FOOTPRINT OF A HOUSE IN RELATION TO THE BUILDING LOT:

• The Footprint of a house is the dimensions of the total covered area of the home including garages and porches. 
• Most subdivision lots have "Setback" requirements and "Easements". 
• Setback requirements stipulate how far back from the street your home can be set.  There may be both a minimum setback and a maximum setback.  (Ex.  Minimum setback = 50' from center of the street, Maximum setback = 250' from center of street.)
• Easements are areas included on your lot for which the utility companies have access for power, sewer and/or drainage lines to service your home and/or the homes around you.  You can not build on an easement and some Easements also will not allow tree planting, etc.  Sometimes, however, a driveway can be placed over an easement, however, if a Utility company needs to dig in this area, your driveway will be destroyed.  Not all utility companies are required to replace your driveway since you voluntarily placed it on an easement, although, many do.

THE TOTAL BUILDABLE AREA OF YOUR LOT is determined by subtracting the easements on all sides of the lot and determining how much space is left in the middle.  This may be a simple subtraction calculation if you have a perfectly square/rectangular lot.  If your lot is NOT square, you may need help to determine the buildable area of the lot so that you can search for the correct size home.  The good news is, the Developer' engineering company can probably answer the "Buildable Area" question in a matter of minutes because the subdivision was probably drawn on an AutoCAD-type program.  Before you spend a lot of money for calculation services, call the Engineering Company who created your PLAT. 

• NOTE: You can request a copy of the PLAT from the person selling you the lot, your builder or the developer.  Be sure to ask for a FINAL and/or RECORDED PLAT because it will have the engineer's information listed and it is not subject to change (well, not without a lot of trouble).  The plat may be available on line at your county assessor's site or through your developer's webite.  Plats are public record.
• A local Engineer, Architect or Home Plan designer can produce a PLOT PLAN.  A Plot Plan is a drawing showing only your lot and locating your home's footprint on the lot.  The distance from your home to lot lines will be shown.  Generally, easements are also shown to prove that your home is in compliance with local requirements.  IF your lot has special conditions or trees that you desire to keep, you may need a survey to locate these items so that your home can be adequately located on the lot.