There is so much a Qualico Community can offer you and your family; a fantastic home, beautiful parks, playgrounds and urban forests, as well as wide variety of nearby amenities. In addition to these benefits, purchasing a new home in a Qualico community will allow you to choose the lot that your house will be built on.
For this reason, it is important to understand the various lot options available to you in a Qualico community.
Lot Location
Like the old adage says, when it comes to real estate, it’s all about “location, location, location”. Looking at the big picture, where you build your home is determined by the type of community you’d like to live in. Your home’s location will differ greatly if you’d like to live in a bedroom community, as opposed to a community closer to downtown Edmonton.
On a smaller level, you will want to consider how much traffic you mind having on your street. If you want fewer cars zipping down your street, choosing a lot located in a cul-de-sac would be a great option for you. However, keep in mind that while there will be less traffic to contend with, your home will be built much closer to your neighbours.
Take time to think about which amenities you want to live closest to or furthest away from - parks, playgrounds, bike paths, retail centres and other community features. This will help narrow down your search for an ideal lot.
Lot Zoning
When choosing a lot, you will have a variety of choices to pick from. This is especially true if you are building in a brand new community, or there are several phases in the community where lots are available. However, it’s important to note that this doesn’t mean you can build on any lot you please.
Municipalities approve development plans with zoned lots that are submitted by land developers in order to control the housing density within each of its communities. This means that every lot is zoned for a specific home type. So if you are going to build a duplex style home, you won’t be able to build it on a lot zoned for a single family home, or vice versa.
When referencing a map of a Qualico Community, lot zoning is visually represented by assigning a colour to each zoning type. While this may limit your lot choices slightly depending on the home you will be building, it vastly improves the streetscape as it provides an organized and cohesive appearance.
Lot Sizes
As you review one of our phase maps, you will notice a number of values displayed on each lot. The numerical values along each side of the lot indicate the dimensions of the lot’s size. However, the most important number is the one displayed within the outline of the home on the lot.
This number will tell you how wide the home built on that lot can be. This is important because it will tell you whether the home you want to build can fit on a specific lot. For example, if the lot allows for a 26 foot wide home, you won’t be able to fit the 32 foot wide home you want to build.
Builders are able to make changes to their models to include some variation in the width of the home, but this may not always be the case. If you’ve fallen in love with a certain model, ask your builder which lot sizes the model would fit on. This will help you as you refine your search for the perfect lot.
Lot Orientation & Features
Garages
The phase map will also show you on which side of the home your garage will be positioned. If you have a particular preference for having your garage on the right or left side of your lot, this will help you in determining which lot to build on.
If a lot has a rear lane, the garage will be located behind your home to provide your vehicle access to it. Keep in mind that a detached garage isn’t always provided with your home and may require that you pay extra for this.
Walkout & Partial Walkouts
Some lots that back out onto public areas may indicate that they are walkouts or partial walkouts. This means the lot will provide you with access to these public areas directly from your backyard. On a community phase map, these will be indicated as “WO” or “PW”.
Pie Shaped Lots
Homes located in cul-de-sacs and along some street corners are built on pie-shaped lots. These lots will provide you with a larger backyard, and in some cases, provide room for a wider home. While you will likely pay more for these lots, the benefit of having more space at your disposal is worth it.
Qualico Communities have a wide variety of lot choices close to great community amenities. By understanding what all of your lot options are, you will be able to confidently decide where you would like to build your new home.
