Make sure you are able build the cottage or house that you want on that vacant land you have fallen in love with. There are a number of critical considerations that you must address before you close the deal...

1. Hire a real estate professional that knows the land development process.

2. Make sure your Agreement of Purchase and Sale is conditional upon your ability to obtain the necessary building permit for your desired home design.

3. Check with the local Ontario Hydro Office to confirm that electricity is available at the site or get if not how much will it cost to service the site. Determine connection charges.

4. Check if there is public water service available at the site. If not, search well records for the likely presence of water and allow for the expense of well drilling in your construction costs.

5. Contact the municipality to check if there are public sewer lines to the property, and confirm that there is capacity available. If not, allow for the cost of installing that system.

6. If you require a septic system, confirm that the you can obtained the necessary Ministry and Health approvals for a system design suitable for your proposed house.

7. Contact the municipal building/planning department to confirm that the lot is correctly zoned for your proposed use and that the house will fit within the allowable setbacks and other restrictions.

8. Check with the local Conservation Authority, Ministry of Environment and the muncipality to ensure the the site has no environmental restrictions and that your proposed use is fully compliant with all environmental regulations.

9. Inspect the lot with your contractor to confirm that the topography will not cause any unexpected costs during construction.

10. File your blueprints and building permit application and confirm that there will be no problem with receiving a permit.

Close title to the property.