There are certain factors that need to be considered by home buyers before deciding to place an offer to buy a piece of land. The main reason why you should consider these factors is because they will help you establish whether the piece of land is buildable or not. Home buying may come with certain hidden information that requires you as the homebuyer to do further investigation as there are certain things to know before an acquisition that can save you the heartache of doing purchases on land that are not buildable. It is only possible to find this out by digging for information and exchange of information with other home buyers interested in the property, contractors, developers and real estate agents.

We interviewed Lora Fisher, who is a Loan Officer at the U.S Bank and she gave us tips on doing a CSI- Client Scene Investigation. This can be performed by doing a thorough investigation on the property first of all by speaking to the listing agent.

Some of the questions that you should ask the listing agents include:

  • Are there any issues with the land that you should be aware of before buying?
  • Why is the owner selling the land? i.e- reasons for sale by the landowner
  • Why is the land currently vacant?
  • What are the ground conditions like? Can you actually put up a building?
  • Are there existing planning permissions in place?
  • Has a buyer already gotten building permits and decided not to build?
  • What’s the history of the property? Was it purchased before?

Then also speak to a contractor and ask them to take a look at the property in order to determine if it is buildable. It is also advisable to visit the city or county offices and get to learn as much information on the land as possible before committing any money to purchasing or doing any improvements on the property.

The bank that will finance the land by doing the payment of the lot loan also does an appraisal and asks for tests such as a percolation test to ensure the property drains properly. Although the bank has a role to play in doing due diligence, it is still highly up to the land buyer to do their homework which includes investigating the property to ensure it meets their criteria. In this entire process, information is power as it will guide the buyer and patience pays!

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