Weeks 4 and 5 – Selecting an Architect and Lots more Lots

We officially selected an architect last week and we are very excited about working with Caldwell Cline in Marietta, Georgia.  It is a bit of hike over to the offices, but Roger Caldwell seems to have an especially good understanding of the themes we are seeking in our custom architecture.  We have already established a number of elements of the elevation such as a wrap-around front porch and a separation of the main house and the garage with a breezeway.  Caldwell Cline also has a lot of portfolio plans that represent the mix of exterior materials – we do not want just brick and stone – that we would like.  We have continued to put a lot of thought into the elements we want in our floor plan as well.  Our next meeting with the architect will be onsite once we have finalized a lot selection.

On the lot selection, after reviewing numerous options in subdivisions across Milton / Alpharetta / Crabapple, we have narrowed the lot options down to three.  Once we narrowed the option pool to three, Artisan Custom Estates assisted us in a preliminary engineering assessment of each option since significant earthwork costs can be incurred to prepare a buildable lot for construction.  My tendency is to compare the lot prices directly to one another, but I have seen that the lot preparation costs can be a significant percentage of the all-in cost to prepare to start building.  Some of the specific considerations include basement configuration (i.e. which side of the basement will be daylight), water and erosion control, and landscaping plans.  Having a builder with experience developing land has been important in this part of the process.

The ball remains in our court at this point to narrow the lot options down to one.  At that point we can get started in earnest on our custom architecture.  Then, it will seem like we are really getting somewhere. -Bill

Tags: Alpharetta, architect, Artisan Custom Estates, Caldwell Cline, Crabapple, custom architecture, developing land, GA, Georgia, Marietta, Milton

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