Land Buying Do's & Don'ts...

TripleR · Jul 20, 2010

Very good advice; hard to add anything, but you might want to check crop history, get a soil sample and check percolation rates where your septic system is or will be. Paying for an appraisal may also be a good idea and check tax records. In my area rezoning has significantly raised property taxes in some areas.

Good luck as there is absolutely nothing like owning your own land and as much as you can afford as they stopped making it.

kebo · Jul 20, 2010

Assuming you build a house on it, will you have public sewer or will you have to go with septic tank and drain field? If the latter, you want to be sure it will pass a perk test at the homesite. What do other nearby homes use for this??

Will you have all rights to the land? Timber? Mineral? Someone already mentioned water rights. Hunting rights?

What about power from the local electric?? When you build, will you have to pay to run poles and wire from the nearest line down to your homesite? That would be good thing to check into up front. Usually they do it for little/no cost because they know they will make back their investment but some may do it differently.

Also it would be good to talk with the county building inspector and get a feel for what all is req'd in order to get permits to build, and the approximate cost. He may also have some advice to give you on other related points.

If you're going to have to drill a well, talk with adjacent homeowners if possible. They can usually tell you how deep they had to go to hit water. That will give you an idea of the well cost, since welldrillers often charge by the foot. If you get to talk with other owners in that area, ask them if there are any potential issues you should be concerned with.

This might seem odd now, but if you're going to eventually live there you might want to check the registered sex offenders list for that area IF you have small children now, or else plan to have children once you get moved there.

roger 4400 · Jul 20, 2010

Very good advises up to now. I bought my first lot (104 acres) in 1993, bought the lot where we live now ( 60 acres) in 1999 ,and bought another 41acres in 2005 because we had to pass on another owner lot to get to our 104 acres ( it was a source of troubles,never buy a lot that do not have direct acces to the road). Never regret to buy any lot, you fell so good walking on your own lot....now I,m getting older but for me it is something I never regretted. Good luck

BruceWard · Jul 20, 2010

Make sure to get a perk test Percolation test - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia before buying. I have seen people buy land and later learn that they could not install a septic system on the land.

dave1949 · Jul 20, 2010

Sounds like a nice parcel.

With the orchard and tillable land, I assume you are interested in growing some things. If you gave your location, I missed it, so this may be more or less applicable.

If the land is sloped or hilly, the compass orientation and elevation of the orchard and tillable area matters. Southern facing slopes warm earlier and grow better in northern states. Cool air drains downhill, this can help you dodge early and late frosts if the orchard is elevated a bit compared to the surrounding land.

If you want to consider a solar heated home in the future, the southern exposure is everything. You need ~100' to 150' to the east-south-west of your home site that you own and can be kept clear of tall trees. If you want a partially bermed solar home, a south facing slope is a great help because it takes many truckloads of fill to build the berms on level ground.

Try to picture what you would like the land to look like 10 and 20 years from now. Then consider if you see a clear path from what is there now to what you want in the future.

If you want to keep farm animals, how will that work out? Barn/shed/pasture locations, driveway access, gates & fencing, water supply, power, drainage, etc. You really need to develop a 'master plan' up front such that when you build something, it is part of that well thought out plan. No wasted, expensive do-overs or living with the less than optimal when it could have been better.

Good planning can reduce your ongoing manual work efforts considerably. Nobody gets it perfect, but you can come close.

I hope you enjoy your land.
Dave.

bullbreaker · Jul 20, 2010

Consider real estate attorney to go over fine print on contract and pray he or she is not in "cahoots" with seller.Also history of title company doing closing.
Boone

Botabill · Jul 20, 2010

There's a lot of great advice posted here. 30 years ago I bought my 30 acre plot that was no where near as well developed as the plot you're looking at. In fact it looked like a gravel pit. Now with a ton of work put into it by my wife and I it is like the garden of eden. If the price is right grab that brass ring. They ain't making anymore land.

Oliver1655 · Jul 20, 2010

Lots of good points. Another to consider is to check with the county tax collector and verify only one person is paying taxes on the property. My parents for over twenty years had paid taxes on land they had described on their title. However a neighbor also had part of this land on their title and also had been paying taxes on it. Since they had been paying taxes longer they ended up with the land. (No refund on the taxes my parents paid.) Title insurance is worth the money!

dave1949 · Jul 20, 2010

Oliver1655 said:
Lots of good points. Another to consider is to check with the county tax collector and verify only one person is paying taxes on the property. My parents for over twenty years had paid taxes on land they had described on their title. However a neighbor also had part of this land on their title and also had been paying taxes on it. Since they had been paying taxes longer they ended up with the land. (No refund on the taxes my parents paid.) Title insurance is worth the money!

That had to hurt.
Dave.

ThrowinDirt · Jul 20, 2010

Sorry about the delayed response fella's, been tied up at work. WOW, I did not expect this much response this quick!!! All of the replys have had great info in them. I was pleased to find that I've covered several of the issues already. But there are still things that I just learned in reading your reply's that I wouldn't have thought of, so that is greatly appreciated.

I was unaware that my location wasn't on my User tag. The Land is located in NW LA. Being in Louisiana there isn't any issues with snow. There is however tons of water down here. The other day I walked the land after several heavy rains & there were no drainage issues in the tillable land or homesite areas. The timbered section consists of ridges & drains that would be ideal for hunting, but not ideal for building anything. The 8 acres of tillable ground is all on a table top ridge, perfectly flat & has good loamy soil. The perk test for septic is the only thing I haven't a clue about. Also the legal things are alittle touch & go. The advice to get a real estate attorney will suit me well. I also talked to a loan officer with the Land Bank & he was more than insightful. Thanks to all for the tons of help, JY.