Englewood Lot Buying Tips

• Find a lot that is in a good location. Proximity to grocery stores, your work, the beach, whatever is important to you is of greatest concern.

• Is the lot located on a busy street? Street noise is a huge issue and few people want to deal with it. If possible choose a lot that is on a non-though street so that traffic in front of your new home will be kept to a minimum. Is the lot located in a deed restricted community? This is personal choice. Deed restrictions are great until they restrict something that YOU want to do. Usually nicer quieter neighborhoods are in deed restricted communities. Weigh the pros and cons and decide what is right for you. If the lot is in a deed restricted communities, what are the restrictions? Do agree with these restrictions?
  

• If the lot is in a non deed restricted community, are the homes around the lot nice and tidy? Does the neighbor have a junk yard in the back of his house? Be careful!

• Does the lot have utilities running to it? Make sure most importantly that electric is available without having to run your own poles as this can become extremely costly.

• Does the lot have niceties like cable, water, and sewer? Wells can be dug and septic tanks can be installed for roughly the same price as water and sewer hookup costs in Charlotte and Sarasota County. Well water will most likely require a whole house water filtration system.

• Is the lost located in a Scrub Jay habitat? Make sure it isn’t because building in one of these areas can be a lengthy paperwork filled process.

• Have to lot checked for Box turtles, if they are present, it will cost money to have them relocated.

• Is the lot in a flood zone? It’s true that a lot of Florida is practically in a flood zone but the higher the ground the better.

• Does the lot look like it will need a lot of fill dirt to bring it up to the required level? If it is too low, then your house will need to be built on a stem wall, and this can become quite expensive.

• Is the lot located on a canal? Is the canal freshwater or saltwater? If is it a saltwater lot is it boat able? What is the depth of the canal? Are there any bridges or locks between you and open water?

• How big is the lot? In Charlotte County you can build on 35% of the lot and in Sarasota County it’s 33%. A standard lot in this area is 80x125 ft. That allows for a total Square footage of a home to be no more than 3500 in Charlotte County. Upper floors are excluded from this measurement.

• Size and shape of the lot needs to be taken into account. Will your desired home fit on the lot you are looking at? Cul-de-sac lots are nice but usually require a home that is designed for that shape of lot. Ask you Realtor or Builder for help in this area.

• What is the exposure of your lot? If you plan on installing a pool, a southern exposure is best as the pool will have the benefit of full sun for most of the day. If you don’t plan on installing a pool, this is not as important.