What I will do is briefly mention some of what we learned in the quest for somewhere to build.
Having chosen the general location where you want to live you then need to get specific.
Even if you plan on becoming an entirely self-sufficient hermit, there will be a town nearby and a local authority who will seek to relieve you of serious money for the privilege of living within their jurisdiction.
A major decision is whether to buy an established home or a vacant piece of dirt on which to build your sustainable dream.
In most locations the prospect of buying a purpose built sustainable home is slim indeed.
The theory behind sustainable housing ideas such as passive solar design, have been known to man since before the might of the Roman Empire.
But in The West, almost no one cared until the last few decades.
And even now the majority of new domestic housing only conforms in part to environmentally good design because governments are forcing new homes to incorporate energy efficient features.
Existing houses can be made much more environmentally friendly. You can of course retro-fit products such as solar panels or water tanks to an old house. And vegetables can be planted in even the smallest of gardens.
But the fact remains that if you want to live in an environmentally friendly passive solar designed house with all the good features, you are probably going to have to build new.
That means you will be buying an old house to demolish or vacant land which is zoned to allow a house to be built upon it.
There are some land buying tips here from a US based website.
Closer to town, vacant land may be hard to find and will almost certainly be more expensive than land further out. Out of town, services may be less well developed so that you may for example have no connection to sewerage or you may have to rely on collecting your own rainwater.
The lack of services such as town water and sewerage can be seen both as an expensive inconvenience and a blessing.
You have to install your own rainwater tanks and pumps but you will never again have to pay the water utility company for water.
The same goes for sewerage. Modern residential sewage disposal systems such as Biolytix are very efficient and can be used to water your garden as well. And you dont pay any bills related to sewerage.
The Woman and I decided on some land which is zoned rural-residential. Its basically subject to the same regulations as an urban building block but is much larger in size at just over 4,800 square metres.
For the same price we could have bought five acres (20,000 + square metres) further out of town but we feel our block is large enough for us to do all we want without taking on the extra work involved in maintaining anything larger.
Even a vacant block of land has to be maintained. Neighbours will not tolerate overgrown grass or weeds which could be home to vermin, or dead trees and shrubs which could be a fire hazard. Be prepared to do some yard work or pay to have it done.
The land you buy has to be suitable for what you intend to do with it and whilst that sounds too obvious, there may be factors which make it unsuitable. Such factors may not be immediately obvious.
You may want to read The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries note Some Precautions When Buying Rural Land
Try to find out what it the land was used for in the past.
Amazingly, some land is actually toxic, poisoned by previous use.
In the past Organochlorines such as DDT were routinely used around buildings for termite control and on vegetables and fruit for pest control.
Arsenic was used in sheep dip and on deciduous fruit.
High levels of Cadmium can appear in soils which have been heavily treated with phosphate fertilisers.
The list goes on. Beware.
Also make sure the water table is where it should be and will not be rising to meet you the next time it rains heavily. Check that there are no underground streams which could undermine your buildings or cause damp problems.
Its up to you to ask the questions. Talk to the locals, talk to the neighbours.
Sellers are unlikely to advise you that you will be under the flight path of a proposed runway.
When it comes to price you are less likely to get ripped off than when buying an established house but you still need to look at what similar properties are selling for and be prepared to pay a bit extra for land which has features such as sea views.
And always haggle. Be prepared to walk away if the vendor will not negotiate what you think is a fair price. Like any saleable commodity a block of land is only worth as much as a buyer is willing to pay for it.
As many of us have found to our dismay, events beyond our control such as the recent financial crisis can wipe many thousands off the value of real estate. If you can take advantage of the downturn then lucky you.
But if you are buying somewhere to build your dream then paying a premium to get what you want is worth it because if all goes to plan, what you are buying is your future happiness.
Only you can decide if the house you want will go on the land you buy.
Remember that there is a lot more to placing a house on a block than just making sure it will fit.
Passive solar design requires that the house be oriented correctly and that solar panels can be located to receive unobstructed sunlight.
Prevailing winter and summer winds may also influence where the house goes.
There may well be practical considerations which stop you obtaining maximum benefit from passive solar design.
Proximity to neighbours or building to maximise nice views may mean a compromise in the quest for maximum sustainability.
Our block used to be part of a pineapple plantation. It has a slope of about 1:13 and the house will be built on the higher part of the block.
The block will never flood and its elevated position in relation to adjacent blocks means that we will catch the breeze and take advantage of some water views.
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