Folks,
I think I have found a property that is right for my house/business (1 building). I am pretty sure that I’m going to have to pay for a Title search and a Survey. What else should I be concerned with, I have been looking for a while but this property might be the one! (I’m scared, hold me!!).
Unclviny
Check
1: That zoning inherently allows you to have a home + business on premises re the type of business you intend on operating. Don’t assume that because the last use was what you are doing it’s OK for your use. Grandfathered Special exceptions can expire.
2: If on well and septic the property will have to perk and/or pass a health dept water quality test
3: Make sure there are no buried tanks or other environmental hazards
4: Make sure you know what all the easements across your property are
5: Does the topography have natural runoff or will you have to build a rentition pond or storm ditch
6: If you have municipal sewer & water front foot assessments/impact fees, what are these and what are the tap in fees to get water and sewer.
7: If agricultural property is there a agric. transfer tax due?
8: Are there any reforestation requirements or fees?
Wow,
Thanks a million, there is stuff here that I never would have thought of.
They say that it is “unrestricted” (my quotes), the ad says Horses and mobile homes welcome.
Well and Septic (it’s in the middle of Nowhere.
Would there be records to check, or should I walk it with a Metal Detector?.
How would I check this other than the Title search?.
I was going to look at the Counties Flood Plain Map.
Well and Septic.
Agricultural Transfer Tax, that is a term I have never heard, I will have to look into that.
The land is cleared, I was going to plant Pecan trees anyway (15 per Acre gives you an Ag exemption in this County.
Damn, there’s some smart Dopers around here.
Thanks a bunch
Unclviny
I would add that you should check on who owns the mineral rights. In some, perhaps all, the mineral rights don’t always transfer. You could end up with oil wells or some other resouce recovery operation on “your” land.
And about the ad saying horses and mobile home are OK, check with your local zoning and plannin board. Don’t depend on the ad!
I’m not sure what department you would contact, but check out property around your spot; if you want peace and quiet, you might be unpleasantly surprised if the empty land around you is used for a multi-lane superhighway. If you buy your property because of the beautiful scenery, it could be used for a landfill later on. These might be extreme examples, but you want to make sure that local, state and federal government doesn’t re-zone adjacent property in undesirable ways, if that’s important to you.
Even if you pay to have a title search done, you should go to the Registry of Deeds and do some of your own looking. It’s interesting, and you’ll not infrequently come across useful information that the title searcher either misses or doesn’t bother about. Once you’ve done this and seen how easy and valuable it is, I predict that, like me, you’ll be astonished this isn’t universal among property buyers.
The RoD will probably be staffed by a bunch of little old ladies. They’ll be very friendly and helpful toward a prospective property owner looking to learn how things work.
[Note to astro and unclviny: Guys, there’s no need to quote the previous post in full when replying.]