Avoid These 7 Common Mistakes When Buying Land

Buying land is different from buying a house, especially from a due diligence perspective. To make a smart investment, you’ll need to understand what goes into buying land, including the common mistakes that plague buyers and decrease the value of their property. 

From failing to check zoning regulations to skipping the land survey, here are seven seemingly small oversights with big implications for land buyers – plus our top tips for steering clear. 

Mistake #1: Not Understanding Zoning and Land Use Restrictions

Zoning laws tell you what you can and can’t do with a piece of land. Their purpose is to create orderly development within a community, as well as to support property values and long-term planning goals. 

As a land buyer, it’s absolutely essential that you know how a piece of land is zoned and any relevant restrictions on use. Unfortunately, too many land buyers jump the gun on a perfect-looking property only to find out it’s not zoned for their purposes, leaving them with unusable land and/or an uphill battle for rezoning. 

How to Avoid It: Rather than assuming land can be used for any purpose, contact your local city or county planning department’s website and look up the relevant zoning map. This allows you to verify zoning and permitted uses in advance, and should also clue you into any future rezoning plans. 

Mistake #2: Failing to Check for Legal Access

Legal access to land gives the owner the right to enter, develop, and obtain permits for a property. It differs from physical access in that it’s not about how you can get to your property but whether you’re allowed there in the first place. It also impacts whether you can get a loan for your land purchase, since many lenders refuse to finance land without legal access in place. 

How to Avoid It: Work with a qualified land broker to perform a professional title search and look for easements or right-of-way agreements that may limit your legal access to a property. 

Mistake #3: Not Budgeting for Utility Costs

It’s a common misconception that utilities are always readily available for a property. In some cases, water, sewer, septic, electricity, gas, and internet may simply be too cost-prohibitive to bring to vacant land, and could prevent you from moving forward with development plans. 

How to Avoid It: If you’ll need to bring in utilities yourself, get an accurate estimate of costs prior to closing and make sure you’re still on budget. This usually involves contacting local providers for each utility you need and getting direct quotes based on your location, size, and topography. 

Mistake #4: Ignoring Soil Quality and Environmental Issues

Even if you’re not planning to farm your land, the quality of the soil has a direct impact on your building and drainage conditions, as well as your overall market value. The same goes for environmental issues like potential flooding, wetlands, or contamination, all of which can turn a seemingly strong investment into a major potential loss. 

How to Avoid It: Check for previous soil testing or environmental assessments on the property, or spring for your own. While unexpected issues can still arise, this gives you a good idea of your starting point and is a must for ensuring usability and resale value. 

Mistake #5: Skipping a Professional Land Survey

A land survey gives you a clear and concise breakdown of a property’s boundaries and physical features. Yet many land buyers skip it, assuming they know where a property starts and ends based on seller-provided information. This can lead to a host of financial or legal hurdles later on related to encroachments or neighbor disputes over fencing or road access. 

How to Avoid It: Remove the risk of costly encroachments or disputes by having a professional land survey done before you buy. While it’s not cheap, this assessment can save you a ton of stress and money down the line, and is especially useful if you plan to build right away. 

Mistake #6: Underestimating Taxes and Other Ongoing Costs

The good news: property taxes and ongoing costs on owning vacant land tend to be low. The bad news: you’ll still have to account for them year after year, regardless of whether you develop the land or not. This includes maintenance expenses related to insurance, security, and landscaping, plus any special assessments needed for future development. 

How to Avoid It: Work out what your assumed monthly and yearly costs will be on a piece of land and factor that into your total budget. This is always necessary, but doubly so if you plan to hold onto the property long-term. 

Mistake #7: Letting Emotion Run the Show

There are all sorts of reasons why a land buyer may feel pressure to put in a fast offer. However, seller tactics and emotional buying traps like great views or a stand-out location should never supersede your own must-haves and dealbreakers on a property, even if something “feels” right from the get-go. 

How to Avoid To: Patience and research are your friends with a land purchase, as is dedicated support from a professional land broker. Because if you know exactly what you’re looking for and how to find it, you’ll be much less likely to jump the gun on your purchase.   

Ready to Buy Land?

There are so many great properties for sale. To end up with the one that’s right for you, you’ll want to avoid common mistakes like failing to check zoning regulations, legal access, or utility accommodations, all of which can derail your plans and leave you with a less-than-ideal investment. 

The more information you have, the better. Treat your land purchase like any other major investment and do plenty of due diligence prior to closing. You’ll protect both your money and future plans, and you won’t have to worry about unexpected surprises ruining an otherwise good deal.