“Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air
In his own ground.”
–Alexander Pope
Buy land. They ain't making any more of the stuff.
–WIll Rogers
Buying plain, undeveloped land for sale is the cherished dream of many. And it seems like such a simple thing to do. Undeveloped land can be much cheaper than anything else. But when you actually go to do it, you find out that it's not that simple. There are a “bushel” of things you need to look into and verify before you buy that land or you may end up with property that is unusable and maybe even unsalable down the road.
I recommend that any time you think about buying land, to seriously consider making it contingent on a satisfactory feasibility study to ensure you can use it in the way you wish, i.e. make sure it is build-able. To accomplish that will take a lot of leg-work on your part or the part of the expert you may decide to hire. But it could easily save you a ton of heart ache and money!
Some resources that may be useful that are saved to my Pinterest board include:
- Land Buying Checklist from Building Advisor
- A Beginner's Guide to Buying Land from MSN
- What to Look for When Buying Vacant Land from This Old House
I also have boards there for Septic Systems, Sewers, and Sharing Wells – any of which you might need to deal with when building your own home on an undeveloped lot.
Whether you are just daydreaming about your own land and a self-built home – perhaps multigenerational to help when caring for elderly parents, like my husband and I often loved to do, or whether you are seriously thinking of going forward with this exciting new adventure, these sites and others I will be adding should be a good resource to help you get started. And as you find other resources online or in books, do share them with us – here or on Pinterest or my other social media sites. We'd love to hear about them!
