BUILD ON YOUR LOT / LAND IN MARYLAND
We build on your lot / lAND IN BALTIMORE, HARFORD, CARROLL, HOWARD, ANNE ARUNDEL OR FREDERICK COUNTY MD!
IF you already own a Building Lot-Land in Maryland then Congratulations!
The toughest part of the whole process is behind you.
Due to the fact, that you already own a lot, you are a perfect candidate to build with Castle Rock Builders because we ONLY Build Custom Homes on individually owned lots-land.
Castle Rock Builders doesn’t build in planned communities or subdivisions so building on individually owned lots / land is not done as an afterthought or to supplement / complement our primary (planned communities & subdivisions) business model like many home builders. Building on a lot-land, that a client’s already owns or will own is ALL we do – that is our only business model.
Because Castle Rock Builders only builds on individually owned lots / land, the experience gathered over the years is tremendous. Our 75 years of experience is shared and realized by every Castle Rock client. The importance of this experience will quickly become apparent and very much appreciated when building your Custom Home with Castle Rock Builders.
Castle Rock Builders builds Custom Homes in Baltimore County, Carroll County, Harford County, Anne Arundel County, Howard County and Frederick County Maryland on your lot-land.
Three PARTS TO BUILDING A MARYLAND CUSTOM HOME ON YOUR LOT / LAND
1) YOUR LOT-LAND - FREE SITE EVALUATION
What is entailed in a FREE SITE EVALUATION? What type of things should I be aware of regarding my lot-land?
Please find below a list of the major items that are considered when performing a FREE Site Evaluation and should be considered when building a Maryland Custom Home on your lot-land:
Clearing – Is your lot-land wooded? A wooded lot would obviously need to be cleared to construct a custom home. Your lot-land would have to be cleared to accommodate your new home, driveway, septic field, well, etc... The FREE Site Evaluation along with the client’s wish’s on the extent of clearing (the counties have a say in the extent), above and beyond what is deemed necessary, will determine the expense to clear and remove any trees. Also, depending on the county (for example Carroll County, MD) your lot / land may be subject to a “Tree Fund”.
Driveway Length - How long does the driveway need to be on a particular lot? CRB includes 800 square feet of driveway in every new home quoted. However, every lot is unique and the length of the driveway is inherent to the exact lot being evaluated.
Site Balance - Is your lot “Dirt Heavy” or “Dirt Light” or does it “Balance”? Dirt Heavy means that dirt needs to be loaded on dump trucks and hauled AWAY from your lot. In essence, too much dirt will be generated on your lot and dirt has to be removed. Dirt light is the opposite. Dirt light means that dirt needs to be loaded on dump trucks and hauled TO your lot. In essence, not enough dirt will be generated on your lot and you will need dirt. If it is determined, per the site evaluation, that your lot balances, the lot will NOT NEED to add or remove any dirt.
Utilities on Site – Are the utilities currently present on the site? How far does the house sit from the power source? Both of these factors will determine if there will be any additional expense incurred through BGE for the additional run, transformer, etc…
Propane, Natural Gas, Oil or Electric - Is natural gas present at the lot-land? If so, then the energy source would be natural gas. If not, then the included options would either be propane or electric. If propane is selected, it would be the lot / land owner’s responsibility to either buy or lease the tank through the propane company of their choice. Castle Rock Builders can suggest excellent propane providers.
Individual County Mandated Engineering - What Maryland County is your custom home being built in? For example, If building in Howard County, MD the lot / land may need a Site Development Plan (SDP) or an Environmental Concept Plan (ECP). If building in Anne Arundel County, MD the lot / land is going to require a Grading Plan. All of the expenses associated with the county, mandated engineering, can be rolled into your construction loan BUT you need to know about any additional engineering requirements in order to roll it in your construction loan. There is also an additional “time factor” when your lot / land is subject to any additional engineering.
On Lot Storm Water Management – What is determined as mandatory, when it comes to storm water management requirements, varies from county to county, but there is the possibility of dry wells, rain gardens, plantings, bonds, bio retention ponds, etc... The requirements are dictated by the individual counties and addressed in the engineering phase.
Distance of Home From the Road / Power Source – Castle Rock Builder’s preliminary price is all inclusive and we do have a driveway and BGE runs included in our quoted prices BUT the reality of our budget may not match the reality of your lot-land. EVERY lot is unique. If your driveway sits further back then what is included in the quote or the BGE run has to be longer and there is a need for a transformer due to distance, the expense would have to be factored into your quote. A FREE Site Evaluation will determine if there are any additional expenses pertaining to these items.
Garage Right or Left - Grade dictates which side your garage will be located on. The high side of the lot-land is the side the garage will be located on. If your lot-land is flat, then it will be your choice as to which side you would want your garage located.
Determining If Your Desired House Plan Will Fit On The Lot / Land – By providing Castle Rock Builders with a plat of the lot-land, along with the footprint of the house plan, we can be easily determine if your desired house plan will fit within the Building restriction of your lot-land.
Determining If The Lot Is A Walkout Or In Ground Basement – By providing Castle Rock Builders with a plat with topography we can determine if your lot-land is a walkout lot or in ground basement.
Private Well - Is the well already in? How deep is the well? If the well is already in that is great. Once again, because Castle Rock Builder’s pricing is ALL inclusive, the well pump and connections are already included in our quote, assuming the well depth is less than 300 feet. If the well is deeper than 300 feet the well pump would need to be up-sized. If your well is not in Castle Rock Builders can suggest well drillers that could be of assistance.
Private Septic - If a lot has not been perced yet, you will not be able to get bank financing on the lot-land. Assuming your lot-land is already perced, what type of system, did the lot-land perc for? A standard trench, sand mound, drip distribution system or alternative system? If your lot-land perced for a standard trench septic, because Castle Rock Builder’s pricing is ALL inclusive, this expense would already be included your quote. If your lot-land requires a sand mound system, a drip distribution system or some type of alternate system the additional cost of such systems would have to be quoted. Lastly, will the house sit above or below the elevation of the septic field? If below, a pump tank (possibly just a hung sewer) will be necessary.
Public Water – Does your lot-land have access to public water? Are the taps located at the lot? Are the taps currently in and do they have to be up sized for the fire sprinkler system? Have the tap fees been paid (county dependent)? If not, what is the cost? How deep in the ground is the water main to tap into? These questions can be answered by the Public Works Department of the County in which the lot is located in. Also, the answers to these questions will determine what, if any, additional expenses would be pertaining to public water.
Public Sewer - Are the sewer lines located at the lot? How deep are the sewer lines to tap into? Have the tap fees been paid (county dependent), if not what is the cost? These questions can be answered by the Public Works Department of the County in which the lot is located in. Also, the answers to these questions will determine what, if any, additional expenses would be pertaining to public sewer.
Impact Fees Per Individual Maryland County – Currently Howard County, Anne Arundel, Harford County and Frederick County Maryland all have impact fees of varying degrees. Any building permit filed after July 1st, 2020 in Baltimore County, MD will also be subject to a building impact fee. Carroll County, MD currently has a moratorium on it’s impact fee. Depending on what County you are building in Maryland would dictate the expense for the impact fee and the expense definitely varies.
A Structure Currently On The Lot Needs To Be Torn Down - Through a site evaluation the cost to tear down and remove the existing structure could be determined by Castle Rock Builders. Depending on the county, you may be able to avoid the impact fee.
What Can’t Be Determined By A Site Visit – We are very experienced at what we do and we have literally seen hundreds of lots BUT we can’t see below the surface of the lot-land. For example, although rare, rock, buried debris, etc… could lurk underneath your lot-land and this could impact construction costs.
2) HOUSE PLANS
Between the three house plan options listed below you should have no problem finding the home plan of your dreams!
Castle Rock Builder’s Plans – Any of the Castle Rock house plans can be changed, expanded, altered or modified to suit your individual needs and desires. With 35 plans available the odds are great you will find a plan that will suit your needs. If there is a Castle Rock plan you would like pricing on please let us know. Preliminary price quotes are turned around quickly on one of our plans.
Provide Your Own Set Of Plans - If you already have a set of Architecturally drawn plans, you will need to contact Castle Rock Builders. We will need your set of plans & specifications, with as much option details as possible so that our pricing department can provide you with an accurate quote. During the bid process, there may be questions that arise, so please supply your best contact (phone numbers, email addresses, etc..) information as well.
Online Architecturally Drawn Plans – Castle Rock will also provide preliminary pricing on a plan that you have found on the internet. You will simply need to EMAIL the name of the online architectural firm along with the plan name and the plan number, with as much option details as possible so that our pricing department can provide you with an accurate quote. During the bid process, there may be questions that arise, so please supply your best contact (phone numbers, email addresses, etc..) information as well. Castle Rock Builders has worked with multiple online architectural firms such as Donald Gardner, Frank Betz & ePlans.
3) FINANCING
The Financing Page of our website explains construction loans in detail.
Construction Loan - Now that you have an idea of lot-land specific cost, determined through your FREE Site Evaluation along with your house construction cost, determined through the Castle Rock Builders bid process you will have a fairly accurate idea of the total costs. Lot-land specific costs + Home construction costs = Total Cost. This total cost will enable you to contact a construction lender to discuss a construction loan. Castle Rock Builders only work with the best construction lenders whom are listed on our finance page.
We build on your lot. Castle Rock Builders will build on your lot-land OR we will tear down / demo your old home and build a new home. If you plan to build a Custom Home in Baltimore County, Carroll County, Harford County, Anne Arundel County, Howard County or Frederick County MD on your lot-land we need to talk!
Please call 410.864.0177 or EMAIL or TEXT or visit our CONTACT page to discuss building a Maryland Custom Home, on your lot-land, in much greater detail.
