If you’ve been thinking about building in Indian Hill, this article is for you.
Building a custom luxury home is a thrilling process that involves many moving parts. We’re going to walk you through the steps it takes to begin building a new home in Indian Hill, from choosing your lot to designing for functionality and accomplishing your build goals. We’ll also talk about avoiding common pitfalls in the initial ideation phases of building a home, and give tips to minimize friction and confusion when looking for land to build on.
Lot Size & Location
Building starts with finding the right land, and this decision sets the foundation—literally and figuratively—for the entire plan. In Indian Hill, you’ll generally find that lots come in three sizes:
- 1-Acre Lots: typically starting around $700K.
- 3-Acre Lots: generally begin around $1.3M.
- 5-Acre Lots: usually costing above $1.6M.
Due to zoning restrictions, lots in Indian Hill cannot be parceled up between multiple residential properties. That means you can’t buy a 5-acre lot and split it among numerous homes. The size of a lot is usually dependent on its location in the village, and similar-sized acreages are grouped together. Additionally, lots cannot be smaller than one acre in Indian Hill.
There may be small nuances such as shared driveways, easements, and unusual topography that can create specific hurdles for homebuilding. For this reason, it is beneficial to consult with Henley Homes, who can navigate complex zoning and acreage standards.
Topography
Topography significantly impacts the construction of your home. Indian Hill lives up to its name, featuring plenty of sloping and uneven terrain. However, flat land is still available if you know where to look, especially for 1 and 3-acre lots.
Flat land is more accommodating to features such as main-level pools and single-level porches and yards. Access to utilities is also simpler on flat acres.
Building on sloped land presents its own set of advantages or challenges. Elevations can offer stunning views and distinctive appeal, but care must be taken to make sure homes have sufficient erosion control and multiplex foundation work. With a qualified plan, homes on hills can feature multiple walkouts – something that requires constructed elevation on a flat lot.
Sloped land makes easier installation of features like egress windows.
It’s worth having a land survey completed on a potential plot of land to fully understand what you’re buying.
Finding Plots: A Challenge
Here’s an unfortunate truth: finding available lots in Indian Hill is difficult for individual buyers.
Oftentimes, lots are sold through private transactions before they hit the public market. In fact, most lots are not purchased alone but bought with an existing property on it. Whereas most people looking to build may envision buying just a lot, in truth you’ll probably be searching for a lot with a home on it and will need to handle the property that comes with it. You may need to tear down an old home to make room for your new one, which Hensley Homes does more than 50% of the time in Indian Hill.
Partnering with a knowledgeable team can help mitigate these challenges, particularly one who is well-connected in the local community. Hensley Homes specializes in finding and acquiring available lots in Indian Hill. After helping homeowners find the right land, we manage every intricate detail of luxury home construction, including placement of the home on the lot, floor plan design, and daily coordination throughout the build cycle.
If you are looking to find land for a luxury home in Indian Hill, Hensley Homes will help.
