Buying Land

How do you buy land? Where do you look? What questions do you ask? Need answers to these questions and others? Look no further keep reading and we will give you a crash course.

1.Looking for land. You need to start by deciding or narrowing down your choices to what particular area or areas that you are interested in purchasing your land. You can start by talking to a real estate agent. They can be very helpful with a list of lots for sale. They can narrow down the selection by county, price, size of lot, even school district. You can also ride around and look for signs of land for sale. Also check the paper and magazines with lots and land for sale.

2.Now you find something that you might be interested in. What do you need to know? Well the main concern is can I build my dream home on this land and is it going to be a budget breaker to build the house here. Not only do you have to factor in the cost of the lot, but there can be other factors that can increase the cost of the house. Good questions or points on the land are as follows:

a.Does the land perk? This allows you to install a septic system. If the land has public sewer, this is a mute point and you will be fine. If it is a private system, the price will depend on the type of system. Conventional or standard systems are the cheapest. Engineered or alternative systems are more expensive and can range in price depending on the system required. So do your homework here. Figure the price over a conventional system into the price of the land. To perk the land, start with the Health Department of the County the land is located in. They can either perform the test or send you in the right direction to find some one that can perform the test.

b.Is the lot wet or is it in a flood plain. If it is in a flood plain, you may not even be able to build. If you can you may have to have more expensive insurance. This is a cost the will stay with you for the entire time you live there. If the lot is wet it may cost more to put in a driveway to the house. If it is real wet this can be a nagging problem that you may never get rid of. If you are unsure, consult a professional.

c.Is the land clear? Clearing is an expense of building the house. Also you may want to plant trees on a clear lot later. This is an added landscape expense and trees take years to reach normal heights.

3.Now that you have worked out the prices and such there are some practical things you need to check into. Will your dream home fit on the lot? It will need to be inside the setbacks mandated by the local zoning authority. Check with the county government here.

4.While you are at the county make sure that the lot can be built on. If you have to go through steps to make it so figure these in on the cost of the lot. Take what the zoning people say seriously. If they say that it may or may not work, make that a contingency on buying the land.

5.Once you are satisfied in everything, place a contract, buy the land and build your dream home.

6.The key people that can help here are a Real Estate Agent, Real Estate Attorney, Local county government departments, and Professional Engineers to help with wetland and septic concerns.

How do I find a contractor?

1.First talk to people that have had homes built in the past. Listen to what they say. Ask them questions. Find out how the experience was for them. Make a list and check it out below.

2.Look in the Yellow Pages. Yes all you are trying to do now is make a list to check out later.

3.Talk to the building supply houses. It is better to stay away from the big guys here. No Loweâ€TMs, Home Depot, or such. Find a local building supply and see what they recommend.

4.Now that you have a list it is time for homework.

a.Check with board of contractors. This varies by state. It is the state licensing agency for contractors. If the contractor is not on the list, throw this name away.

b.You may also look at cases against them on the State website. Most states will have this, some will not. Donâ€TMt make you decision based solely on this information, but use it as a tool.

c.Contact the contractor you are looking into. Offer to meet him at his office or a job site. The job site would be the best as then you can view his work as well.

d.Ask the contractor for people that he has built with before. Talk to these people, but do not base you choice on only this either. The contactor is not going to tell you about problem clients.

e.If the contractor does not call you back, go on to the next one. This may be for a whole host of reasons. The most likely one is that he has an enough workload for now and does not have time to build your project.

f.If you own land, will the contractor build on your lot?

g.If you donâ€TMt own land, do they have any in inventory or can they help you finding some.

5.Step 4 should narrow the list down somewhat. What information does the contractor need from you? Do you need plans? Does the contractor have only certain models that he will build?

6.Ask for an estimate on the house that you are looking for. Try to get specification sheets of the products he uses in the home. This will help you in comparing prices later. Better yet make a spec sheet of your own and give it to all contractors bidding on house.

7.DO NOT take the lowest bid. It may be the best bid, but you need to make sure. Discount way out of range bids. You need to go with your feeling a lot here. You have to remember that you will be dealing with this person for maybe six months.

8.Tour the houses that the contractor you are leaning towards has built. Try to go to different stages of construction. This will give you an idea of some of the subs that the contractor is using. Again go with your feelings here.

9.If the contractor asks you to go and deal with the building inspector, find another contractor. He has license problems.

10.Look at the other tutorials on buying land, obtaining financing, finding the right plans, & how do you get the most for you money.

courtesy of http://www.homebuyingcentral.com