A lot just came on the market. The owner hasn't gotten any approvals, permits, etc. They are leaving all of this up to the buyer, albeit giving the buyer time to aquire everything before settlement, but we don't know what the process requires! The lot is a heavily wooded, six acre parcel. The agent was really wishy-washy about what is needed. We have no idea what we'd be getting into buying raw land that the process has not been done for us. Most lots around here already have everything in place, so we are not sure what needs to be done or the cost involved.

We do know we will need a septic permit. Are there surveys and other things necessary? Or just building permits when we have the house decided on?

Also, how expensive is it to take down a lot of trees? Gosh, this custom building stuff is a money pit.

Some things to ask before buying raw land...

GENERAL LEGAL ISSUES
1) Is this a legal lot? If not, how do I make it legal?
2) Are there any existing liens against the property?
3) Does the Zoning on the property permit my project?
4) Are there any existing zoning violations on the lot?
5) Are there any cultural heritage sites on the property?
6) Does the deed also convey the mineral rights to me? (Don't be surprised if it doesn't b/c on almost all land, the mineral rights have been divided from the surface rights. But do find out what minerals are likely to be located in your area and who owns those rights. Consider the possibility that the owner of the mineral rights may decide to mine for them. Laws generally give mineral rights owners amazingly broad rights of access to the surface property as NEEDED in order for them to reach their underground minerals. You do NOT want someone deciding to drill an oil well or strip mine for copper in YOUR back yard. It might be worthwhile to find out who owns the mineral rights and whether they would be willing to sell those rights to you for a small fee.)

NATURAL HAZARDS
7) Is the site subject to flooding? (Get a FEMA flood plain map and do NOT plan to build inside of or very near a 100 year flood plain. Even better, don't build in a 500 year flood plain!)
8) Is the area subject to any other natural (or semi-natural) hazards? (landslides, forest fires, earthquakes, faults, subsidence, liquifaction, etc.

ACCESS ISSUES
9) Does the lot have legal access to a public road? (For example, if the only access to the public road system is via a private road over a neighboring property, will the buyer of the lot acquire a legal right to drive over that private road?)
10) Does the existing access roadway meet the fire department access requirements? If not adequate, what will it cost to improve the road?

SEWER/SEPTIC
11) Is the lot served by a public sewer system? If so, what is the sewer connection fee and does the sewer district have the capacity to serve my lot?
12)If public sewer connection is not available, will I be able to install a septic system on the lot? If a perc test has already been done, what were the results? (IF NOT, AND YOUR ARE GOING TO NEED A SEPTIC SYSTEM, MAKE THE CONTRACT CONTINGENT ON PERC RESULTS THAT WILL ALLOW FOR AN ADEQUATELY SIZED SEPTIC SYSTEM!)

WATER
13) Is the lot served by a public water system? If so, does the water purveyor have enough capacity to serve the lot? Do water lines already run to the edge of my property and if not, how far away are they and how much will it cost to get them to my property? How much is the water connection fee? How long does it take to get a water hookup?
14) If the lot is not served by a public water system, is it possible to drill a water well on my property? How much is drilling a well likely to cost?
15) Does the local fire department have water pressure requirements that I must meet before I can build?

OTHER UTILITIES
16) Does the lot already have access to electricity, gas, telephone, cable, trash pick-up services, etc. If not, what is it going to cost to get these services to the lot?

HOA
17) Does a Homeowners Association have jurisdiction
over the lot?
18) Are there any Homeowner Association or Covenants,
Conditions and Restrictions (CC&R's) related to the development or use of the lot?
19) What deed restrictions exist on the lot?

SURVEYING
20) Has the lot been recently surveyed? (Get a copy of the survey but also have your own survey done BEFORE you buy... and either be on site when the survey is being done or have the survey company mark the boundaries with very clear markers that YOU can see. You don't want to purchase land, start building and then discover that the land you actually purchased is the next one over from the one that you thought you purchased and started building on!

BUILDING PERMITS & RESTRICTIONS
21) What building permits are required to build on the property and what do those permits cost?
22) Are there any restrictions (city, county, HOA) on what you're allowed to build and, if so, are you comfortable that you can design a home you want within those restrictions? Eg., height restrictions? impervious ground cover restrictions? minimum/maximum square footage requirements.

TAXES and MISC.
23) What taxing entities will be taxing your property and at what rates?
24) Is there ANY proposed growth/development in the area that would make the property less valuable to you or to a future buyer if you should try to resell? (Possible examples: a new airport is going to be built a mile away so that planes will be flying over your property constantly; The 100 acre property right next door was just sold to a developer who plans to build high density housing units; county commissioners are seriously considering a proposal to install four playing fields - with floodlights on 150 ft tall poles to allow for nighttime games - in the county park that adjoins your property; a new tollroad is being built, and when finished, it will pass within 1/4 mile of your property.)

Fees can be really variable for subdivisions, etc. Are you thinking of subdividing this lot, or just keeping all 6 acres for yourself?

...I know how the townships are around here...pulling teeth to get accurate info., etc. This could be biting off more than we are willing to chew. It sounds like it also could have a lot of hidden costs involved.

I would say it's hidden only if you go in without having done any preliminary home work.

Bevangel's list is a great checklist on what to ask & who is responsible.

Most of the time, the builder or general contractor will take care of most of it but if you are the GC, then it will fall on you to do that list on your own.

When we sold our property - we knew our county (state really) generally changes its code every 3 years. So we made no representation as to any new code or condition that the local county has put on it.

Therefore, some buyers were put off by potential unknown (to them) permitting & site prep expenses.
It was frustrating as a seller because we wanted to sell without hiccups but yet we wanted the buyers to be educated in making a big decision & be adult about things when it comes to their money.

I think the point I am trying to make is only you are responsible for your investment & you have to be serious about it. Else, you are just wasting yours & every1's time.

Good luck!

Talk with them and LISTEN.

It's a much better idea to look for land that has already been surveyed, has well/septic, all the utilities are at the property line and you know what the taxes will be. Why spend all this money for a lot that isn't ready to build on?

Aren't there any other nice building lots, besides the one that has to have the builder construct your home? I'd keep looking...and find a new realtor!

Another thing people do in our area...find a lovely lot that has an older home or even a manufactured home...and build there. You should have all these problems already taken care of (but always check to make sure!) and removing a manufactured home is not difficult. You might even be able to sell it and have the buyer take it away :)

Once its owned, taking down trees could be an issue. Where I am, in Maryland, removal of trees requires a grading permit and a storm water management plan. This is an expensive process and is designed to keep the chesapeake clean. Once that was in hand, it was costly to remove what trees we were allowed to remove. We were required to keep many of the trees only removing what as necessary. If we wanted to remove more it was a MUCH MUCH larger process that got state level environmental departments involved.

After closing on the property, we found a builder and made the contract to build contingent on a well producing sufficient water.

What we did not count on was the difficulty of getting power to the property. Surrounded by houses with power- how hard can it be? We're on month 7 of the build and only today got the easements needed for the power company to connect us. It was something of a catch 22 because the power company wouldn't come and do their survey to commence service until a building permit was in place. Our GC has done almost all of the build on generator, which has come at a cost.

So...moral of the story is try to get as much in place as possible before closing, or at least know what you're getting into.

As others have mentioned, you want land with enough flat(ish) land to build on, and not in a flood zone. Many lots we looked at were either too steep or in a flood zone.

Get a survey and septic permit at the time of purchase. Here in rural SC, those two items only came to about $500. Don't buy land without either of those two things!

Developing raw land can get expensive. A gravel driveway runs about $10/foot around here- pretty expensive if you need 1000 feet. Hooking up to available city water was $1800, plus the cost of piping it up to the home site, but a well could run many 1,000's of dollars, depending upon how deep they have to go. A local driller could make an educated guess, but it's still dicey in some places. Clearing land varies widely depending upon location. One snag we ran into a lot is that some areas have rules about minimum square footage for a house. One lot we looked at required 2700 sq ft- double what we planned to build.

Number one rule= DO NOT trust the realtor to give you accurate information! They want to sell you land, and may 'omit' certain information.

Even if there is a well, it might not be adequate for what you need. Same with an existing septic system. Where we build in central NC, they do not do perk tests. Instead, you bore into the soil and check the soil type.

Utilities already to the site is good, but you might still need to pay to bring them down to the house.

It might be more work for you, but it doesn't necessarily mean a higher price. If a seller has already done the work, it will be reflected in the price of the property.

Here's what we learned the hard way.

We bought 5 acres from a local developer who had purchased 100 acres. We sold our 2000 sq ft house, put most of our stuff in storage and moved into a 900 sq ft rental. Since our 5 acres was in the middle of the 100 acres, there was no road, electric, or water. The road was supposed to be finished a few months from the date of our purchase, and we had talked to the electric company and water and were ready to get started the minute the road was done.

But it wasn't done. Why? Because the developer hadn't ever filed a plat for the property. We started going to county commissioner's meetings and found that the developer hadn't done anything he should have.

Long story short, we waited 2 years for developer to get the land platted, and then we built. Then found developer had lied about the flood plain to get the plat done.

Do you own research. Find out what it required by the county to get the plat and make sure it's been done. Check out the 100 year flood plain yourself. And all bevangel said too.

Heck you don't see Trump crying about his developments.
It's part of what you just have to do to fulfill your vision.

Be prepared going in & come out smelling like roses!