If you’ve ever bought or looked into purchasing land, you already know how frustrating and confusing it can be! If you’re buying land for the first time, it can be even more intimidating.
To help alleviate your stress and make the process go more smoothly, we put together a list below of the biggest dos and don’ts when purchasing land. Keep reading for some help.
1. DO Use High-Quality Land Searching Sites
When you are still perusing and looking for your future space to buy, make sure you use a reliable source. Helpful sites allow you to search for specific types of land in addition to locations of that space.
You must search in different parts of the US to get a chance to find the right type of land. If you need help figuring out where to start, these recourses will show you trending and popular plots to look at.
Investigating popular areas will help you have more ideas as you go forward with your property-buying endeavour!
2. DON’T Plan to Rezone
This is another tip that mainly applies to land that hasn’t been built on or anyone planning to rebuild that property. Zoning laws are very strict, and if you’re buying space that has already been zoned as residential, this is likely to stay the same.
It would take years of expensive lawsuits, and even those would likely not allow you to rezone that space for anything else. If part of your dream is to open a commercial venture on your new land, abiding by your locality’s zoning laws will save you a lot of heartaches.
Alternatively, scale your business idea to fit within your county and state’s guidelines for home-based occupations.
3. DO Pay Close Attention to Environmental Tests
Environmental tests will determine what you can build and where. The importance of these tests cannot be understated!
They check for contaminated soil, chemicals, pollution, and toxic substances that might be in the ground on the property you would like to buy. If you’re planning to use the space for agriculture, it becomes even more critical because if the ground is terrible, nothing will grow in the soil, and anything that does won’t be safe to eat.
Even if you are planning to build there and live on the land, if it’s contaminated, a building might not be possible and living there could be dangerous to your health. You may also have a very difficult time reselling the land in the future if it’s found to contain pollution and toxic chemicals.
4. DON’T Ignore The Surrounding Home Property Values
When buying acreage, a surprisingly low price should be taken as a warning sign rather than a goldmine. If you find a deal that seems too good to be true, it more than likely is.
Buying property is ultimately an investment. If you choose an expensive area where the surrounding homes or properties are increasing in value, yours will too.
But if everything around your land is in disrepair and diminishing in value, even if the plot is very cheap, future buyers will be less likely to want to buy your space too. This might make you lose money in the future because of that surrounding space.
5. DO Consider Accessibility and Utilities
This mainly applies to vacant land that you would build on. Most homes that have already been built have their utilities in order and a driveway installed.
If you are building a home or anything on vacant land, you must consider how accessible your future building will be to the road.
You should also consider if it is guaranteed that you will be able to add in the piping necessary to give you access to clean running water, heat, gas, etc.
When buying land, prioritise parcels with septic tanks and electrical hookups installed. This will save you tens of thousands of dollars down the road.
Additionally, consider practical considerations such as nearby grocery stores, gas stations, and entertainment. Living in an isolated location may sound appealing to many, but the dream can fade quickly once you realise the closest place to buy food or go to the movies is over an hour away.
Final Thoughts
Purchasing land is an intimidating process, for sure! But you should still get the land that you have always wanted.
With some tips and tricks listed here, you can make this happen without getting stuck on land you didn’t want, or that might be different from what you were hoping for. For the best experience, keep to these dos and don’ts.
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