{"id":75280,"date":"2024-06-07T16:59:48","date_gmt":"2024-06-07T22:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/?p=75280"},"modified":"2024-06-07T16:59:48","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T22:59:48","slug":"thoughts-on-home-construction-for-prepared-citizens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/07\/thoughts-on-home-construction-for-prepared-citizens\/","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts on Home Construction for Prepared Citizens"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Thoughts on Home Construction for Prepared Citizens<\/a><\/h1>\n

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A thoughtful reader asks,\u00a0“Do you have any recommendations for resources when it comes to new home construction?”\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0Let’s talk about that.<\/h2>\n

My wife and I moved into our current home seven years ago last week. \u00a0We built this home with resiliency in mind. \u00a0(At least I did; she focused more on aesthetics while I focused more on surviving grid down scenarios). \u00a0We ended up with what I believe is one of the more resilient homes in our community. \u00a0What steps can you take if you’re building a home to make your crib more zombie resistant?<\/h2>\n

I’m going to approach this topically.<\/h2>\n

\u00a0And if I leave off your favorite house feature, it’s okay. \u00a0No need to email me to point it out.<\/h2>\n

Property Selection<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you haven’t purchased the property yet, here are some things to consider.<\/h2>\n

Who will be your elected representatives?<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0Specifically, who will be your city councilmember and your county commissioner? \u00a0Who will be your mayor? \u00a0Your state representative and senator? \u00a0Your representative in Congress? \u00a0Knowing who serves your area will tell you a lot about the attitudes and beliefs of your potential neighbors. \u00a0Our elected officials reflect who we are. \u00a0Find out who these people are and Google them.<\/h2>\n

If you want to live in a politically blue community or a red one, this step is a must.<\/h2>\n

How close are you to the nearest fire hydrant and fire station?<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0That matters to some insurers. \u00a0We have a fire station nearby. \u00a0It’s not a bad feature.<\/h2>\n

What are the average response times for first responders?<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0And how does that compare to the averages in other communities? \u00a0While you’re at it, look at local crime rates.<\/h2>\n

What’s the water situation?<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0Are you going to be on municipal water? \u00a0If not, do you need to drill a well? \u00a0If you’re drilling a well, how deep will you have to go and what’s the water quality of the well water? \u00a0In my neighborhood, well drilling is very hit or miss. \u00a0And expensive. \u00a0Which is why we opted for a rainwater collection system for all of our water needs. \u00a0Bathing, drinking, flushing – we use purified rainwater for everything. \u00a0If you’re thinking about rainwater as a main source of water, you’ll need to ensure you’re buying property in an area receiving sufficient rainfall.<\/h2>\n

If you had to evacuate from the neighborhood rapidly, how easy would that be?\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0Wildfires, chemical spills, floods and imminent lock downs – if you need to bail out of the crib, how quickly can you get out of your neighborhood?<\/h2>\n

Speaking of floods, is the property in a flood plain, and if so, which one?<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0Do not –\u00a0do not<\/strong>\u00a0– rely upon your realtor or the seller to know the answer to that question. \u00a0Find out from your lender and insurer. \u00a0The flood maps are subject to change. \u00a0If you’re not in a flood zone now, is there a realistic chance you will be put in one later? \u00a0Depending on the flood risk, you may need to build higher to secure insurance and reduce the flood risk.<\/h2>\n

Speaking of wildfires and chemical spills, what’s around you that can blow up, catch fire, or otherwise damage your home?<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0What’s around your home and neighborhood? \u00a0If they light up, blow down, sink into the ground or are otherwise compromised, how would that impact your home?<\/h2>\n

What are the taxes like? \u00a0<\/em>Have an idea of what you’ll pay in property taxes before you buy and build.<\/h2>\n

Who are your neighbors?<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0Go on the tax rolls (many counties have them on line) and get the names of the people living around the property. \u00a0Google them. \u00a0Look them up on social media. \u00a0Are the posting crazy nonsense on Facebook? \u00a0Are they tweeting out that people like you are terrible human beings who need to be canceled? \u00a0Were they ever charged with violent crimes? \u00a0Are they going to be angry with you for putting the wrong political sign in your yard? \u00a0Find this out now.<\/h2>\n

What houses of worship are nearby?<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0I assign some value to this because as a general rule, religious facilities make for good neighbors. \u00a0Not only are they relatively quiet, but given their stated purpose, they focus on improving the lives of the people they serve. \u00a0This often spills over into helping the community. \u00a0Your local houses of worship will likely be pressed into service as help centers during larger crises. \u00a0Having one nearby – even if you’re not of that particular faith – may be an asset.<\/h2>\n

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Thoughts on Home Construction for Prepared Citizens   A thoughtful reader asks,\u00a0“Do you have any recommendations for resources when it comes to new home construction?”\u00a0\u00a0Let’s talk about that. My wife and I moved into our current home seven years ago last week. \u00a0We built this home with resiliency in mind. \u00a0(At least I did; she…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[6613,3644,14101,398,399,2161,496,1189,5570,5543,7017,15551],"tags":[689,17504,691,15386,313,5823],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75280"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75280"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75286,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75280\/revisions\/75286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}