Buying vacant land is usually cheaper than buying an existing property, but it’s not as easy as picking the cheapest plot and purchasing it. Following are four dos and don’ts of buying vacant land:
Look at nearby home prices. You most likely are buying land with the intention of constructing a home or other building. However, if you build a house priced at a much higher than those around it, finding buyers or renters will be more challenging. Further, it may be more difficult to get a loan for construction.
Think about road access and utilities. With an already constructed building, utilities and road access are a given. This isn’t the case with vacant land. When buying land, you want to make sure you consider the cost of having road and utilities access provided to the property, if necessary.
Don’t talk to the neighbors. Depending on what you plan to do with vacant land, your new neighbors may not be thrilled with construction nearby. It’s best not to discuss plans with neighbors in case they would want to oppose them.
Don’t assume you can rezone. Local governing bodies zone land for different purposes, thus requiring builders to take certain steps during construction and limiting what types of buildings can be placed on a property. Many people will buy property with the expectation they can rezone it later, but rezoning isn’t always an option.