t just regular steam. Sap condensation is tacky and can coat the walls and ceiling of your building. Add in the abundance of moisture build-up and you have created the perfect environment for rot. We have three components that combat these issues in your Sugar Shack:

• Integrated Venting Cupola
Cupolas are used on Sugar Shacks for maple syrup production.
These hinged vents can be opened when sap is being boiled so the steam can leave the building.

The cupola that comes with one of our Sugar Shacks is designed to integrate into the roof. We frame out a 4-foot-by-8-foot rough opening. Installing the cupola on the roof it creates a second structure that houses the steam. Vents, installed on the two long sides open and close using a rope system.

Our Sugar Shack design comes pre-framed for the integrated venting cupola. They come with aluminum flashing to direct water away from the rough opening. Our other sheds will not have the rough opening for the cupola pre-cut or outlined in our plans. Be sure to work with a contractor, in the first place, if you want to make this type of change to a building that is not one of our Sugar Shacks.

• Wood Louvered Vent

Wood Louvered Vents come with nearly all our post and beam Sugar Shacks, barns, and storage sheds. These small, square vents, built under the roof, and are installed on the back gable wall. They have hardware cloth, a mesh material, that keeps most insects out.

• Barn Sash Windows

Barn Sash Windows are offered hinged, which provides airflow when your Sugar Shack gets extra steamy and hot. Therefore, syrup producers will be grateful for them when they need a breath of fresh air.

12x16 Sugar Shack with door upgrade
A side entry door was added to the bearing wall of this 12x16 Sugar Shack.

3. A Grand Entrance, or Two

Obviously, a door is a prerequisite for any building. Here is why you need barn-style doors in a Sugar Shack. Large evaporators need enough width for accessibility inside the building. A set of pine, double doors will make wheeling in a cartful of sap buckets, and loads of firewood, quick and easy. Finally, being able to safely escape your building in an emergency is also a must. For this reason, adding a single door on the opposite side of the double doors is a smart move. If hinged doors aren’t your style, consider sliding barn doors instead.

6-Inch Wood Stove Roof Flashing
Our woodstove roof flashing may be installed on any of our sugar shacks.

4. Flashy Flashing

Sap boiling evaporators are basically oversized, wood-burning stoves. They have pipes that exit the building, usually through the roof. Cutting a hole in the roof for a chimney will expose the interior to the elements. We can install woodstove flashing or a wall thimble in any of our fully assembled sugar shacks. We also sell them separately to ship with pre-cut kits too. Flashing sits on top of the roof and sheds water and snow away from the chimney. This prevents water from seeping into the building.

Conclusion

Set your Sugar Shack up to be safe and efficient. A proper foundation and ventilation system will help you maintain your building for a long life too. If you are looking for more tips, we found this handy list of other provisions that you will need to stock your Sugar Shack up with for a productive season.

We would love to see photos of you at work in your Sugar Shack. If you’ve got ‘em send them to us via our photo-sharing form in your account dashboard.  

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Searching for your new home site can be exciting, fun, and challenging. How you choose land to build on ultimately gets determined by several factors. Location, how much space you need and the surrounding landscape will be relatively simple to figure out. Zoning, financing, and quality of the soil and water might create a few more hurdles. Knowing what to expect will help manage your expectations and avoid hiccups throughout the process.

Learn how to decide on land by reading this blog post. We walk you through tips for picking out land for your tiny home.
While searching for land decide on what climate you want to live in first.


Location


First, you are going to need to decide where in the world you would like to settle down. Think about your preferred climate. Do you want lots of snow, an arid desert locale, or marshy and humid temperatures? Then consider other environmental factors. How much privacy do you want? How close do you need to be to your work, schools, and shopping?


Keep in mind that certain parts of the country are prone to earthquakes, heavy snow, hurricanes, heavy rain, drought, insect infestations, and forest fires. Nearly every area in the United States is predisposed to at least one of these natural disasters. So decide which of these you feel are most tolerable if you are not already set on a region.


Acreage


Now that you have decided on a general area calculate how much space you will want. If you are aiming to build more than one structure on your future property you will probably need more acreage. Most people want to build a few utility buildings in addition to their home. A garage, guesthouse, garden shed, and pool house are a few accessory buildings that may be needed, so a couple acres would be the minimum. Buy at least ten acres if you are aiming for abundant privacy or are setting up a farm or homestead. One acre should be sufficient for a small home and a storage shed.


Zoning and Regulations


While on the hunt for land, keep in mind that any plot will be prone to zoning and regulations. The building rules will vary from county to county. First, you will want to make sure the plot of land is in a residential zone. Don’t try building a residential home in a commercial or industrial zone. You won’t get approved for a permit and it will be a costly mistake. Next, find out what is generally required to obtain a permit such as setbacks, building guidelines, and if you need engineered stamped plans.

Is a driveway already installed on the land you are looking at for your cabin?
Will you need an easement to access a public road?


On top of permitting, your piece of land might be subject to Homeowners Association rules, covenants, easements, and encroachments. HOA’s and covenants usually restrict what style of home you are building. You might be required to work in particular design details like siding, roofing, windows, and doors to blend in with the neighborhood. Environmental factors can determine what types of materials will be allowed too. Land within gated communities, located in historic districts or near natural areas with lots of wildlife might be prone to these types of regulations.


If you buy land that lacks main road access you may need to obtain an easement. This allows you to utilize a part of the neighboring property to get to the main road. Encroachments would be structures that cross your property line to a neighboring property or vice versa. Usually, you will want to avoid encroachment by following setbacks for your property. There may be a grandfathered encroachment on the property you are looking at, so determine if you are ok with that before you buy. Always consult a real estate lawyer before you buy land.
Utilities


Utilities


Most empty plots of land won’t have any utilities installed yet. Some might have electrical lines running to the site, but no septic tank or well. If you are working with a blank slate, you have the advantage of being able to choose to install whatever you want, wherever you want, given this fits within your budget. However, if electrical access, water sources, and wastewater management solutions are already in place, you will save a lot of money.


Don’t forget to find out how fast the internet access is in the area you want to move to. Since many people work from home now, a fiber optic internet connection will be favorable. If you are set on living in a rural area, keep in mind that high-speed internet is likely to be inaccessible. You might have workarounds like joining a shared office space, satellite internet, or an ample data program using cell phone reception.


Road Access

HowStuffWorks.com mentions that how you access your land can have many consequences. Most plots of land will have road access a short distance from your post and beam house site. A short, gravel driveway is inexpensive to install and maintain. However, if your land is off a private road, you should know that it will be your responsibility to manage it. You may need to pay for all of it, or if the private road is part of an easement, you may be responsible for chipping in with your neighbors for plowing and other maintenance costs.


Finances


Your budget is going to be a substantial factor when you are deciding on land. Not only will you need to consider the price of the lot and the building costs, but other elements will also need to be covered. A down payment, lawyer fees, taxes, permits, and labor are a few of the clear-cut costs you will need to account for. Not all land for sale is set up with access to water, electricity, or wastewater storage. You might need to allocate funds for electrical pole installation, the drilling of a well, septic tank, and testing.


It is always a good idea to overestimate your costs. This way you don't bite off more than you can chew, and there might be some cash left over for unexpected charges. Gather estimates and quotes from the contractors you will be hiring for the foundation installation, electrical access, the building of your cabin kit, plumbing, septic tank installation, and well drilling. Keep everything in a folder. You will need this documentation if you are applying for a loan. At the very least, it is helpful to keep as you are shopping around.


Once you have the estimated grand total, you can decide how you will be financing your project. Applying for a home construction loan is one way to go. Or save a big chunk of your paycheck each month until you reach your goal. Some people start by buying the land before securing financing. Then they save or apply for funding as they complete each building milestone. This budgeting method can spread the overall costs out, over time, an option for those with less than stellar credit. Some of our community members have done this and will camp out in a shed while building their permanent homes.


Other Tips

This land didn't come with utilities, so the person who purchased it will need to fit those into their budget, or live off-grid.
Protect your health by getting your soil and water tested.


BobVilla.com offers notable advice for choosing your piece of land. They recommend working with a real estate agent that specializes in selling undeveloped land. The knowledge base of this type of agent will be infinitely helpful to you while you are tallying up the pros and cons of each property you visit.


They also mention testing the soil and water before you invest in a down payment. Skipping this step might not seem like a big deal, but contaminated water and dirt can cause long-term health problems later.


HowStuffWorks.com recommends investing in title insurance. A real estate lawyer should find out everything you need to know about the deed, but sometimes they don’t find everything regarding easements, encroachments, or property lines. Hire someone to survey the land to know where your property line is, especially if it is not clearly marked.


Conclusion


Buying raw land can be an incredible experience because it provides you with the opportunity to mold the site into your dream home. Use these tips to determine where you want to reside and what elements you want to be included in your future property. Write out all of your wishes. While you are searching, you can see which plots check off all of your boxes. You might fall in love with a property that doesn’t meet all of your wants. Prepare to find workarounds or budget in those extra expenses to get it set up the way you want. Finally, work with licensed professionals so that you can get the most out of your land investment and be protected throughout the process.
If you have any other tips, send us a line, we’d love to hear from you.