The Do’s and Don’ts of Buying Vacant Land

Finding your land purchase isn’t easy. You’ll spend a lot of time and resources in scouring online listings, attending land auctions for commercial parcels and scoping out neighborhoods when it comes to residential build outs and you may still come up empty-handed. This process can take months and even up to a year in some cases.

Maybe your dream property just doesn’t exist yet. In this case, building either a commercial building or residential custom home on a vacant piece of land may be your next move.

But before you get serious about laying a foot print of your build out, be aware that a land purchase may yield more surprises than buying a home from easements, zoning, natural contour of land and restrictions to environmental conditions that could easily turn your dream build out into a headache that makes your project unrealistic and not feasible financially 

Whether you’re purchasing vacant land to build a commercial or residential project I always recommend appraisal values to be established for a profit in the future, follow these rules to avoid buyer’s remorse.

Working with a professional who knows land – Working with a real estate broker when you purchase land is important to help you navigate the complex details, especially when you’re unfamiliar with zoning, building lot setbacks and negotiations, due diligence and closing a land purchase deal is essential to your success.  But when you’re purchasing land, hire an agent who has unprecedented experience negotiating land deals.

A common mistake many land sellers and reality firms make is to advertise a plot of land as having the potential to be zoned for specific commercial projects or even subdivided parcels, Buyers may be left with a plot of land that will yield less profit than expected, while sellers could easily face a lawsuit for false advertising.

Don’t expect to get a loan – A commercial land purchase will in many cases be leveraged by a bank loan. The main reason Panama City Beach, FL commercial parcels can be leveraged depends [Read more…]