Questions about buying land

[Chris]

We are looking to buy several acres of land near us here in the desert. I have never bought land before so I am curious about how to even go about the process.

Our plan is to develop on the land over the next 10 years. It is important that we have access to water, which would likely be a well. I am not sure how to go about finding out if the land has access to a well or if we have our own water rights. Electricity is a plus, but being out here in Arizona we could get by on solar alone.

I am also not sure to find out what sort of fees I might have to pay aside from property tax. My hopes for posting this is that others who may have bought land before could chime in on certain things I need to look for, pay attention to you, and how to figure out what sort of fees would be associated with something like this. Any input is appreciated.

 

[ejay]

I've got a buddy who lives off grid outside of Williams. When he was looking, the realtor had all the answers.

As for getting the info yourself. You can call the County and see the aquifer info that'll tell you where the water table is in a particular parcel via GIS. They should have FIM maps that show electrical transmission and distribution lines as well.

So, my buddy has a water table that's about 3500 foot. He trucks his own water in and fills his own tanks. He has solar and battery banks because he's miles away from distribution runs. Of course, he knew this going in. Part of why his land was as cheap as it was. But...he still has neighbors.

Side note is make sure you check zoning laws and building codes. Sometimes even if it's zoned residential, all new installation might be underground only. That, as you might have guessed, will make your costs skyrocket.

 

[Rick Flair]

I can tell you from my parents experience and a few friends.


Buy land with a good, known and reliable well. Land is worthless without water.


It’s cheaper to buy a chunk with a dump trailer on it, it has a well (test it of course), electrical and septic.


Developing bare land is expensive and can be risky, I’d assume especially in the desert.

 

[Cross-Threaded-06TJ]

I've got a buddy who lives off grid outside of Williams. When he was looking, the realtor had all the answers.

As for getting the info yourself. You can call the County and see the aquifer info that'll tell you where the water table is in a particular parcel via GIS. They should have FIM maps that show electrical transmission and distribution lines as well.

So, my buddy has a water table that's about 3500 foot. He trucks his own water in and fills his own tanks. He has solar and battery banks because he's miles away from distribution runs. Of course, he knew this going in. Part of why his land was as cheap as it was. But...he still has neighbors.

Side note is make sure you check zoning laws and building codes. Sometimes even if it's zoned residential, all new installation might be underground only. That, as you might have guessed, will make your costs skyrocket.

Underground Structure in Arizona, no problem with that til you watch tremors and try and go to sleep....

 

[Chris]

Land is worthless without water.

That’s the conclusion I’ve come too. Seems like trucking it in every so often would be a nightmare.

Our current home is on a well, so I know they are around here, I just have to find out for sure.

 

[Farmergreg]

Also see what regulations are on septic tanks. That’s getting to be a shitshow (pun intended) by us.

 

[Cross-Threaded-06TJ]

That’s the conclusion I’ve come too. Seems like trucking it in every so often would be a nightmare.

Our current home is on a well, so I know they are around here, I just have to find out for sure.

My Fiancé's dad has land in AZ and had to have his well dug deeper. It was $$$$. I wouldn't want to truck water in either.

 

[Quigley]

My parents relocated to Washington from Pennsylvania several years ago. They purchased 6 acres that had timber and had a selective harvest to clear about 2 acres. The lumber taken from the property paid for their lumber package to build a Alternative Dwelling Unit which county dictates size. They built to the max size since we were doing the build and he was farming out electrical and plumbing. It ended up a three car garage with a 1,600 sq ft apartment above it. There plan was to move into that and then have a house built. So in their costs they had to plan and pay for an additional septic and electric plan for an additional house. The biggest suck was that the permits and licensing needed to build on your own land was around 40k. There property did not have power or water on site so that was the additional costs. The septic was for two homes so that was also more. I’d say contact your local real estate office to see if there is land available with power, water and septic to the property already. This step alone can save you 10’s of thousands of dollars. If your going solar that’s great but costs will most likely be very high until you see a return. You can find plans online to purchase that need to be approved by the county for home or dwelling. You’ll have to check with your county for what can be built and what fees they will charge. Figure if you’ll be doing the build and if not double the amount needed for builders. Doing a shop with an apartment is a nice way to have a home base and for storage while you figure out long term plans. My parents could have just lived in their adu it just turned out that nice, but they elected to have a 1,700 sq ft one floor home built... figure out what you want to do on the property long term and contact the county to see what’s allowed. Check with locale real estate and trulia or Zillow for land listings that might already have water and septic to the property for cost savings. If the property is way out you may not have to hook to local municipalities.

 

[mxz800]

Buying land in Maine is a lot different than Arizona. My aunt and uncle moved to Arizona, they wanted to buy land, but after doing some research they bought a house in a development.

Water and power etc was more than they wanted to deal with, plus they were a lot older than you.

 

[04Rubi]

just bought 21 acres in PA, no problems, 37,000.

 

[Wildman]

The other thing is to check any county regs on if you "HAVE" to be hooked up to utilities. I've read some stories about people who were getting fined or forced to move because the town or county they lived in required they have utilities hooked up and used.

 

[Wildman]

My parents relocated to Washington from Pennsylvania several years ago. They purchased 6 acres that had timber and had a selective harvest to clear about 2 acres. The lumber taken from the property paid for their lumber package to build a Alternative Dwelling Unit which county dictates size. They built to the max size since we were doing the build and he was farming out electrical and plumbing. It ended up a three car garage with a 1,600 sq ft apartment above it. There plan was to move into that and then have a house built. So in their costs they had to plan and pay for an additional septic and electric plan for an additional house. The biggest suck was that the permits and licensing needed to build on your own land was around 40k. There property did not have power or water on site so that was the additional costs. The septic was for two homes so that was also more. I’d say contact your local real estate office to see if there is land available with power, water and septic to the property already. This step alone can save you 10’s of thousands of dollars. If your going solar that’s great but costs will most likely be very high until you see a return. You can find plans online to purchase that need to be approved by the county for home or dwelling. You’ll have to check with your county for what can be built and what fees they will charge. Figure if you’ll be doing the build and if not double the amount needed for builders. Doing a shop with an apartment is a nice way to have a home base and for storage while you figure out long term plans. My parents could have just lived in their adu it just turned out that nice, but they elected to have a 1,700 sq ft one floor home built... figure out what you want to do on the property long term and contact the county to see what’s allowed. Check with locale real estate and trulia or Zillow for land listings that might already have water and septic to the property for cost savings. If the property is way out you may not have to hook to local municipalities.

Washington has become such a SHIT SHOW for just about anything anymore.

 

[rancholago]

Pretty much if there are other people around, (neighbors) they will know about how deep they went for water. I had property in Pahrump NV, one of the biggest aquafers in that valley. Of course you have to check out the other end of that, with a "perc" test to see what you will need in the line of septic, Check that part of it closely, the days of the septic tank and leach field in some areas are over. See if you need sand filters/dosing tanks or any of the other million kinds of systems. Some areas of the country require an engineered designed system.
Be sure the past taxes are up to date, dont just take someone (realtors) word for it, check it your self, go to the county and CHECK. You have heard of trust but verify....
I dont know how remote your intended property is, but spend some time at the county building and talk with them about how the deed is registered, any Liens and back taxes.
One of the things that saved me lots of money was "knowing" more than the realtor, and asking lots of questions. If in your county they use the title insurance policy, make sure you get that. Bought some property, in TX once and it had a lien on the property for some water assessments, that the title company missed, the realtor missed and I missed it too, but the title insurance covered it, they didnt want to, started off with, well we will pay half, but it didnt take too long and they settled it.
Cover your bases and know every thing there is to know about your land.

 

[Mike_H]

Again, Michigan is much different than az when it comes to land purchase and water. Here, a deep well is 150 feet. I'd imagine the principle is the same though. You gotta get a perc test. That tells you how readily the soil will absorb water. That's actually a bigger problem here than getting water. Out water table is so high you need an engineer (raised bed) septic in many cases. Once you have the perc, you'll need to figure out how deep you drill for water. We plan for 10k+ to install a well. I'm sure if you gotta drill 3500 feet down, that cost will be much higher. Then electrical, that will be a certain cost per foot of run from the nearest line, plus poles.

Now you have utilities, gotta start looking into excavation for your dwelling. Is it rock? Much more expensive... Gotta blast then dig. If it's just dirt, then it's relatively inexpensive. If you need to bring in fill... Lots of money.

Building isn't cheap...

 

[Head Lice]

Everything hinges on water . . . . some water is bad and will make you sick. Just sold off a 25 acre piece. Sub surface rights ?

 

[Chris]

Yep, hence the idea of building over the next 10 years or so, no rush by any means. The idea was at least go get the land now and then just do it slowly. I'm putting together a list of things to ask about and look into.

 

[Mike_H]

Also... This might vary by state and municipality too, but our water and mineral rights extend down from the property lines... So if it's with in your lines, it's yours. Oil, water, natural gas, etc.

 

[Head Lice]

Sub surface rights are separate from property rights here. I could claim sub surface rights on a neighbors property and angle drill into the water/oil/etc.

 

[2001slvrstntj]

we drilled 460 ft for about 12.5k for what it is worth but that was 2006 and prices are different all over the country. Septic was about another 12k or so, high water table and on the water so needed a special system. No idea what it would cost out there, good luck.

 

[AFF]

I've always heard to go bigger than you think you need when it comes to land. Whenever you're ready to build...build a barndominium with a big shop. You can thank me later!