Get advise from professionals

Do not pass on getting soil tests. They may seem expensive, but consider the importance. If the foundation of your house is set on sand, your house is going to sink, crack, and cost you 10's of thousands of dollars to repair. Before committing to the site, an experienced builder like Dan Amon to look at it. Also, a local architect should be brought on board. The architect can look at it from the design standpoint, and Dan can look at it from the standpoint of building challenges. Dan has the experience to to give you a comprehensive evaluation.If there are valuable trees, you may want to consider the services of an arborist. Also, a landscape architect would be a wise investment before purchasing the lot and putting up a valuable house. The landscape architect can work with an engineer to determine soil problems that may affect placement of the site, excavation and prep costs.

Building on raw, undeveloped land

In the Georgetown area, there is still a lot of undeveloped land. As this is being written, Dan Amon is building a house on raw land high above Lake Georgetown. This house is on acreage between Russell Park and Tejas Park. There is a lot of this undeveloped land being annexed into the city of Georgetown. An architect should be consulted before committing to the purchase a building site on raw land. Preferably, Dan and the architect can visit the site together. Ninety-eight percent of Georgetown is over the Edwards Aquifer and drainage is always an issue. Much of Georgetown is on a septic system. Soil samples and a perc test should be done to insure a septic system is feasible if the site is not on the city sewer system.