Land and site selection
Choose the parcel by proving that the intended dwelling and shop can be approved, reached and serviced. A low purchase price can be outweighed by unresolved infrastructure or land-use constraints. Use a staged feasibility review before committing to a building footprint or assuming neighboring property conditions apply.
Vet a parcel before you buyBy the KC Barndominium Builders Team. Updated September 19, 2026. This is planning guidance and original source synthesis, not a parcel approval, project estimate or engineered design. Use the questions with the professionals responsible for your particular build.
Confirm the legal parcel, recorded access, allowed residential use, private restrictions and the space needed for the proposed activities. Ask which agency has jurisdiction rather than relying on the mailing address. Write down whether a second dwelling, business activity or phased occupancy is intended; those facts can change the answer.
A conventional septic system uses both a tank and soil treatment area; available land alone does not establish suitable conditions. Have the responsible local authority and qualified evaluator determine the required site evaluation and system options. Protect the proposed treatment area and any required replacement area from building, driveway and construction traffic. EPA explains the mechanism, not your parcel’s permit eligibility.
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Request written service information tied to the proposed building location. For electricity, distinguish nearby lines from the capacity, connection and extension needed for your loads. For water, establish the provider, availability and connection conditions. For access, check legal rights separately from physical driveway construction; a visible track does not prove an easement.
Surface appearance cannot establish bearing conditions or a foundation design. Give the designer the proposed building position, drainage concept and relevant site investigation. A flat area may still need unsuitable material removed or drainage resolved. Request scope for grading, retaining needs and access protection instead of assuming a standard slab fits every lot.
Use a side-by-side worksheet: purchase price, known enabling work, unresolved approvals, utility evidence and feasible building envelope. Do not give an unknown item a zero cost. A parcel with a documented route to utilities may be easier to budget than one with a lower asking price and unanswered access or wastewater questions.
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Overlay the preliminary home/shop footprint, driveway, utility routes, wastewater areas and site constraints on the available survey information. Have the relevant professionals confirm feasibility, then refine room layouts. Keep purchase and design decisions tied to written evidence; this worksheet does not replace title, survey, environmental or engineering review.
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Use the authority responsible for your parcel; neighboring jurisdictions can have different requirements.
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Next step
Tell us what you want the building to do, where it might go, and which decisions you already know.
