Tomorrow, I’m gonna go look (for the second time) at a house I’m strongly considering buying. It’s on 4 acres (the Metadogs are gonna get a real spiffy run!), and I was wondering what, other then the lot shape, I should be looking at with regards to the land? The first time I went out, I did try and keep an eye out for drainage, and there were a few spots that had an inch or two of standing water–so that’s one thing I’ll need to address through some kind of landscaping (what exactly, I don’t know yet). There’s lots of information about evaluating houses, but much less about land. Anyone have any suggestings? Any “gotchas” or horror stories?
Do people do much hunting in that area? I went to a friend’s house about 45 minutes outside the Twin Cities this morning and was surprised at how much gunfire there was in the area…
Go down to the county (or city, whichever) and look at both the planning/zoning maps and the floodplain maps. Check to see if adjacent land is zoned “commercial” or “industrial”; you might not want that type of development close to you. Check to see if the land is in the floodplain; that’s not necessarily a deal-killer, it depends upon the depth of flooding. If you have trouble interpreting the flood map, drop me an e-mail.
Do mineral rights come with the contemplated purchase?
In reverse chronological order:
Ringo: After seeing a couple of oil derricks on the drive out, I asked my (buyers) agent about that the first time I walked the property. She said she’d check. To be honest, I’m more worried about my neighbors throwing up on oil rig 10 feet from my “back 2” then anything else–but I shall definately follow up with her on the mineral rights. Good question: Thanks!
NinetyWt: The home is on a set of pie-shaped lots that my agent seems to think were on the border of an older farm. Judging by the size of the homes (all around 1800 ft[sup]2[/sup]), they appear to be deed restricted, and there didn’t appear to be any non-residential stuff happening on the drive out, save for an awful lot beef pasture. I’ll double check, but I’m hoping that won’t be an issue. As for the flood plain thing, I’ll definately ask her about that, and I’ll probably double check with the county (I plan on visiting “the county” anyways to figure out exactly what I’m allowed to have animal-wise: don’t want any dog restrictions…). Thanks! I may take you up on your map-interpreting offer.
Ethilrist: Hopefully hunting won’t be an issue (given that it’s in a cluster of residential lots, and is surrounded by cattle pasture), but I’ll definately ask my agent about hunting activity and firearm discharges in general. Good suggestion!
My suggestion is to check for how flood prone the plot may be.
Ditto, ditto, double ditto. I’m assuming you’re buying to build on, so check with the local council {authority, whoever} that there are no developments scheduled nearby - and nearby could be an airport 10 km away, with you under the flight-path. Probably not, but always check - you can’t return real-estate.
If you wanted to be really thorough, I’d also suggest a report on the site from a soil engineer, certifying it’s OK to build on - here in NZ, there have been horror stories about people building on land, only to find out that it was a rubbish dump 40 years ago, and is now slowly subsiding. Come to think of it, if there is drilling going on nearby, I’d definitely have one done.
These reports may cost a few hundred bucks, but weigh that against laying out a hundred thousand dollars on a section, building on it, and then finding it’s slowly sinking before your eyes, with no redress. Buying a crappy car without having it appraised is an expensive pain in the arse - now multiply that by 20.
OK, I should have read the OP better - the house is already there, but still get the reports done. Oh, and check for ancient Indian burial grounds.