home/land package

[Collene]

I have a question about the land part of the package. Once I pick out the piece of land that I want the house to be placed on, am I responsible for getting the utilites (electric, phone, WATER) hooked up and working? Meaning, do I have to pay to have the well dug for the water and have the lines run for the phone and electric or do they do that when they are getting the site ready for the home? I know they will put the septic system in place, and he spoke about making sure the land is level, but I am just not sure about the rest of this. I don't have the money that would be required to have all of this installed. None of that was discussed and frankly, I didn't think about asking about any of this at that time. I already had too much information to process! I am trying to anticipate any "hidden" costs that they might try to throw at me at the last minute. I really want to get out of "renting" but I also have no problem saying "no" I am not ready for this.

Any help would be appreciated!

[Ryan]

Hello Collene,

I am going through the same process that you are, only buying my own land from the open market and doing all of the site work to it. I found when looking at land provided by the different companies, they all charged more then it would cost me to have the electric company and others do the work for me. Usually you do have to pay for it, I have found wells to cost 1500.00- 3000.00 depending on how far it has to be dug and only about 500.00 to have electricty and phone connected to the house once it is on the site. I hope this helps you.

[Dee]

Colleen, we are buying a home/land package and we are responsible for the leveling of the land, the water well, having the septic tank installed and having the concrete footers installed as well. Pretty much all of the setup. This will be financed in with our mortgage loan, so we are not having to scrape all this up in the beginning. My understanding is that the electric company is responsible for running line from the ugly green box to your home in order to provide you with service. Don't know if a charge will eventually show on the bill for this or if they just do it to get your business. The phone company is responsible for running the line from the road or wherever it may be to your home also, in return for your service I guess. Not sure if a charge will show up for that either. Setting up one of these babies is very costly, but we have a much bigger home for the money I guess. Nothing is cheap nowadays, that's for sure.

[Danny]

Collene, I think you should step back and take a deep breath. Don't let anyone push you into something you aren't sure about. Make sure you understand exactly what is involved and get it in writing before agreeing to anything. If you need help determining the value of the services being provided by the dealer or whoever, ask friends, relatives and neighbors for their input. Just my 2 cents.
Danny

[Randy Eaton]

Hello Collene,

A land/home package will include all site preparations costs into the total loan amount. Get a few bids from different contracts. If the retailer is willing to do the work get a bid from them also. Bottom line there is a lot to prep-work that goes into preparing a site and a professional will be your best bet. My book deals with site preparation in detail and I would encourage you to get yourself a copy. It will save you a lot of time and money.

Randy Eaton

[Rick]

Colleen,
Don't forget drive, side walks, land scaping, lawn, doesn't the person selling the home offer any support along these lines?