By Petronus Realty
Building rather than buying gives you something no developer will: a house laid out for how your family actually lives. It also makes you the project manager on a construction site, which is a job. These are the four things worth settling before the first payment.
1. Confirm what the plot is zoned for
A plot's permitted use, floor area ratio and setback requirements determine what you can build long before an architect gets involved. Two adjacent plots can carry different FAR. Ask for the land-use classification and the sanctioned layout, and confirm the plot is in a planned development with approved access rather than a converted agricultural holding with an informal road.
If the seller cannot produce a conversion certificate for land that was previously agricultural, that is the whole conversation.
2. Budget the approvals, not just the build
Buyers reliably budget for cement, steel and labour and reliably forget sanction fees, the architect and structural consultant, soil testing, the electricity and water connections, and the completion certificate at the end. Together these are rarely less than a tenth of the project and often more. Build them into the number you start with rather than discovering them at the point you are least able to absorb them.
3. Decide how you are financing the gap
A construction loan disburses in tranches tied to verified progress, which means you fund each stage before the bank reimburses it. The gap between spending and disbursement is real working capital, and it is the single most common reason self-builds stall. Agree the tranche schedule with your lender and your contractor at the same time, so the milestones match.
4. Choose the contract type deliberately
- Item-rate contracts bill for measured work. Transparent, and they expose you to quantity overruns.
- Lump-sum contracts fix the price against a specification. Predictable, and every change you ask for becomes a variation at the contractor's price.
- Labour-only contracts put you in charge of procurement. Cheapest on paper and the most demanding of your time.
None is wrong. Choosing without understanding the trade-off is what causes the arguments at month seven.
We list plots with the approval status stated upfront, including where a sanction is still pending. Ask us for the ones that are genuinely build-ready.