th said:Check for flooding, prior use, any chemical or other undesirable possible dumping, have some soil and water tests done, find out how much it'll cost to get a building permit, run any roads, put in any sewer/water/septic/phone/cable and who has to pay for what. Find out all about the zoning. Who owns the adjacent properties and does anyone know if they plan to develop the land soon and how.
Ol_Rancher said:You need a buyer's agent that knows the area. He can give you some rules of thumb as to value of land with improvements like water well, fencing, cleared and managed land, what the neighboring land owners hold, zoning, utilities, and much more.
He can help you bargain with seller, find financing or negotiate that with seller also. The 3% he costs you will usually be born by seller as part of his 6% brokerage fees paid at closing.
Caroline said:Hi Lazarus:
For you and for anyone interested in land I HIGHLY recommend "Finding and Buying your Place in the Country" by Les Scher and Carol Scher (Dearborn Financial Publishing).
Les Scher is an attorney specializing in rural real estate and property issues, and this book is chock full of every piece of information you can imagine, including mistakes and scams to avoid.
Well worth twice the price -- I cannot say enough good things about it. I learned a LOT.
Best of luck with your dream!
Caroline
Lazarus said:Found out the land I was looking at has a possible pig farm as a neighbor. Unless they want to give me free ham and bacon I think the deal is off!
Lazarus said:I am thinking of buying a small acreage to build on when I retire. Does anyone here have any experience with buying raw land and any pitfalls I should watch for. The land will not be near where I live now.
Hi Judy,JWV said:Here's a horror story but one to learn from. We bought an acre in an area that had been sub-divided (very important word) in the 60's. The CC&Rs were reasonable. Due to lack of utilities no one had built there so we were in the middle of a nice 100 or so acres of pristine desert. We built our home and lived there for 5 years then (DUM dum DUM) someone began buying up lots around us and wanted to develop the whole area. The developer and his axman, I mean project manager, formed a HOA, changed the CC&Rs and charged us $20,000+ for bringing in roads and utilities that we didn't need. They then completely bladed the desert and built McMansions as far as the eye could see. We no longer live there, too much bad blood.
In Arizona, if the land has been sub-divided and there are CC&Rs in place, lot owner's can form a HOA and change the CC&Rs by a majority vote, each lot having one vote. So the guy with the most lots wins and all lot owner's are forced to be a part of the HOA. There is no opt out. The HOA can then assess you for whatever it deems necessary for the "community". It was a miserable experience.
Caveat Emptor
Judy
Archaeology laws at the federal level require mitigation only under certain specific conditions: Federal money is used on the development, water drainage will be altered on adjacent property, etc. Most states in the southwest add laws that require mitigation if State funds are used and, of course, burials of any kind (historic or prehistoric) are handled under burial laws. But typically, if you own the land you can do what you want to it. Be sure and look the other way if the bulldozer pushes over some old human bones. Since the Hohokam cremated their dead, that doesn't happen too often around Phoenix.Nords said:Zoning restrictions can be a pain, as can salt-water intrusion into the well water or lack of percolation in the septic field. And fixing either of those latter problems can cost a ton of money against the zoning restrictions. If you can solve all of these issues then we can pick up about 3000 North Shore acres real cheap.
Around here it's also wise to pay an archaeologist to survey your land for ancient Hawaiian burial caves, heiau, and other development impediments. (SG, there's a possible retirement hobby for you!) It might be the same on the Mainland for Native American artifacts.
- SG said:Hi Judy,
The Arizona state legislature is the best real estate money can buy.
JWV said:SG, you are so right. Developers rule in AZ!
Judy
If developers pass laws that give them rights to screw homeowners, it's "good old fashioned capitalism." If a homeowner trys to defend themselves against these lawmakers, it's whining.MRGALT2U said:. . . The Az. situation sounds like good old fashioned capitalism to me.
JG
- SG said:If developers pass laws that give them rights to screw homeowners, it's "good old fashioned capitalism." If a homeowner trys to defend themselves against these lawmakers, it's whining.
You may be clueless, John. But you are consistent.
KB said:Ouch th.... I live right across from Empire Ranch and as you probably know, that is where the largest houses in this town are now. The ones that have gone up almost 50% in value in the past year or two.