Top Things To Consider When Building a Mountain Home

Have you always dreamed of owning a piece of land in the mountains with a log cabin on it, that is secluded from everything and everyone?

After all, there are quite a few health benefits to mountain living. Believe it or not, most people probably have had that same dream. If you’ve decided that instead of going through a real estate agent and purchasing an already existing mountain home, you would rather find a builder, a piece of land, and build your own, then this is the guide for you.

When you’re searching for how to buy land and build a house in the mountains, there are a few things that you need to consider before and during the building of your new home. It’s important to note that buying a log cabin and building a mountain home are two totally different things. You need to consider everything–from the land that you want to put the cabin on, to where you’re going to get the land loan to finance the cabin, and even the builder that you want to build your new home for you.

If you’ve considered just purchasing a mountain home from a seller, and decided it’s not the way to go for you, then finding a builder, getting a construction loan, putting a down payment on the land and building is the best bet for you. Read on below for a few things you need to consider when you’re in the process of building your own mountain cabin on raw land that you own.

Consider your location carefully.

While you’re probably going to want to be so far up the mountain that utilities have to be piped in, and after delivering your new monthly filter, the water filtration delivery driver has to stay for lunch before starting back down the mountain to town, then there are definitely a few things to consider about the location first. If you’re going to be living in the cabin full-time, you need to know the commuting times back and forth to the office and consider the impact of weather as well. Are you going to be able to get down off the mountain to go to work when the snow starts to fly?

You’ll also want to use AcreBin to give you a topography map of the entire property so that you know what is yours and what isn’t. You want to be able to see parcel or lot lines with an aerial view so that you can see every characteristic of the land that you’re considering purchasing and to help you plan what the best spot is to build your cabin on as well.

Animal Removal Options

Living in the mountains means that you’re going to have to deal with every kind of animal native to those same mountains. Many times, especially in the winter months, animals such as raccoons, squirrels, skunks, and even coyotes and foxes will make their way onto your property. The last thing you should do is try to trap and remove a wild animal from your home on your own. These animals are feral and they will attack you if they feel cornered. Your best bet is to contact an experienced animal trapper service to come to take care of removing the animal from your property for you.

By the same token, many times raccoons, squirrels, skunks, and other small animals will invade your attic or crawlspace and die there. It’s best not to perform dead animal removal yourself either, as they carry diseases. For any of these problems, it’s best to call in a reputable animal control company to take care of the issue.

Consider your plans for when it snows.

If you’re going to be living in the mountains, you’re going to not only have to get used to the snow; you’re also going to have to make plans for it. It’s best to go ahead and make those plans while your mountain home is being erected by the builder, so that you’ll be ready when you move in, and winter descends on the area.

You’ll want to consider everything from zoning to the area you build your home in according to how badly it snows there. Make sure that you have a plan for snow removal and road maintenance as well. While you may want to live well off the beaten path, you’ll need to know if the snowplows are going to be able to make it to your location when you’re snowed in, or acquire a snowplow and a way to dig yourself out instead.

Consider where your utilities will come from.

Knowing where your utilities are going to come from to power your new mountain home is a very real thing to consider. Does the water department have lines out where you are or do you need to have a deep well put in? Has electricity been run to the street you’re going to be living on? If not, then you’ll probably be charged a fee to have it run, and those fees are not cheap. Is there a sewer system out in the rural area you’re building your home in? What about gas? Do lines run that far out?

These are a few things that you’ll need to consider when you’re deciding where to build your dream log cabin. You can’t do without utilities in your home, so make sure you know all of the answers to these questions ahead of time, or that you have plans for other ways to get the answers as soon as possible.

Consider how far from civilization you’ll be living.

As with anything else in the world, there are pros and cons of living in the mountains as well. You’ll want to consider carefully how far from civilization you’re going to be, or even how far you want to be. The answer to that question depends on the person and how social you truly are.

These are just a few of the things you should consider when you’re building a mountain home. From where your utilities will be obtained, to your animal removal options, if you have these things all figured out, then you’re ready to build and enjoy the peace and quiet of living in the mountains for good.