ACCESS

Access is one of the most important features that determine the usability of the property in addition to the underlying topography

When weighing up access you look at three things:

Access to the property.
Type, length and location of the roads on the property.
Access to utilities and easements.

This will help you determine the ease of access to the property, the ease of movement around it, the potential maintenance costs, and what utilities are available and at what cost.

Knowing all of this will help you avoid properties that will be a drain on your resources and choose the ones where you’ll have most – if not all – elements playing in your favor.

To access the roads and paths leading to and on the property, you’ll have to conduct an on-site assessment and determine their condition and functionality.

The second part of the assessment involves checking the local utility companies’ availability and location of utilities relative to the location of your property. For this you’ll have to conduct some Internet searching and make a few inquiries over the phone.

ROADS

PART A: ACCESS TO THE PROPERTY

STEP 1. Look at the type and condition of the road

What type of road is leading to the property? Is it paved, asphalt, dirt, gravel or is there no access at all?
What condition it is it in? Is it eroded or well- maintained?

STEP 2. Look at the length of the road

How long is the road leading to the property?
How far is it from a main asphalt public road?

STEP 3. What is the ease of access

How long is the road leading to the property?
How far is it from a main asphalt public road?

PART B: TYPE, LENGTH AND LOCATION OF THE ROADS ON THE PROPERTY

STEP 1. Look at the type and condition of the roads

What types of roads are there on the property? Are they paved, asphalt, dirt, gravel or are there no roads at all?
What condition are they in?

STEP 2. Look at the length of the roads

What’s the distance from the main road to the house site?

STEP 3. Look at the location of the roads

Where are the roads located? Are they in valleys, on the contours or along the ridgeline?
Are they steep?

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Type #1 Risk Assessment:

Be cautious about three things: 1. Long dirt/gravel roads that lead to the house, especially if they are in a valley. 2. Overly steep roads 3. Roads leading to the property that are subject to flooding. All these represent a high risk of type #1 error.

ACCESS TO UTILITIES AND EASEMENTS

PART A: INQUIRE ABOUT ACCESS TO UTILITIES

STEP 1. Check out the existing utilities

Find out if the property already has access to utilities that you desire, such as Internet, electricity, gas…
Talk with the realtor/property owner to find out as much as possible.

STEP 2. Check out the cost of connecting to the utilities

If there aren’t some of the utilities you’ll need, find out how much would it cost to set them up.
Search online and make phone calls to the utility companies to get this information.

PART B: EASEMENTS

STEP 1. Check if there are any easements

Talk with a realtor or property owner to find out if there are any easements on the property..

STEP 2. Locate the easements

If there are easements, locate them on the site, see how wide an exclusion zone they make on the land.

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Type #1 Risk Assessment:

Easements are not necessarily bad as you need the utilities on the property but try to avoid the big ones such as cellphone towers, big power lines, and public or private roads… as they represent a high risk of type #1 error.

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