There is more to buying raw land than meets the eye and more than a few individuals have wished they�d had a second chance upon finding themselves duped, conned, misled, ill-advised, uninformed, oversold, undereducated and often unprepared. They realize, often too late, that a raw land purchase should be properly investigated, evaluated and negotiated using a logical and rational plan.
Let�s assume you know where you want to buy this land, why you want to buy it, and how and when you will use it once you have it. The following general observations, ideas and information may help you to further investigate the alternatives that are available to you in your endeavor to find the land of your dreams.Those are the major necessities for modern, everyday living�things that we really need, but can often overlook until after the contract is signed. Others essentials are a telephone, mail delivery, shopping, police, fire station, hospital/emergency services, schools, churches, recreation facilities and access by good roads and highways.Solid waste disposal - how far is the landfill? Is there a collection service? You can�t burn everything; how will you get rid of it?When buying residential lots, builders try to keep raw land costs down to 10% of the overall value of the project. If streets and utilities are already in place, then they will use 25% as their guideline. If you can combine or assemble parcels or achieve zoning changes with property, you have a good chance of immediately increasing its value. Always physically inspect the property and do your research before obligating yourself to buy it. Try using contracts with contingencies put in to protect yourself. In essence, these are really options that let you control the deal while you investigate and research the land�s potential to satisfy your objectives. Happy Hunting and buy the high grounds!If you plan on building on your land, then having a development plan with an appraised set of blue prints for the project will help the lender in justifying your loan. If you can use equity from other property, then paying substantial down payments may also be an option.Let me start by saying I�m not a geologist, soil analyst, surveyor, engineer or land consultant. I�m a passionate real estate investor, licensed agent, appraisal assistant and landlord who purchased various raw lots, as large as a 15-acre parcel, for investment and building projects. In addition, I have consulted with numerous individuals proficient in real estate, who have contributed to my general awareness of the conditions and merits of raw land. We, as small investors, can further use this information to our advantage in wisely choosing land and utilizing it to it�s highest and best use regarding fulfillment of our needs, wants and desires.4. The Direct Vent Vu Thru fireplace from Spark Modern Fires can be installed without a chimney or hearth. The fireplace, which is up to 80 percent efficient, can be vented to the outside through a roof or an exterior wall without drafts. It is accepted by all major U.S. building and mechanical codes and approved for bedrooms, bathrooms and common rooms. Spark Modern Fires. Circle 50You may start your search by contacting farmers, investors, real estate agents, state and federal agencies, cities with odd lots they need to put back on their tax rolls, bureaus of land management, federal marshals, tax sales, bank foreclosures, developers, property heirs, the elderly, and family and friends. Use your networks and birddogs while driving areas of interest looking for further opportunities to buy.If you want to find the deals, then most often you are going to have to dig for them. A few successful methods may include visiting the county clerk/recorder�s office to search the public records for the following:
- New probate filings, use them to contact heirs
- Eviction proceedings to contact out of state landowners
- Arrests - these people may need money and may also be going away for a while.
- Bail bondsman who may have forfeited collateral in the form of land.
- Divorces filed, leading to a division of assets
- New guardianships to contact disinterested heirs.
- Deeds in lieu of foreclosure, private sellers may in turn sell it to you.
- Lis pendens means litigation pending, often signaling foreclosure.
6. The Xtreme fireplace, which is part of Travis Industries' Fireplace Xtrordinair line, is a linear
gas fireplace with an extensive presentation of flames. The fireplace, which can be operated with low- to no-heat output, is available with limitededition interior fire art, interior top and bottom lighting, three liner options and three glass floor media options. Travis Industries. Circle 52Plots with trees, a view, rectangular in shape, a gentle slope or none and a good location are most often preferred, and streams can boost values by 100% in some cases.Sewage disposal - 25% of our country is on a well and septic system. If you don�t have access to public utilities, will your land support a septic system as well as the water to operate it?It used to be that you would have to hire someone to build a four seasons sunroom for your home, but that is not necessarily the case now. Now, many companies are offering four seasons sunroom kits that will allow you to build your sunroom yourself from a kit. This will save you quite a bit of money over hiring a contractor and paying them to build your sunroom. This can help you to save up to half of the cost of your sunroom expense. You can also save money on materials, too, because you can choose the materials and features that you want to include. There are some things that you need to understand before you being your journey on building your own four seasons sunroom, however.Many people are literally being driven to the hills. Granted the views can be spectacular but roads, utilities, water, sewer, and foundations, such as pilings, can add 25-30% to building costs alone, further adding to this already expensive proposition. When considering going vertical, an 8-degree slope is about the limit when concerning building economically on hillsides.5. The Outdoor GreatRoom Co. has introduced its line of indoor/outdoor fire products that feature Venturi Flame Technology, which creates a spinning aesthetic. The products can be used in portable fire pits, on fire tables and in fireplaces using a gel fuel. Outdoor G reatRoom Co. Circle 512. The RAIS OPUS convection stove features an air-wash system that keeps the glass pane clean by pulling preheated air across the inside of the glass. The unit s air-supply system allows users to adjust combustion and heat. Constructed of high-strength Swedish steel, the stove is available in black or gray with a twostep do or- opening system that safeguards access to the fire. RAIS Inc. Circle 48My final words of caution here would be to know values and don�t overpay. Always offer less when possible and research recent sales of comparable properties. The larger a parcel is, the cheaper it tends to get per acre. Ask an agent what an acre of land tends to go for in the area that you are considering; try to buy more than one acre.This chapter is not a technical sleeper and as such, it will not go so far as to tell you how much lime to add to your soil to adjust PH levels (7.0 is neutral) but it does try to get you thinking about some of the more general considerations that can lead you to further investigate your options using this material as your starting point.A do-it-yourself sunroom kit may seem like a good idea, but you have to take into account your own experience and expertise. If it is not a project that you feel entirely comfortable with, then you may be better off paying someone to build your four seasons sunroom to help ensure that you will be satisfied with it and will be able to enjoy it for many years to come.With that said, we are ready to get down to the business of evaluating, negotiating and financing our well-sought piece of terra firma. What follows is a basic checklist. There is more to consider but this will get you off to a running start.Basic Raw Land Checklist
- Get the most recent and valid information available: A copy of the deed containing the legal description with any covenants and/or restrictions.
- Get the street address, a plot plan indicating the specific property location, a survey, a preliminary title report, a recent map and any aerial or land based photographs to help you locate fence lines, trails, roads, streams, ponds, building locations, etc. Walk the land to verify, evaluate and correlate what is indicated, also looking for any signs of hazardous waste dumping, burying or burning.
- Determine present use in zoning, according to what planning and zoning tells you. Symbols are used to designate uses - here are a few:
A1: Agricultural with single family home
C: Commercial business
CO: Commercial office
FP: Flood plain
M: Industrial
R1: Residential single family
R1H: Residential hillside
R2 : Residential multifamily
RT : Recreational tourist/ Residential transitional
Clean air might be construed as freedom from dusty roads, smog, foul smells from industry or landfills, free from noise of traffic, airports and/or neighbors.What is considered good and bad land?Finance considerations $$$An old timer once gave me this advice: He said, �Dan, always try to buy land that is located as close to those amenities that an area is famous for, as that is often the reason people come to certain areas. He lived in Florida and had plenty of beachfront property located in tourist areas, which clearly illustrated his point.Electricity is another necessity that we often take for granted. Is a power plant within a reasonable distance from the land or will it cost you thousands of your own dollars to run cables across public lands to get your electricity hooked up? How far are gas and oil suppliers?When you are choosing which four seasons sunroom to order, you want to understand that these plans are not designed to be connected to your existing home’s heating and cooling system. If you want your room to be heating and cooled, then you will want to consider having a professional to construct your four seasons sunroom. You can use baseboard heaters and fans to help keep the temperature at a constant level if the weather is not full of extremes. This will all depend upon your climate and your needs.For those reasons mentioned we find that sellers are often our first choice regarding financing. It is typical for a seller of raw land to accept 10% down and the rest to be paid over time at a specified (below market) interest rate. This would be an example of an installment land contract. Other forms are contract for deed, mortgage and note and purchase money mortgages. In these cases, a real estate attorney usually drafts these contracts and a bank will act as an escrow agent to facilitate verifiable records of payments received. The seller often retains the deed until the property is paid for in full.Who has this raw land and how do we find it?Choosing Your Sunroom KitA special consideration to note when hunting legally challenged property is to have a title company in addition to the regular search of mortgage. Tax and easement liens also check files for I.R.S. liens, bankruptcy filings and judgment liens.3. The Morso 7670 wall-mounted convection stove is composed of highgrade cast iron that is 98 percent recycled material. The wood-powered stove features a soot-free glass door, preheated combustion and secondary air, and a removable stainless-steel handle. The unit can heat up to 1 ,200 square feet at 35,000 Btu maximum per hour. Morso US. Circle 49You will most often be contacting many of these sources by writing to them. Don�t get discouraged when you don�t get immediate replies, as the average response rate is one reply for every eight letters that you send. The pros will get on lists and pay services to monitor many of these potential sources, however, good old-fashioned detective work does pay off. When researching in this manner, secrecy is one key and fast action using all cash is the other.If you want to investigate bank financing, then you may start out by offering 30% down with a seven-year mortgage, with the bank getting an extra percentage point over and above the current interest rates for standard loans. This may not be accepted but it does give you a starting point to see just what they may be willing to do.With that said, the first question I�ll ask you is what exactly do you intend to do with this land once you have it? Why are you buying it? What purpose do you have in mind for land? Are you going to build a home, purchase a lot for retirement or investment? Will you acquire considerable acreage for farming or subdivision? Do you want commercial, residential, recreational or agricultural? Will it be in the north, south, east or west?Using the appraisers standard view of estimating value can give us some clues, so let�s look at what appraisers do!
- Site size and shape, represented by frontage, width and depth.
- Corner influence equals visibility for commercial, or privacy for residential.
- Plottage, has assembly or combining of parcels been accomplished.
- How much land is excess or surplus; surplus has less value than what is required.
- Topography: Land�s contour, grading, natural drainage, soil, view and usefulness
- Utilities: Sewers, drinking water, natural gas, electric, telephone, cable, etc.
- Site improvements: Landscaping, fences, gutters, walks, drives and irrigation
- Accessibility: Parking, location, streets, alleys, connecting roads and highways
- Environment: Climate, adequate water supply, air quality, streams, rivers, lakes, oceans and the absence of any hazardous materials
Note: Loamy soil, which consists of a balanced mixture of clay, sand and some organic matter, appears rich and dark in color and is considered ideal for most purposes. As opposed to good soil, you don�t want hard cracking ground when dry and sticky soil when wet. Warning! Check with your state offices for the presence of expansive soils; this stuff cracks foundations in the most insidious ways, leading many to ruin.The preceding is an abbreviated checklist. It is meant to get you started off on the right foot. Many people will research buying a new car more thoroughly than they would when buying raw land; there are many good books that are devoted solely to the subject of raw land. This type of investment is generally not the best choice for the new investor but often times people look to build they�re dream homes away from developed areas and for that reason I have included my two cents here.Use the reader service card for more information about these products. You also can request information using our online reader service: QualifiedRemodeler.com/einquiry.Do you already have your location identified? Will it be in the east where the weather is often wet and humid or out west where it is predominantly arid and dry? Will you be living in cold weather in the north or gravitating towards the southern hemisphere? Concerning location, what are you least comfortable with: Avalanches, landslides, earthquakes, flooding, hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, volcanoes and/or wildfires? You may want to investigate areas of interest by going to websites like
http://www.officialcitysites. You will get a better picture of what awaits you concerning it�s economy, environment, population, recreation, educational, medical and employment facilities to name a few.Raw land as opposed to improved property is much more difficult to finance through traditional lenders. The main reasons are that it generates very little income, development costs can be expensive, there are no buildings or improvements that can be used as collateral and it is often considered speculative.Quick reviewAgain, planning and zoning departments can offer the following: Maps of existing uses, forecasts of future development, lists of planned new roads, utility extensions, locations of planned waste disposal facilities, details on environmental areas and future land uses. They also regulate building codes, curb-cut permits, historic preservation, housing codes, subdivision regulations, tree cutting and zoning laws. They usually have aerial photographs and plat maps that can help you to better identify and evaluate the land in question.Land can be said to consist of soil, geology, water and climate. Whether you�re looking at beaches, mountains, deserts, high plains or city lots, they all have some basic components. Some of the basic requirements we most often seek are clean air, water, electricity, sewage disposal and trash removal.
When buying residential lots, builders try to keep raw land costs down to 10% of the overall value of the project. If streets and utilities are already in place, then they will use 25% as their guideline. If you can combine or assemble parcels or achieve zoning changes with property, you have a good chance of immediately increasing its value. Always physically inspect the property and do your research before obligating yourself to buy it. Try using contracts with contingencies put in to protect yourself. In essence, these are really options that let you control the deal while you investigate and research the land�s potential to satisfy your objectives. Happy Hunting and buy the high grounds!
Author: Dan Auito
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