How to read a community site plan before you pick a lot

Every new community has a site plan on file. It shows every lot, every phase, the retention ponds, the amenity center, the future commercial parcels, and the roads that have not been cut yet. Buyers rarely ask to see it. It is the single most useful document in the sales office.

First thing I look at is phasing. If you buy in phase one, you get the lowest prices and three years of construction traffic outside your door. Later phases cost more and move in quiet. Neither is wrong, but you should choose it on purpose.

Second, the ponds and preserves. A preserve lot behind you cannot be built on. A pond lot has a view and a breeze, and usually a premium attached. An empty parcel marked future development can become anything.

Third, the road pattern. Cut-through streets carry the whole neighborhood past your mailbox. Cul-de-sacs do not. Corner lots have two street frontages and less usable yard.

Fourth, the CDD boundary. Much of Northeast Florida's new construction sits inside a community development district, and that assessment rides on your tax bill for decades. Know the number before you sign, not at closing.

Ask for the site plan on your first visit. If the sales team will not show it to you, that itself tells you something.