Hello all,
We bought a different house a year ago with an additional adjoining lot. We were “downsizing” but somehow ended up with a bigger house and a lot that is nearly three times the size of our former one, add in the second lot and we end up with 1.3 acres, how does that work!!
After years of wishful thinking I am finally taking the plunge and building a shop/garage. It is 34' X 36' custom plan. The finished walls will be 10' high and it will have a 9x16 door, and 9x10 door. No HOA’s to deal with, but the covenants of the subdivision require it to match the primary dwelling. I originally purchased the second lot to secure my view (golf course and hillside) not wanting someone to build behind my house and basically be in my back yard. I had to jump though a few hoops as the covenants also do not allow for a shop on a lot by itself, they require a dwelling with an attached garage. We contacted the original builder who is also the subdivision developer and asked him if we could add on to our house, staying on the original lot. He indicated we could, but we would have to move all utilities and UG sprinklers which could drive the cost up. He made the comment that it was too bad I didn’t own the empty lot as that would be a great place for the shop. I explained to him that I did own it, but was worried about the covenants. He reviewed them for me and then came back with the solution: we get the lot(s) surveyed and aggregated into one large lot that of course would have a dwelling on it (my current house) which would then allow for the construction of the shop on my lot. FYI, we are building it far enough forward on the lot as to not obstruct the view and we get the added benefit of blocking of the neighbor’s house as well!
The aggregation and survey went without problem, took about 30 days and a couple thousand bucks, but we were able to finalize the process last week. At the same time the building permits were applied for and plans were draw up. The permits were a breeze and issued two days after the plat was filed with the county so we were ready to go. The builder was ready to go as he had a framing crew at my house last week and they prefabbed a majority of the walls (they actually had another job delay so he could get there quicker than originally planned!)
The excavator dug the hole yesterday so we are finally rolling. I’ll try and keep up with the progress!
We bought a different house a year ago with an additional adjoining lot. We were “downsizing” but somehow ended up with a bigger house and a lot that is nearly three times the size of our former one, add in the second lot and we end up with 1.3 acres, how does that work!!
After years of wishful thinking I am finally taking the plunge and building a shop/garage. It is 34' X 36' custom plan. The finished walls will be 10' high and it will have a 9x16 door, and 9x10 door. No HOA’s to deal with, but the covenants of the subdivision require it to match the primary dwelling. I originally purchased the second lot to secure my view (golf course and hillside) not wanting someone to build behind my house and basically be in my back yard. I had to jump though a few hoops as the covenants also do not allow for a shop on a lot by itself, they require a dwelling with an attached garage. We contacted the original builder who is also the subdivision developer and asked him if we could add on to our house, staying on the original lot. He indicated we could, but we would have to move all utilities and UG sprinklers which could drive the cost up. He made the comment that it was too bad I didn’t own the empty lot as that would be a great place for the shop. I explained to him that I did own it, but was worried about the covenants. He reviewed them for me and then came back with the solution: we get the lot(s) surveyed and aggregated into one large lot that of course would have a dwelling on it (my current house) which would then allow for the construction of the shop on my lot. FYI, we are building it far enough forward on the lot as to not obstruct the view and we get the added benefit of blocking of the neighbor’s house as well!
The aggregation and survey went without problem, took about 30 days and a couple thousand bucks, but we were able to finalize the process last week. At the same time the building permits were applied for and plans were draw up. The permits were a breeze and issued two days after the plat was filed with the county so we were ready to go. The builder was ready to go as he had a framing crew at my house last week and they prefabbed a majority of the walls (they actually had another job delay so he could get there quicker than originally planned!)
The excavator dug the hole yesterday so we are finally rolling. I’ll try and keep up with the progress!
