If you would have a part of your “property” encroaching on your future neighbors property it would be best to at least talk to them to work out a deal to be able to use the “driveway” (in this case) and even get it written into a contract between both parties so that if the neighbor sells their house and a future neighbor doesn’t like you using a small part of their property you will be safe. I remember when I sold my home in San Antonio last year I had to get a new survey for the bank even though I was the second owner of the home (family was first owner that I was there for the original survey and we didnt want to spend more on a second survey). The second survey when I moved out of San Antonio and sold my home ended up costing $1500 for only a quarter acre so the cost of surveys can also vary based on the regions, utilities in the area, distance from the surveyors offices, and the remoteness of the property. I know if you purchased property in the Alaskan bush where you need a combination of one or more of the following, atvs, snow machines, boats, and/or bush planes to be able to access the property would significantly increase the price just due to the cost/time it would take to get out to the property.
As a land advisor and licensed surveyor, I can attest that everything Wayne says here is spot-on and great advice. This is great advice for both, the aspiring land investor and the seasoned investor. Don't be the "fool who rushes in" ... get a 3rd party appraisal, pay for a qualified land surveyor that performs more than just a BOUNDARY survey (you want to see easements, setbacks, protrusions and intrusions of improvements across boundary lines, permanent structures, overhead utilities, pipelines, etc. on the map).
About 15 years ago, I had a guy seek me out. I've done lawn care for 33 years,.and could identify problems by looking and feeling the ground by walking on on it. The land being looked at was around 30 acres. Designated as farmland, no restrictions beyond the usual farm related things. I walked out everything, found some problems. Brought it up with the buyer, gave rough estimates on fixing things. Seller didn't like it much, but eventually granted fixing things cost money. Price was set at $6k per acre, with the faults found price was reduced to $4,500 an acre. Be your own advocate in getting land at the correct price.
Survey is crucial. Cost me $5500 to have it done. I had a neighbor cutting down trees on my 70 acre lot. Your neighbors will most likely not respect you.
You should tell people to go along with the surveyor with a stack of 3 foot rebar and they drive the rebar right next to each stake all the way in. When the nasty neighbor pulls up those stakes, the rebar can be found with a metal detector. @@TheRealWayneTurner
Where I live, I've noticed a lot lately farmers selling their land, and they're going thru an auction company selling them in tracts. Anywhere from 5-15 acres usually. Also, you'll see a chunk of land for sale, and someone or several others own the land around it. Got to watch both of those scenarios, because you don't know what they're plans for their property are. I'm on about 8.5 acres, mainly wooded, goes uphill all around my house, very rocky, about acre cleared around my house. Very private spot, quiet. One sort of neighbor at the front, but far enough away. Guy that owns adjoining land to the side sold 5 acres to some ahole, and it touches the back of my property. He's wanting to build "a neighborhood" back there....there's a small neighborhood around my house, I'm just outside of it. Basically he's wanting to put in duplexes or something I'm thinking. Find out when he had some surveyors out looking for sewer hookup. I'm the only house around on septic because I'm so far out. Said there's no sewer hookup around here. Long story, but surveyors were lying to me who they were working for, so I had to threaten them and run them off my property, literally guys backed up quarter mile down my road to main street lol. I got cops involved, anyway. When I found out about this guy, his plan was to run a sewer line through my 8.5 acres which would be downhill, through my front neighbor's property, out to the sewer hook up there. I laughed no way you're running- a shitline thru my property buddy. Not happening. That backs up, won't affect them uphill, but will me, and the people on the street. I guess he wasn't smart enough to get a perk test done, no way can put a septic in up there. So just waiting now to see what he plans on doing. But trust no one in these situations.
I was a town manager for 6 years. Amazing how many times people would show up at my office with complaints about things they could have known had they just read the property's title.
Good stuff. One additional thing to watch out for is a buried fuel tank -- When I bought my house in Seattle there was an old, buried fuel-oil tank. These houses were built in the 1940's and 1950's and the original tanks have exceeded their service live.- if the tank was leaking into the soil and you had not done due diligence to ensure no leakage before purchase, the EPA could come after you for the whole cost of cleanup (think, excavate the whole property..) instead of going after the original owner. Back then I hired a soils engineer to test the soils for contamination then immediately properly decommissioned and excavated the tank after I purchased the property. I've heard that since then the laws have changed but you just don't want that potential nightmare.
You: " if the tank was leaking into the soil and you had not done due diligence " Due means what is owed. You don't "do" due diligence. When someone goes to sell something, typically an investment, often law and regulation requires DILIGENCE to be given to prospective buyers. Buyers are OWED, i.e., DUE, prospectuses that are best efforts, i.e., diligent efforts, which cover all scenarios.
@@johnp.johnson1541 I love someone who posts an explanation that is long, detailed...and wrong. "Due Diligence" has been a defined business term since 1933, and was in legal use long before that, meaning, generally speaking, "reasonable care" or "requisite effort". So yes, you can conduct or do or take "due diligence". If you have a problem with that, you can take it up with the English language which has been using the term for a very long time. Just as a for instance, the US Supreme Court Case of _United States v. Arjona_ from 1887: "The law of nations requires every national government to use "due diligence" to prevent a wrong being done within its own dominion to another nation with which it is at peace..." So, yeah,
@@keith6706 Yeah nah. No one can DO DUE diligence. You can only doo-doo your pants, as your commentary above shows. Man up and acknowledge your ignorance. People who do not are stupid. DUE means owed. It's right in the phrase. OWED DILIGENCE. That is law. Better luck next time though.
Western Montana had issues with " cheap" land that people in big cities would buy thinking they could just build a house and live there. Many found the land was remote, with no access roads and no water within drilling depth. About the only way to get to your land was by helicopter, as no one owning land around it would allow you to drive on their properties.
Yeah southern Colorado has this currently too for like $4K an acre and even less. A little bit of research shows no utilities and no paved roads for miles. Generally those lands are released by the government for private sale as they may have been used for preservation requirements or oil well drill testing.
Wish I would of came across this 6 months ago!! First land purchase and i got screwed! I'm forced to spend almost an additional 100k to live here legally! Don't trust a seller get the survey done. Lesson learned the hard way.
As a Registered Land Surveyor (RLS), you always get a property survey before you buy or sell. Property surveys differ from topographic surveys, so make sure whoever you hire does both otherwise you won’t know the high and low spots.
I know someone who was looking at a lot. They asked a neighbor about the neighborhood and he got all worked up when they told him they wanted to build a house on it. The person I know asked him why he didn’t just buy the lot to keep it undeveloped. He actually told her that he could not afford to buy it and he would do everything he could to prevent them from building on it. In the end, they added a clause in their offer that an architect needed to confirm the lot was buildable. The architect said they would spend more on earth moving and fill than what the lot was worth (based on comparable lots in the area). They walked away from the purchase.
I don't understand why the real estate agent who is selling the property doesn't have everything you need to know about the property and just add to the purchasing price.
Lots to think about for sure. It raises my appreciation for getting hold of an experienced, licensed, bonded Realtor. The brother is a surveyor (govt.) so he's heard stories, but the bigger issues come from not having your ducks in a row when you're making a sale or purchase. Thank You, Wayne!
You don't need to be near water to have flooding issues. Walk the property after a NEAVY rain. I remember 1 plot that was planned to have a house built on it that turned into a giant 3-foot-deep puddle and stayed that way for weeks waiting for the water to go down.
" Funny Farm " is a movie starring Chevy Chase and Madolyn Smith . They were buying a Farm and all of the ' Towns People ' were very nice but once they closed on the sale of the farm all of those neighbors and including their mailman became living nightmares . In renting , you need ' references ' from previous landlords . Landlords will give exceptionally ' Glowing ' references for nightmare tenants just to be rid of those folks , if they give a bad reference then no one will rent to those tenants and the current landlord will be stuck with them . So when getting out to talk with the neighbors in any and all land purchases remember some of these folks will have a vested interest one way or the other , they may warn you off on an exceptional property or they may oversell the land just to get you onto the purchase . Also remember , with rural vacant land there will be someone already encroaching onto that piece of property guaranteed , whether it's hunting , fishing or even firewood scavenging ( so long as they don't ' cut down ' any trees , but they can kill a tree without ' cutting ' it down and then come back , knock it over , then they can scavenge it because it's already down ) , in some places people search for particular plants such as mushrooms and Ginseng . Some properties even have ' Trash Dumps ' on them where the neighbors have been illegally dumping their unwanted items , you will undoubtedly have to pay for clean up and removal . Buyer Beware means for you to your own due diligence -- get a survey , walk the property more than just the expected property lines , look for signs of trespassing and definitely locate any and all trash sites .
Absolutely phenomenal advice, and all very much true, coming from someone who is from the "backwoods", you are very spot on the money with every single letter of this comment! Thank you for helping possible land buyers!
Spot on. I purchased a piece of land the agent said i could build a garage on. The county explained i could build one after i hired a construction firm to build a house on it with a sprinkler system for fires suppression and then hired a road company to build a road to it and hook the water and sewer to it. They did say they will not do anything to improve the area except send me the tax bills.
@@Tugela60 I think you are missing his point. They have no trouble putting down a bunch of rules for you to follow. So, it kind of ends up feeling like you serve officials instead of them serving you. In the end, all of the rules sound great, but they just end up pricing most people out of the market.
@@csouthland I am not missing his point. He thinks he can do whatever he wants, and that is not the case. You have to abode by the zoning rules for the area.
Sorry to say you can’t just buy land and throw a garage on it unless you have build plans to expand or have intention of building something with it. Read the zoning requirements for your city and if you don’t want to hire a zoning planner talk to your county. That’s what it’s gonna require
On one occasion my wife and I were looking for a piece of land in Florida and we found online a deal too good to be true. We went to see the property one Sunday and it had been raining all week so when we got there we found the area flooded. The ad showed a diagram and a google street view but no pictures of the actual property. No wonder it was so cheap!
If you've ever been to Florida you always see the houses build up on mounds of dirt and sand and most have retention ponds so you can turn that somewhat cheap useless land into something.
This is all fantastic information, I was lucky enough to get a wonderful education from my grandfather who was a developer who constantly echoed all of this information. His main focus of information was to learn as much as you can about the local council members and how they may view your development project as they are the ones that are the gate keepers to development projects
Hello, I enjoyed your video. I am an environmental consultant. I see well restrictions all the time. Often times there is an industrial property or a gas station and not only does it contaminate the site it contaminates neighboring sites and even residential areas sometimes for quite a distance. And those places have well restrictions because the groundwater is contaminated.
@@Nttt739 they are liable. But it may not be practical to clean the groundwater. They may just pay for you to get hooked up to city water or truck you water. Also the responsible party may have been gone a long time ago and there is nobody to go after. Like an old gas station that went out of business in the 1980s in a rural area and contaminated nearby parcels.
If a parcel or surrounding parcels are contaminated, is there a way for a land investor to find out this issue? It's only an issue if your stuck with a well or similar.
@@Nttt739 It can also be a problem of contamination of the soil, for example, if there is or was industry within reasonable distance which was polluting (e.g. one working in heavy/exotic metals, and there was polution due to aerial contamination). Soil samples can be sent ot the proper laboratories for testing.
While searching a old title one sentence read,starting at the large maple tree where you and I stood yesterday, thence southerly, etc. Both men and the tree had passed on,thank heavens for good honest neighbors!
Good information. Let me add my list. First tragic mistake is not directing a huge amount of objective attention to why you want land in the first place. This will refine your property specifications. Secondly, not teaming up with an experienced real estate land specialist who is working for you and who intimately knows what you are looking for. Third, not consuming all the knowledge you can on real estate contracts and contingency clauses that will make certain that you will be allowed to do what you expect with the property. Fourth, not getting a competent real estate attorney to consummate the closing and will advise you if he or she sees any risk in the purchase beyond the purposes for which you are buying the property. Fifth, not looking at the possibility of re-selling the property at a later date. That is, the VERY tragic mistake of not looking at the property as an investment. Sixth, WATCH the property listings everyday. Get intimately familiar with whatever is going on in the market place. Why this property cost this amount per acre and another cost this amount. Look at properties you know you wouldn't be interested in to refine your analysis skills. Seventh, don't fall in love with any property. Don't buy on the basis of emotion.
David I'm going to add that before you pull the trigger on a buy, go pull ALL of the deeds from the beginning. I know of many instances where right of ways were on earlier deeds and didn't make it onto the most recent one. Unfortunately, some Title companies and real estate attorneys only look for liens. Most of the state laws validate earlier right of ways if they existed on any previous deed. I have a friend right now that's owned her place for 30 years and no right of way is on her deed or previous. However, the fella behind her found it on an older deed and judge said it's valid in Tennessee, thus she will have a 50 foot road through the middle of her 50 acres. She's now suing the title company.
Heard a story like that in Florida ? After 30 years of owning a house & land, a large water pipeline was found with an easement. Ran a couple feet from this guy’s house. It had been put in the 1930’s. The easement was not put on the property deed until a decade later, then disappeared from future deeds. His was not the only property effected. As suburbia spread & houses built, the pipeline was not on the surveys. The town settled with his title company, but he has still seen none of the money. His house is now almost worthless. What I thought Title Insurance is for. He’s going to have to sue.
@@sorbabaric1 correct title insurance is supposed to cover any legal liens, easements, right of ways that pop up after purchase. Title insurance very seldom had any claims in years past because title companies did due diligence and started with original deed and worked their way forward. It's much more common than people realize that things drop off deeds whether from simple human error or design. Any instance where property had gone into probate, they would research through probate court and get documentation that probate was settled without encumbrance. The computer age should've made things easier and less prone to error, but it's made things worse. Many title companies only look up the 2 previous deeds on computer and even in areas where they have to physically go to deeds office, they only pull 2 previous. Most don't search probate court anymore either, they just bank on any lien being on the deed. Title insurance claims have gone up a lot as subdivisions are being built in rural areas. Your friend needs to find out how much money the title company gave the town and if the document stated how or if the money was supposed to be distributed among effected property owners. You can bet the town government signed something saying claim was settled or they wouldn't have been paid. Hopefully the town doesn't have any obscure town charter crap allowing them to use the money as they see fit. Your buddy will probably have to sue the town and provide documentation on how much his property value went down due to the pipeline. The town bears some responsibility as they didn't have to approve the subdivision if land was zoned agricultural. Town/county property tax assessment before and after should help, but real estate sales comps before and after is the best bet. Definitely get an attorney that lives and practices far enough away so as not to be in the local good ol' boys network. Let me know how it plays out.
I watch the TH-cam video of this case. I would like to add that no all title insurance are created equal and they have all kind of “no coverage”. The language is incomprehensible to lay people, and real estate agents have no clue about this, so no help there. Attorneys maybe, but they usually let the paralegals/secretaries do the work and mistakes happen. Research Title Companies and go with the best.
We spent two years looking for land in socal. This all is very true. Septic is huge. One beautiful piece of land didnt allow septic and had no sewer hookup. Another had no water. We went through about 20 pieces before we found one we liked. We had an agent through the whole thing. The land we found was 15k over the last appraisel. We offered 10k over, paid cash as it was a prime piece. The reason we did this was we knew the prices of similar land and were not worried. Spent another 215k on modular and total out the door was 250k. This was socal by wrightwood. Do your due diligence and dont buy with your emotions. We did well. 3 years later it has gone up nicely.
Incinerating toilets are the thing. You push the button and it is burned with either propane or electric. I am not sure if it satisfies local, legal requirements, though.
Also be aware of any large scale farms near by. I was at an estate sale and everything was fine until the wind began to blow. There was a horrible stench, I was told it was “the smell of money”, it was a dairy farm and I could not imagine living with that smell.
Great video. You told a lot of things that I wish I knew before I bought my first piece of land. I learned all this the hard way and mostly by luck. Most Realtors don’t want to bother with land. Always talk to the neighbors both during the day and towards the end of the day Friday. One lot I looked at featured an 80 year old neighbor in a skimpy bikini who told me all bout her lawsuit on the present owners of the lot I was interested in. Another lot I turned down I checked on after a hurricane and found a stranded boat and lots of other debri in the yard. It wasn’t registered as a flood zone on the map.
Great info. Many points to ponder. I inherited property that hasn’t been surveyed in over 50 years. As you said, they measured from tree to big rocks. I should have another one done.
Another issue I've seen is people buying land and discovering there's no easement to reach it, or an easement that's not actually useable. Of course your advise to walk the property a couple of times would reveal that.
Let me just say - this is some of the most solid, and upfront advice that doesn't have some "hidden agenda" that I've seen in a long time. Great content - keep it up!
God, I wish more people knew the advice you put out, especially the "talk to the neighbors" advice. I recently had someone buy land next to me having never been to the area before purchasing the land. Now we are having to deal with their wishes for the property and the effects their developing will have on my property (mostly rain runoff related issues and the associated pollution potential).
Agreed - great info here! A couple things I'd also add are that if you'll need a septic system, properties may perc for a conventional system which might cost $10,000 or if not, an alternative system (example: sewage needs to be pumped up a hill for discharge). Ask about this. Alternative systems typically cost a lot more (maybe $20,000-$25,000 more?). Also consider drainage for rainwater - where will it all go? Consider what the property will be like in each season. We contracted in January. By April, everything was turning green EXCEPT for a few trees that unbeknownst to us were dead - removing them (they were too close to where the house would be) was a $6,000 unexpected cost. If there's an existing well, ask what kind of pump it has - jet, submersible, etc. Do a water test if possible. Hope this is helpful. Thanks for the great work!
Alternative systems for traditional septic are typically cheaper, at least in my area. Aerobic systems run $7,500 - $9,000. Traditional systems start around $8,500 and I often see them exceed $10k; mostly labor related.
I paid $17k for my 4 bedroom pressurized drain field system. Which is currently being installed. I've heard of systems costing $40k - $100k now depending on perc. Septic systems effectively doubled since prior to covid.
Your advise of talking to the neighbors is indeed very important; they will be the most informed about the land and everything attached/related to it 👍🏼
Could not agree more. Anyone that grew up in a small town knows that there's a lot to know when buying land. You're also possibly getting into the middle of a lot of drama you may not want.
Really enjoying your videos- thanks. I bought a tax auction small lot about 6 years ago and was told theres no way to get a septic approved and it was in a flood plain. I paid a surveyor to draw up a topographical map of the lot with elevations. It turned out it was not in the flood plain and the road had drifted away from this lot making it look bigger. The septic issue was settled by having an engineered septic for a 2 bedroom house- i got the permit just to prove it could be done. I plan to sell it next year. I have at 10k and 7 years into this one. It should sell for 65 to 80k. A nice profit and it was a bit of a guess work prior to purchase.
Really like your format and will give you a thinks up. But as far as editing, PLEASE get the music volume proportionate to the rest of the sound/dialogue. I'm listening to your voice at a comfortable level, then get blown away with music during the cuts. Just some constructive criticism for future videos. Other than that, great content and information!
Thank you Wayne you hit points (about everyone) we did not do one of them I wished I would have looked at is the direction of the county's 5-10 year development plan. we are now in a rural zone becoming the suburb. The development happening is not conducive to farming as the larger farms and ranches are selling to developers having speck homes popping up by the hundreds in North Idaho Panhandle.
Look up several years of aerial photos. If you see a line of greener grass going through the property that's probably where the water drains. Might be dry today, and maybe it's just rain runoff, but I've seen it be an unexpected torrent.
Thank You Sir, most informative. I am a former RE Broker from up north, and I like to think I am savvy enough to go through that same list you were describing in the video. Talking to the Neighbors is the FIRST thing I like to do when I am looking into buy Real Estate any where any kind. This saved me a ton of problems and $$$$ dollars. One time i was looking at some land to buy for building a house on it. ( it is in Florida - aka; SWAMP LANDS! ) It was an FSBO, no broker / agent. I was able to take a quick look at the land, finding out it was awkward; it was more or less triangle in shape weird shaped, and very thick wooded. After doing some checking and talking to the neighbors, I came to find out all of that land around there was build up about 8 to 10 feet above the mean water levels - it was all marsh swamp. That particular triangle was the left overs after the other properties were built up. That piece of property was the left over watershed, a small hammock of land for all of the rain waters to drain off into from the surrounding homes and roads. So In essence - It was UNBUILDABLE ! Just by asking the neighbors I was able to save myself Thousands of $$$$ Dollars, and years of headaches. Thanks Again! ;-)
One thing to keep in mind about appraisals is that banks often cannot use an appraisal that a buyer hired, due to the perceived conflict of interest, an they will commission their own appraisal (which the buyer/borrower will pay for).
And every county requirements are different, it's a giant pain in the rear to find a property that doesn't have restrictions and the ones that don't are very expensive!
Wayne, you left out one important item. Don't buy a piece of land that is landlocked unless you already own the adjacent land! If you cannot construct a drive to your property you are landlocked!
Check flood plane maps which are available on line. Not just near water. I had an issue in Ocala Florida with no water near by, my survey did not show we were in a low spot.
I've never bought land, but have bought many houses over the years. Talking to the neighbors is probably the most important thing, along with showing up at different times of day, night, early morning, late at night. You don't want to buy a house next to a home mechanic working on cars until 2am every night!
Hi ? Me&my wife brought 2.2 acres in N.C. back in 2010, that's 14 years ago we paid the taxes for the straight 12 years&our last 2 years we haven't paid it yet due you thank they are going to take our land right now God bless.
Sadly, this is true. I get the reasons for this, local services like schools and law enforcement cost money and property taxes is where that money is collected. I wish we had a better system though that prevented people from losing their homes just because the land’s “value” (to somebody else) went up.
@@aliannarodriguez1581 Unfortunately greed likes to be the driver and everybody else is in the backseat screaming slow down and hanging on for dear life, just pray the car runs out of gas before we hit the brick wall.
The 140 acres I purchased years ago I did not walk it all due to the thick bush and forest. Later found that what I thought was the line at the back was 50 yards less. It wasn’t an issue luckily. Roads are not necessarily 90 degrees to lot lines and you get into the woods and angles can be deceiving 😮 From one road the rear property line appeared 30 degrees off while the acreage is a rectangle 😮
I am about to be in this situation with a one acre plot on the coast of Maine, undeveloped land with lots of good trees, neighbors or somebody have been going into it while it was vacant and cutting down the pine trees and taking them away. So glad that i saw this i am going to be contacting a my Agent tomorrow to clarify a few things. If those things as raised here, are unsatisfactory for me i shall not be purchasing. Thank You...
I remember in 2007 when I was working in real estate seeing people buy homes new from builders with the intention of selling before close of escrow to a new buyer for profit. The crash was so brutal and fast that I remember seeing a lot of these units foreclosed on with the builder plastic still on the carpet.
Our property deed described a line. Going N, then W, then SW or whatever, but it never came back around to the original point. We bought anyways 200+ acres. Has since been surveyed. Maybe 60% perimeter was stone walls but one corner in particular was very questionable on where it was. Surveyors got it. More land than we originally thought it was! Love it!
I bought a property that had the end of the public sewer on it, so I had to hook up to it. It was about 1000ft away, and cost somewhere around $20K to run the pipe to connect to it, and had clean outs every 100ft.
For me the order of importance is #1 is property a HOA? #2 neighbors, #3 flood / lay of land, #4 property itself/ water/sewer, # 5 covenants/ restrictions. Any one of those things can kill the deal. There may be more but these 5 are the big ones.
I loved the info that you spread, and i'm doing the same in Brazil, also i realise something that i don't know if you can do in US but we sell carbon credit because we have some native florest in our land
You forgot one of the most important ones, it has to have road access. It is possible to get servitude of access from a neighbor, but it's probably not worth the headache.
A bit of background work can save a ton of headache and lost money. OFC even then, nothing is guaranteed. I moved onto a nice quiet property to do some work there. After the first holiday weekend, the area became a party spot with loud music until sun up. It took almost six weeks for the local police to correct the problem. The all night revelers had relocated from a nearby area when the police presence increased there. Sometimes the problem is not actually on the property, or even close in time or distance. There are usually risks you cannot foresee. Better heed the advice, and defend against the ones you (or a trained professional) can anticipate.
If your county has access online records you can find it that way. If you’re not familiar with searching for online records I recommend visiting the clerk of court in person, they can assist you in finding exactly what you’re searching for
Many years ago, I was looking for a piece of land near the mountains. There was a beautiful piece of land and it puzzled me why it hadn’t been bought yet and I asked a co-worker who lived up there if he was familiar with the area. He laughed and said the road used to be named and was still referred to by locals as Upper Dump Road. The land I was looking at used to be part of the county dump, until they closed it down because of allegations of illegal waste, seepage, etc. He said everybody up there knows about it.
Thank you! I just found you last month and have been enjoying the videos. I found land I'm interested in, but a land development company is selling it and you can only make an appointment on one specific day. They supposedly have 20 plots to sell, but only one is on their website. 10% earnest money is required, survey in process, when contingencies are mentioned they act like you said nothing. I'm being told that I'm just not used to the way they do business. Calling it a liquidation sale and there is no auction.
6000 bucks survey ? that is crazy ! The more I watch your vids the less I wonna buy a property. I don't wonna go through all this. I would rather just rent all my life less stress less worry and cheaper.
I owned a small house in Los Angeles. My neighbor was a jerk. The garages for both properties were attached. I needed to make repairs to my side of the garage but had to break some stuff on the side we shared. He said no. I called a surveyor to determine the property lines and he quoted me $1000 & $5000. This is year 2006 money. The 1k quote was to show up, visually inspect the property, check county survey plans and say "this is your property line." The problem with that as he told me is that my neighbor could challenge it in court if the survey showed he was encroaching on my property and he might win. Now for the 5k price he would use the county survey plans, physically measure the properties and lay down a marker showing where the property lines should be. This would be an ironclad survey and if my neighbor was found to be encroaching on my property I had every right to sue him. Remember, he was a jerk. And of course the reverse applied
I just purchased 36 acres. I had it surveyed before purchase and the fence was way off on the north boundary in my favor. I gained back about 5 acres after I moved the fence. The north land owner was cool with it and wanted to get the rest of his property surveyed. It cost me $2,800.00 well worth it.
I live rural south of a larger city near Tulsa. Area is growing fast and when someone's grandpa dies, we all hold our breath because the CCP or China, is buying up our lands in OK for weed and chicken farms. So sure enough this has played out near me, with 80 acres of pasture being divided by the realtor into 10-acre parcels after the grandpa died. Realtor was all hat no cattle and no idea how to sell rural land. Didn't get them sold at a fair price as other recent unrelated acreage was sold nearby by another realtor for premium for this area. As the months rolled by he had the family reduce and sure enough the CCP bought ten of it for a weed or grow facility. This realtor got stuck with the rest of the parcels because no one wants to live next to the smell once they found out, so locals knew, but buyers did not because the grow huts and fencing had not been erected yet. He kept the China buyer information quiet and the sale off the MLS and then has sold remaining parcels without telling those buyers they would be neighbors or close to a CCP Chinese weed farm and the crime they bring. So if you are buying small acreage parcels of a newly divided farm I would suggest being careful about what could buy the acreage right next door. One bad realtor can really screw it all up for a lot of people, buyers and community alike.
Always survey IMO. Also, always walk the property completely. We bought ours in the winter and snow was everywhere. We walked it as best we could and everything seemed fine. Then the snows melted and we saw a huge, old trash pile in the back in a gulley. It has barb wire, old barrels, tires, everything in it. It’s taken us 5 years of work and we’re maybe 1/4 of the way thru it.
My mom bought a lot in a relatively new subdivision in rural Kentucky outside of a small town. The subdivision was drawn up and recorded by a local surveyor who also staked the property. As it turns out, he did a terrible job, and the legal descriptions of the properties didn't match the stakes for a number of properties. Luckily, my mom's was correct, but one of her next door neighbors was not. Some of the properties already had built houses crossing legal lot lines when the error was found by someone getting their lot surveyed by a different surveyor, perhaps just to get the building set properly. It was a giant disaster, and the surveyor did not have the courage to face the lawsuits, and took another way out. Sometimes you want more than just a survey update from the prior surveyor.
I cannot stress the importance of getting the property boundary surveyed and marked. People have a funny way of misinterpreting boundaries to their advantage and assuming they own more than they do. Paying a surveyor can save you a lot of money over time as well as stopping disputes escalating.
I completely agree! I live in a residential subdivision and a neighbor of mine surveyed their lot when they purchased about 3 years ago, but the stakes were removed at some point. Fast forward to this past summer when they installed a pool and a fence without re-staking the lot and pulling a line. A month later the vacant lot next to them sold, the new owner had it surveyed and turns out the brand new fence is 3 ft onto the neighboring lot. It's an unfortunate (and expensive) mistake to make.
Stop putting that sudden, intrusively loud noise - music in the videos. It is invasive, jarring to the listeners especially as its at a significantly louder volume than the rest of your video, and serves no useful purpose. Otherwise, the video is helpful
@@jeremiahbond2810 Yeah, its a subjective option for sure. Not meaning to be rude, just find it annoying and videos that have talking in them are far more watchable when there is just the person talking without background noise - music, imo.
Much of the land in the Eastern states has never been surveyed so a survey can be super expensive. Had a r. e. transaction years ago where the nearest true point was 3 towns away. Again most deeds are descriptive not metes & bounds and the description on this property "from the rusted gun stock barrel in the old oak tree next to the Mather property" I traced back to the 1700s!! Also in states that use grantor/ grantee registries (again most Eastern states) make sure you have a top title company and that tbey go way back. As noted in another comment sometimes things are accidently left out in a deed wh can mean a land court battle ( costly) AND this kind of registry also often involves searching probate registries, land ct records etc because land can be transferred thru inheritance as well as by deed.
Make sure it’s not “landlocked”. I found a beautiful 9 acre plot in South Carolina with a gorgeous lake on it for cheap. I visited the property and discovered the lake fronted on the road and there was no way to access the land behind so unless you were willing to build an expensive bridge, you could not put a house on this property. Glad I dodged that bullet! Also, adding power can cost a pretty penny too if there are no poles.
When you go up to a neighbors house to ask them a question about the land and they shoot you for trespassing, you know that's probably not good land to buy.
In Canada most people use a real estate lawyer who checks for legal issues and works with the sellers lawyer. With raw land you need to know your zoning, do you own the trees or does the province, do you have mineral rights? You might be taken aback to find a company putting in gas wells or digging for gold one day. Is there power by the lot. Some places do not permit building on landlocked land. You usually need to be on a city maintained road to build.
Yeah, as a percentage of the total purchase, an appraisal and a survey are well worth it. When I bought a commercial property, I was sure to use an appraiser who did work on income returning properties. A residential appraiser would not give the right figures (there are a number of financial projections they can run to determine property value).
I lucked out .. bought 10 acres .. just around the time Covid hit (2020) and a few months later the property prices jumped up by a factor of 4! It' was crazy! My only regret was buying only 1 parcel .. I should have bought 2 of them .. sold one .. and had enough money to build (cash) the other one 🤣🤣
Ive been outside for over a decade. Raw land is my only realistic option. Almost got a good deal 25 years ago but had hidden municipal restrictions for sewage and the property had been split smaller. Glad i didnt but need to get on track now. Thanks for these videos.
I ALWAYS PU IN OPTIONS IN CONTACT TO COVER ME ... AS MOST TIMES I AM BUYING TO DEVELOPE TI ..... SO I HAVE LONG ENOUGH TIME TO COVER GETTING THE PERMITS .... I ONCE EVEN HAD IN A CONTACT MY PRESELL OF UNITS TO COVER MY COSTS WHICH WAS LAND AND BUILDING AND SALES COSTS ... WHICH WAS BACK THEN 70 PERCET EBITDA
Your spot on talking to the neighbors, nobody does that and that could save you from a huge problems down the road. A bad neighbor can be a nightmare.
Neighboring properties are required to grant you access to your property.
If you would have a part of your “property” encroaching on your future neighbors property it would be best to at least talk to them to work out a deal to be able to use the “driveway” (in this case) and even get it written into a contract between both parties so that if the neighbor sells their house and a future neighbor doesn’t like you using a small part of their property you will be safe. I remember when I sold my home in San Antonio last year I had to get a new survey for the bank even though I was the second owner of the home (family was first owner that I was there for the original survey and we didnt want to spend more on a second survey). The second survey when I moved out of San Antonio and sold my home ended up costing $1500 for only a quarter acre so the cost of surveys can also vary based on the regions, utilities in the area, distance from the surveyors offices, and the remoteness of the property. I know if you purchased property in the Alaskan bush where you need a combination of one or more of the following, atvs, snow machines, boats, and/or bush planes to be able to access the property would significantly increase the price just due to the cost/time it would take to get out to the property.
@@jeremyk.6456 did new survey agree with original.
@@arribaficationwineho32 yes it did agree with the original when I sold the home.
But a lot of peple misbehave just for that particular reason.
As a land advisor and licensed surveyor, I can attest that everything Wayne says here is spot-on and great advice. This is great advice for both, the aspiring land investor and the seasoned investor. Don't be the "fool who rushes in" ... get a 3rd party appraisal, pay for a qualified land surveyor that performs more than just a BOUNDARY survey (you want to see easements, setbacks, protrusions and intrusions of improvements across boundary lines, permanent structures, overhead utilities, pipelines, etc. on the map).
About 15 years ago, I had a guy seek me out. I've done lawn care for 33 years,.and could identify problems by looking and feeling the ground by walking on on it. The land being looked at was around 30 acres. Designated as farmland, no restrictions beyond the usual farm related things. I walked out everything, found some problems. Brought it up with the buyer, gave rough estimates on fixing things. Seller didn't like it much, but eventually granted fixing things cost money. Price was set at $6k per acre, with the faults found price was reduced to $4,500 an acre. Be your own advocate in getting land at the correct price.
That’s an awesome story Shawn. Thank you for sharing.
Survey is crucial. Cost me $5500 to have it done. I had a neighbor cutting down trees on my 70 acre lot. Your neighbors will most likely not respect you.
People think they know where their property line is and are always surprised when the stakes go in the ground
You should tell people to go along with the surveyor with a stack of 3 foot rebar and they drive the rebar right next to each stake all the way in. When the nasty neighbor pulls up those stakes, the rebar can be found with a metal detector. @@TheRealWayneTurner
I hate neighbors like that. You see that trash all the time out there.
I've learned this is why fences make for good neighbors....
THAT is the truest statement ever! Get the survey done and establish a professional relationship with your local law enforcement.
Where I live, I've noticed a lot lately farmers selling their land, and they're going thru an auction company selling them in tracts. Anywhere from 5-15 acres usually. Also, you'll see a chunk of land for sale, and someone or several others own the land around it. Got to watch both of those scenarios, because you don't know what they're plans for their property are. I'm on about 8.5 acres, mainly wooded, goes uphill all around my house, very rocky, about acre cleared around my house. Very private spot, quiet. One sort of neighbor at the front, but far enough away. Guy that owns adjoining land to the side sold 5 acres to some ahole, and it touches the back of my property. He's wanting to build "a neighborhood" back there....there's a small neighborhood around my house, I'm just outside of it. Basically he's wanting to put in duplexes or something I'm thinking. Find out when he had some surveyors out looking for sewer hookup. I'm the only house around on septic because I'm so far out. Said there's no sewer hookup around here. Long story, but surveyors were lying to me who they were working for, so I had to threaten them and run them off my property, literally guys backed up quarter mile down my road to main street lol. I got cops involved, anyway. When I found out about this guy, his plan was to run a sewer line through my 8.5 acres which would be downhill, through my front neighbor's property, out to the sewer hook up there. I laughed no way you're running- a shitline thru my property buddy. Not happening. That backs up, won't affect them uphill, but will me, and the people on the street. I guess he wasn't smart enough to get a perk test done, no way can put a septic in up there. So just waiting now to see what he plans on doing. But trust no one in these situations.
I was a town manager for 6 years. Amazing how many times people would show up at my office with complaints about things they could have known had they just read the property's title.
Good stuff. One additional thing to watch out for is a buried fuel tank -- When I bought my house in Seattle there was an old, buried fuel-oil tank. These houses were built in the 1940's and 1950's and the original tanks have exceeded their service live.- if the tank was leaking into the soil and you had not done due diligence to ensure no leakage before purchase, the EPA could come after you for the whole cost of cleanup (think, excavate the whole property..) instead of going after the original owner. Back then I hired a soils engineer to test the soils for contamination then immediately properly decommissioned and excavated the tank after I purchased the property. I've heard that since then the laws have changed but you just don't want that potential nightmare.
Good point, my friend bought a lot to build on that had oil leak - he had to remove 2 feet of earth and get new dirt trucked in.
You: " if the tank was leaking into the soil and you had not done due diligence "
Due means what is owed.
You don't "do" due diligence. When someone goes to sell something, typically an investment, often law and regulation requires DILIGENCE to be given to prospective buyers.
Buyers are OWED, i.e., DUE, prospectuses that are best efforts, i.e., diligent efforts, which cover all scenarios.
I used to be an environmental tech and would routinely clean up these kinds of properties and way worse. It's not cheap, I tell you hwhat.
@@johnp.johnson1541 I love someone who posts an explanation that is long, detailed...and wrong. "Due Diligence" has been a defined business term since 1933, and was in legal use long before that, meaning, generally speaking, "reasonable care" or "requisite effort". So yes, you can conduct or do or take "due diligence". If you have a problem with that, you can take it up with the English language which has been using the term for a very long time.
Just as a for instance, the US Supreme Court Case of _United States v. Arjona_ from 1887: "The law of nations requires every national government to use "due diligence" to prevent a wrong being done within its own dominion to another nation with which it is at peace..."
So, yeah,
@@keith6706 Yeah nah. No one can DO DUE diligence.
You can only doo-doo your pants, as your commentary above shows.
Man up and acknowledge your ignorance. People who do not are stupid.
DUE means owed. It's right in the phrase.
OWED DILIGENCE.
That is law.
Better luck next time though.
Western Montana had issues with " cheap" land that people in big cities would buy thinking they could just build a house and live there. Many found the land was remote, with no access roads and no water within drilling depth. About the only way to get to your land was by helicopter, as no one owning land around it would allow you to drive on their properties.
waow.
Yeah southern Colorado has this currently too for like $4K an acre and even less. A little bit of research shows no utilities and no paved roads for miles. Generally those lands are released by the government for private sale as they may have been used for preservation requirements or oil well drill testing.
Yup, landlocked. You might be able to pay the neighbor for an easement to allow you access - but he has no obligation to grant that easement.
We don't want out of state people. Expect hostility, including contractors no one here wants or is impressed by money
@@sean5278 So only the people inside your State line are wanted; even if they are no good?
Wish I would of came across this 6 months ago!! First land purchase and i got screwed! I'm forced to spend almost an additional 100k to live here legally! Don't trust a seller get the survey done. Lesson learned the hard way.
Man, I hate to hear that!
May I ask what happened? What did the seller not disclose?
@@andreimations7340 Probably utilities access and cost, given the huge bill involved.
just dont buy land in the ussa, you can never own land anyway its all a scam, rip.
As a Registered Land Surveyor (RLS), you always get a property survey before you buy or sell.
Property surveys differ from topographic surveys, so make sure whoever you hire does both otherwise you won’t know the high and low spots.
I know someone who was looking at a lot. They asked a neighbor about the neighborhood and he got all worked up when they told him they wanted to build a house on it. The person I know asked him why he didn’t just buy the lot to keep it undeveloped. He actually told her that he could not afford to buy it and he would do everything he could to prevent them from building on it. In the end, they added a clause in their offer that an architect needed to confirm the lot was buildable. The architect said they would spend more on earth moving and fill than what the lot was worth (based on comparable lots in the area). They walked away from the purchase.
I know of a very similar situation happening in my town right now (not my clients). Some digging and legwork can save you from a bad mistake
I don't understand why the real estate agent who is selling the property doesn't have everything you need to know about the property and just add to the purchasing price.
I often wonder about that myself
I just bought 4.5 acres and there was no Real Estate Agent. Bought directly from owner. I used a Title Company.
Mindset is "Who cares I make my money anyways"
Lots to think about for sure. It raises my appreciation for getting hold of an experienced, licensed, bonded Realtor.
The brother is a surveyor (govt.) so he's heard stories, but the bigger issues come from not having your ducks in a
row when you're making a sale or purchase. Thank You, Wayne!
You don't need to be near water to have flooding issues. Walk the property after a NEAVY rain. I remember 1 plot that was planned to have a house built on it that turned into a giant 3-foot-deep puddle and stayed that way for weeks waiting for the water to go down.
That's a great point!!
" Funny Farm " is a movie starring Chevy Chase and Madolyn Smith . They were buying a Farm and all of the ' Towns People ' were very nice but once they closed on the sale of the farm all of those neighbors and including their mailman became living nightmares .
In renting , you need ' references ' from previous landlords . Landlords will give exceptionally ' Glowing ' references for nightmare tenants just to be rid of those folks , if they give a bad reference then no one will rent to those tenants and the current landlord will be stuck with them .
So when getting out to talk with the neighbors in any and all land purchases remember some of these folks will have a vested interest one way or the other , they may warn you off on an exceptional property or they may oversell the land just to get you onto the purchase .
Also remember , with rural vacant land there will be someone already encroaching onto that piece of property guaranteed , whether it's hunting , fishing or even firewood scavenging ( so long as they don't ' cut down ' any trees , but they can kill a tree without ' cutting ' it down and then come back , knock it over , then they can scavenge it because it's already down ) , in some places people search for particular plants such as mushrooms and Ginseng . Some properties even have ' Trash Dumps ' on them where the neighbors have been illegally dumping their unwanted items , you will undoubtedly have to pay for clean up and removal .
Buyer Beware means for you to your own due diligence -- get a survey , walk the property more than just the expected property lines , look for signs of trespassing and definitely locate any and all trash sites .
I agree! And I love that movie!
It would be funny if it wasnt true and you had a dog in the game. Same with The Money Pit and Green Acres.
Absolutely phenomenal advice, and all very much true, coming from someone who is from the "backwoods", you are very spot on the money with every single letter of this comment! Thank you for helping possible land buyers!
@@TheRealWayneTurner Money Put starring Tom Hanks
PIT
Spot on. I purchased a piece of land the agent said i could build a garage on. The county explained i could build one after i hired a construction firm to build a house on it with a sprinkler system for fires suppression and then hired a road company to build a road to it and hook the water and sewer to it. They did say they will not do anything to improve the area except send me the tax bills.
Taxes are for building and maintaining services on public land. The portion of those services that is on your private land is YOUR responsibility.
@@Tugela60 I think you are missing his point. They have no trouble putting down a bunch of rules for you to follow. So, it kind of ends up feeling like you serve officials instead of them serving you. In the end, all of the rules sound great, but they just end up pricing most people out of the market.
@@csouthland I am not missing his point. He thinks he can do whatever he wants, and that is not the case. You have to abode by the zoning rules for the area.
Sorry to say you can’t just buy land and throw a garage on it unless you have build plans to expand or have intention of building something with it. Read the zoning requirements for your city and if you don’t want to hire a zoning planner talk to your county. That’s what it’s gonna require
LOVE to hear real world scenarios...Nothing sinks in this noggin for learning better than real world examples
On one occasion my wife and I were looking for a piece of land in Florida and we found online a deal too good to be true. We went to see the property one Sunday and it had been raining all week so when we got there we found the area flooded. The ad showed a diagram and a google street view but no pictures of the actual property. No wonder it was so cheap!
If you've ever been to Florida you always see the houses build up on mounds of dirt and sand and most have retention ponds so you can turn that somewhat cheap useless land into something.
This is all fantastic information, I was lucky enough to get a wonderful education from my grandfather who was a developer who constantly echoed all of this information. His main focus of information was to learn as much as you can about the local council members and how they may view your development project as they are the ones that are the gate keepers to development projects
Hello, I enjoyed your video. I am an environmental consultant. I see well restrictions all the time. Often times there is an industrial property or a gas station and not only does it contaminate the site it contaminates neighboring sites and even residential areas sometimes for quite a distance. And those places have well restrictions because the groundwater is contaminated.
But those industrial sites should be liable to whatever damaged they caused
@@Nttt739 they are liable. But it may not be practical to clean the groundwater. They may just pay for you to get hooked up to city water or truck you water. Also the responsible party may have been gone a long time ago and there is nobody to go after. Like an old gas station that went out of business in the 1980s in a rural area and contaminated nearby parcels.
If a parcel or surrounding parcels are contaminated, is there a way for a land investor to find out this issue? It's only an issue if your stuck with a well or similar.
@@Nttt739 It can also be a problem of contamination of the soil, for example, if there is or was industry within reasonable distance which was polluting (e.g. one working in heavy/exotic metals, and there was polution due to aerial contamination). Soil samples can be sent ot the proper laboratories for testing.
While searching a old title one sentence read,starting at the large maple tree where you and I stood yesterday, thence southerly, etc. Both men and the tree had passed on,thank heavens for good honest neighbors!
Good information. Let me add my list. First tragic mistake is not directing a huge amount of objective attention to why you want land in the first place. This will refine your property specifications. Secondly, not teaming up with an experienced real estate land specialist who is working for you and who intimately knows what you are looking for. Third, not consuming all the knowledge you can on real estate contracts and contingency clauses that will make certain that you will be allowed to do what you expect with the property. Fourth, not getting a competent real estate attorney to consummate the closing and will advise you if he or she sees any risk in the purchase beyond the purposes for which you are buying the property. Fifth, not looking at the possibility of re-selling the property at a later date. That is, the VERY tragic mistake of not looking at the property as an investment. Sixth, WATCH the property listings everyday. Get intimately familiar with whatever is going on in the market place. Why this property cost this amount per acre and another cost this amount. Look at properties you know you wouldn't be interested in to refine your analysis skills. Seventh, don't fall in love with any property. Don't buy on the basis of emotion.
David I'm going to add that before you pull the trigger on a buy, go pull ALL of the deeds from the beginning. I know of many instances where right of ways were on earlier deeds and didn't make it onto the most recent one. Unfortunately, some Title companies and real estate attorneys only look for liens. Most of the state laws validate earlier right of ways if they existed on any previous deed.
I have a friend right now that's owned her place for 30 years and no right of way is on her deed or previous. However, the fella behind her found it on an older deed and judge said it's valid in Tennessee, thus she will have a 50 foot road through the middle of her 50 acres. She's now suing the title company.
Heard a story like that in Florida ? After 30 years of owning a house & land, a large water pipeline was found with an easement. Ran a couple feet from this guy’s house. It had been put in the 1930’s. The easement was not put on the property deed until a decade later, then disappeared from future deeds. His was not the only property effected. As suburbia spread & houses built, the pipeline was not on the surveys.
The town settled with his title company, but he has still seen none of the money. His house is now almost worthless. What I thought Title Insurance is for. He’s going to have to sue.
@@sorbabaric1 correct title insurance is supposed to cover any legal liens, easements, right of ways that pop up after purchase.
Title insurance very seldom had any claims in years past because title companies did due diligence and started with original deed and worked their way forward. It's much more common than people realize that things drop off deeds whether from simple human error or design.
Any instance where property had gone into probate, they would research through probate court and get documentation that probate was settled without encumbrance.
The computer age should've made things easier and less prone to error, but it's made things worse. Many title companies only look up the 2 previous deeds on computer and even in areas where they have to physically go to deeds office, they only pull 2 previous. Most don't search probate court anymore either, they just bank on any lien being on the deed.
Title insurance claims have gone up a lot as subdivisions are being built in rural areas.
Your friend needs to find out how much money the title company gave the town and if the document stated how or if the money was supposed to be distributed among effected property owners.
You can bet the town government signed something saying claim was settled or they wouldn't have been paid. Hopefully the town doesn't have any obscure town charter crap allowing them to use the money as they see fit.
Your buddy will probably have to sue the town and provide documentation on how much his property value went down due to the pipeline. The town bears some responsibility as they didn't have to approve the subdivision if land was zoned agricultural. Town/county property tax assessment before and after should help, but real estate sales comps before and after is the best bet.
Definitely get an attorney that lives and practices far enough away so as not to be in the local good ol' boys network. Let me know how it plays out.
I watch the TH-cam video of this case. I would like to add that no all title insurance are created equal and they have all kind of “no coverage”. The language is incomprehensible to lay people, and real estate agents have no clue about this, so no help there. Attorneys maybe, but they usually let the paralegals/secretaries do the work and mistakes happen. Research Title Companies and go with the best.
I ain't got time for all that. I will stick to my tent
We spent two years looking for land in socal. This all is very true. Septic is huge. One beautiful piece of land didnt allow septic and had no sewer hookup. Another had no water. We went through about 20 pieces before we found one we liked. We had an agent through the whole thing. The land we found was 15k over the last appraisel. We offered 10k over, paid cash as it was a prime piece. The reason we did this was we knew the prices of similar land and were not worried. Spent another 215k on modular and total out the door was 250k. This was socal by wrightwood. Do your due diligence and dont buy with your emotions. We did well. 3 years later it has gone up nicely.
And did you hire someone to tell you about the water situation and sewer situation I was at something you uncovered on your own
@@PerfectNormal realitor had all that info, I actually turned down several properties because of those exact issues.
@@MattLikesGaming so a realtor worth their salt should have that info? Thanks for the reply.
Incinerating toilets are the thing. You push the button and it is burned with either propane or electric. I am not sure if it satisfies local, legal requirements, though.
@@pavel9652i live in a fire zone so im guessing no. They won't allow anything that may burn no matter how low the chance
Also be aware of any large scale farms near by. I was at an estate sale and everything was fine until the wind began to blow. There was a horrible stench, I was told it was “the smell of money”, it was a dairy farm and I could not imagine living with that smell.
Lol...if you want to live the rural lifestyle, be prepared for rural smells. It stinks 😂
Yeah, if you’d like to taste of milk, that smell doesn’t really bother you that is where milk comes from😅
Great video. You told a lot of things that I wish I knew before I bought my first piece of land. I learned all this the hard way and mostly by luck. Most Realtors don’t want to bother with land. Always talk to the neighbors both during the day and towards the end of the day Friday. One lot I looked at featured an 80 year old neighbor in a skimpy bikini who told me all bout her lawsuit on the present owners of the lot I was interested in. Another lot I turned down I checked on after a hurricane and found a stranded boat and lots of other debri in the yard. It wasn’t registered as a flood zone on the map.
This is, by far, the BEST, most informative video I've EVER watched. I'm new to home/land ownership. Thank you!!!!
Thank you for watching!
Thank you for a magnificent video. Logical, straightforward, and clear. You nailed it!
Great info. Many points to ponder. I inherited property that hasn’t been surveyed in over 50 years. As you said, they measured from tree to big rocks. I should have another one done.
Pierce Brosnan (with a southern accent) delivers another great video!
Lol! Thank you boss.
Another issue I've seen is people buying land and discovering there's no easement to reach it, or an easement that's not actually useable. Of course your advise to walk the property a couple of times would reveal that.
Having access to the property is arguably the most important detail to look for when shopping for land (unless you travel via helicopter 🚁)
Its called Land Lock .. a potential nightmare
Great video - I really enjoy your helpful content! And yes, asking neighbors is just such a good thing to do!!
It can make all the difference! Thanks for watching Darren.
Maybe. They may not tell you the truth if they want to discourage you from buying.
Let me just say - this is some of the most solid, and upfront advice that doesn't have some "hidden agenda" that I've seen in a long time. Great content - keep it up!
I appreciate that!
Honesty is excellent, and the way to go.
God, I wish more people knew the advice you put out, especially the "talk to the neighbors" advice. I recently had someone buy land next to me having never been to the area before purchasing the land. Now we are having to deal with their wishes for the property and the effects their developing will have on my property (mostly rain runoff related issues and the associated pollution potential).
Agreed - great info here! A couple things I'd also add are that if you'll need a septic system, properties may perc for a conventional system which might cost $10,000 or if not, an alternative system (example: sewage needs to be pumped up a hill for discharge). Ask about this. Alternative systems typically cost a lot more (maybe $20,000-$25,000 more?). Also consider drainage for rainwater - where will it all go? Consider what the property will be like in each season. We contracted in January. By April, everything was turning green EXCEPT for a few trees that unbeknownst to us were dead - removing them (they were too close to where the house would be) was a $6,000 unexpected cost. If there's an existing well, ask what kind of pump it has - jet, submersible, etc. Do a water test if possible. Hope this is helpful. Thanks for the great work!
Alternative systems for traditional septic are typically cheaper, at least in my area. Aerobic systems run $7,500 - $9,000. Traditional systems start around $8,500 and I often see them exceed $10k; mostly labor related.
They are $30-$40 in Virginia. I think it depends on which state you are in.@@goosedogtransam1020
I paid $17k for my 4 bedroom pressurized drain field system. Which is currently being installed. I've heard of systems costing $40k - $100k now depending on perc. Septic systems effectively doubled since prior to covid.
Your advise of talking to the neighbors is indeed very important; they will be the most informed about the land and everything attached/related to it 👍🏼
Could not agree more. Anyone that grew up in a small town knows that there's a lot to know when buying land. You're also possibly getting into the middle of a lot of drama you may not want.
Really enjoying your videos- thanks. I bought a tax auction small lot about 6 years ago and was told theres no way to get a septic approved and it was in a flood plain. I paid a surveyor to draw up a topographical map of the lot with elevations. It turned out it was not in the flood plain and the road had drifted away from this lot making it look bigger. The septic issue was settled by having an engineered septic for a 2 bedroom house- i got the permit just to prove it could be done. I plan to sell it next year. I have at 10k and 7 years into this one. It should sell for 65 to 80k. A nice profit and it was a bit of a guess work prior to purchase.
Nice!
Really like your format and will give you a thinks up. But as far as editing, PLEASE get the music volume proportionate to the rest of the sound/dialogue. I'm listening to your voice at a comfortable level, then get blown away with music during the cuts. Just some constructive criticism for future videos. Other than that, great content and information!
Prior to our last property purchase. We also walked the property after a heavy rain. Water runoff speaks alot also.
My favorite time to look at property is after a heavy rain, even better if it’s been raining for a few days.
I have one thing to say to any surveyor who doesn't want me to accompany them to the property ... "GET OFF MY LAWN!". 😆
Thank you Wayne you hit points (about everyone) we did not do one of them I wished I would have looked at is the direction of the county's 5-10 year development plan. we are now in a rural zone becoming the suburb. The development happening is not conducive to farming as the larger farms and ranches are selling to developers having speck homes popping up by the hundreds in North Idaho Panhandle.
Look up several years of aerial photos. If you see a line of greener grass going through the property that's probably where the water drains. Might be dry today, and maybe it's just rain runoff, but I've seen it be an unexpected torrent.
Wow, I thought it was 'I have money I want to buy
your land". Boy was I wrong, thank
you sir for enlightening me.
Thank You Sir, most informative. I am a former RE Broker from up north, and I like to think I am savvy enough to go through that same list you were describing in the video.
Talking to the Neighbors is the FIRST thing I like to do when I am looking into buy Real Estate any where any kind.
This saved me a ton of problems and $$$$ dollars.
One time i was looking at some land to buy for building a house on it. ( it is in Florida - aka; SWAMP LANDS! ) It was an FSBO, no broker / agent. I was able to take a quick look at the land, finding out it was awkward; it was more or less triangle in shape weird shaped, and very thick wooded.
After doing some checking and talking to the neighbors, I came to find out all of that land around there was build up about 8 to 10 feet above the mean water levels - it was all marsh swamp. That particular triangle was the left overs after the other properties were built up.
That piece of property was the left over watershed, a small hammock of land for all of the rain waters to drain off into from the surrounding homes and roads.
So In essence - It was UNBUILDABLE ! Just by asking the neighbors I was able to save myself Thousands of $$$$ Dollars, and years of headaches.
Thanks Again! ;-)
Pretty comprehensive video that really boils down to ‘hire experts.’
One thing to keep in mind about appraisals is that banks often cannot use an appraisal that a buyer hired, due to the perceived conflict of interest, an they will commission their own appraisal (which the buyer/borrower will pay for).
Yes, you are correct
And every county requirements are different, it's a giant pain in the rear to find a property that doesn't have restrictions and the ones that don't are very expensive!
Great information, always something to learn with your videos
OMG... the VOLUME of the music is ear shattering...
Wayne, you left out one important item. Don't buy a piece of land that is landlocked unless you already own the adjacent land! If you cannot construct a drive to your property you are landlocked!
Check flood plane maps which are available on line. Not just near water. I had an issue in Ocala Florida with no water near by, my survey did not show we were in a low spot.
I've never bought land, but have bought many houses over the years. Talking to the neighbors is probably the most important thing, along with showing up at different times of day, night, early morning, late at night. You don't want to buy a house next to a home mechanic working on cars until 2am every night!
If you've bought houses, you've bought land also.
Thank you so much Wayne for this information. This has helped me so much in my planning! Taking notes the second time I watch it.
Hi ? Me&my wife brought 2.2 acres in N.C. back in 2010, that's 14 years ago we paid the taxes for the straight 12 years&our last 2 years we haven't paid it yet due you thank they are going to take our land right now God bless.
Thank you, my family is just starting our land purchase journey. I appreciate the info!
Best of luck! If you need help connecting with a Realtor in your area let me know
I agree … the music is extremely irritating!!!!
Mr. Turner has truly opened my eyes to purchasing land. Thank you!
You can never truly live on your land for free. You have to have some kind of income for the tax man.
Sadly, this is true. I get the reasons for this, local services like schools and law enforcement cost money and property taxes is where that money is collected. I wish we had a better system though that prevented people from losing their homes just because the land’s “value” (to somebody else) went up.
@@aliannarodriguez1581 Unfortunately greed likes to be the driver and everybody else is in the backseat screaming slow down and hanging on for dear life, just pray the car runs out of gas before we hit the brick wall.
Exactly there is never true ownership. And that's becoming true with everything in life.
The 140 acres I purchased years ago I did not walk it all due to the thick bush and forest. Later found that what I thought was the line at the back was 50 yards less. It wasn’t an issue luckily. Roads are not necessarily 90 degrees to lot lines and you get into the woods and angles can be deceiving 😮 From one road the rear property line appeared 30 degrees off while the acreage is a rectangle 😮
I am about to be in this situation with a one acre plot on the coast of Maine, undeveloped land with lots of good trees, neighbors or somebody have been going into it while it was vacant and cutting down the pine trees and taking them away. So glad that i saw this i am going to be contacting a my Agent tomorrow to clarify a few things. If those things as raised here, are unsatisfactory for me i shall not be purchasing. Thank You...
Thanks Wayne! Very helpful information and greatly appreciated.
Glad it was helpful!
I remember in 2007 when I was working in real estate seeing people buy homes new from builders with the intention of selling before close of escrow to a new buyer for profit. The crash was so brutal and fast that I remember seeing a lot of these units foreclosed on with the builder plastic still on the carpet.
Our property deed described a line. Going N, then W, then SW or whatever, but it never came back around to the original point. We bought anyways 200+ acres. Has since been surveyed. Maybe 60% perimeter was stone walls but one corner in particular was very questionable on where it was. Surveyors got it. More land than we originally thought it was! Love it!
I bought a property that had the end of the public sewer on it, so I had to hook up to it. It was about 1000ft away, and cost somewhere around $20K to run the pipe to connect to it, and had clean outs every 100ft.
Thank you for sharing this. Helps others be aware when buying
For me the order of importance is #1 is property a HOA? #2 neighbors, #3 flood / lay of land, #4 property itself/ water/sewer, # 5 covenants/ restrictions. Any one of those things can kill the deal. There may be more but these 5 are the big ones.
Why would virgin land be in an HOA?
I loved the info that you spread, and i'm doing the same in Brazil, also i realise something that i don't know if you can do in US but we sell carbon credit because we have some native florest in our land
You forgot one of the most important ones, it has to have road access. It is possible to get servitude of access from a neighbor, but it's probably not worth the headache.
Thank you for this! Are there any books you recommend for in-depth learning?
A bit of background work can save a ton of headache and lost money. OFC even then, nothing is guaranteed. I moved onto a nice quiet property to do some work there. After the first holiday weekend, the area became a party spot with loud music until sun up. It took almost six weeks for the local police to correct the problem. The all night revelers had relocated from a nearby area when the police presence increased there. Sometimes the problem is not actually on the property, or even close in time or distance. There are usually risks you cannot foresee. Better heed the advice, and defend against the ones you (or a trained professional) can anticipate.
Can a “deed restriction” be found online on the county website of the land ?
If your county has access online records you can find it that way. If you’re not familiar with searching for online records I recommend visiting the clerk of court in person, they can assist you in finding exactly what you’re searching for
Many years ago, I was looking for a piece of land near the mountains. There was a beautiful piece of land and it puzzled me why it hadn’t been bought yet and I asked a co-worker who lived up there if he was familiar with the area. He laughed and said the road used to be named and was still referred to by locals as Upper Dump Road. The land I was looking at used to be part of the county dump, until they closed it down because of allegations of illegal waste, seepage, etc. He said everybody up there knows about it.
Thank you! I just found you last month and have been enjoying the videos. I found land I'm interested in, but a land development company is selling it and you can only make an appointment on one specific day. They supposedly have 20 plots to sell, but only one is on their website. 10% earnest money is required, survey in process, when contingencies are mentioned they act like you said nothing. I'm being told that I'm just not used to the way they do business. Calling it a liquidation sale and there is no auction.
I'd be real careful when they want to corral you like that.
6000 bucks survey ? that is crazy ! The more I watch your vids the less I wonna buy a property. I don't wonna go through all this. I would rather just rent all my life less stress less worry and cheaper.
I owned a small house in Los Angeles. My neighbor was a jerk. The garages for both properties were attached. I needed to make repairs to my side of the garage but had to break some stuff on the side we shared. He said no. I called a surveyor to determine the property lines and he quoted me $1000 & $5000. This is year 2006 money. The 1k quote was to show up, visually inspect the property, check county survey plans and say "this is your property line." The problem with that as he told me is that my neighbor could challenge it in court if the survey showed he was encroaching on my property and he might win.
Now for the 5k price he would use the county survey plans, physically measure the properties and lay down a marker showing where the property lines should be. This would be an ironclad survey and if my neighbor was found to be encroaching on my property I had every right to sue him. Remember, he was a jerk. And of course the reverse applied
That's nothing, just talked to a guy who said the surveyor took a month and cost $35k. I forget the size of the property, but it was all wooded.
I want some land for hunting and a possible home on that land for when I go hunt with the guys. Great video definitely got me thinking
Awesome! Let me know if you need help connecting with a qualified agent in your area when you're ready to purchase.
I can’t stop thinking about what is in the Macy’s bag in the back seat . Great video!
I just purchased 36 acres. I had it surveyed before purchase and the fence was way off on the north boundary in my favor. I gained back about 5 acres after I moved the fence. The north land owner was cool with it and wanted to get the rest of his property surveyed. It cost me $2,800.00 well worth it.
Worth every peny
Love the video. I bought ten acres in 2005. Got a second passed perk and did a subdivision. Made bank.
Good advice ,, but the music is WAY TOO LOUD !
I've been hearing that a lot- thank you for the feedback- I spoke to my editor about it and he's made adjustments on future videos.
good work wayne , your videos are great knowledge and what i enjoy the most is you get to the point! good work sir
This was a quick master class. I wouldn't want to buy a one-square-foot sized piece of land without Wayne Turner--or his equivalent.
Great info, the music volume change during video is very loud.
I live rural south of a larger city near Tulsa. Area is growing fast and when someone's grandpa dies, we all hold our breath because the CCP or China, is buying up our lands in OK for weed and chicken farms. So sure enough this has played out near me, with 80 acres of pasture being divided by the realtor into 10-acre parcels after the grandpa died. Realtor was all hat no cattle and no idea how to sell rural land. Didn't get them sold at a fair price as other recent unrelated acreage was sold nearby by another realtor for premium for this area. As the months rolled by he had the family reduce and sure enough the CCP bought ten of it for a weed or grow facility. This realtor got stuck with the rest of the parcels because no one wants to live next to the smell once they found out, so locals knew, but buyers did not because the grow huts and fencing had not been erected yet. He kept the China buyer information quiet and the sale off the MLS and then has sold remaining parcels without telling those buyers they would be neighbors or close to a CCP Chinese weed farm and the crime they bring. So if you are buying small acreage parcels of a newly divided farm I would suggest being careful about what could buy the acreage right next door. One bad realtor can really screw it all up for a lot of people, buyers and community alike.
There is such a thing as volume normalization.
Always survey IMO. Also, always walk the property completely. We bought ours in the winter and snow was everywhere. We walked it as best we could and everything seemed fine. Then the snows melted and we saw a huge, old trash pile in the back in a gulley. It has barb wire, old barrels, tires, everything in it. It’s taken us 5 years of work and we’re maybe 1/4 of the way thru it.
My mom bought a lot in a relatively new subdivision in rural Kentucky outside of a small town. The subdivision was drawn up and recorded by a local surveyor who also staked the property. As it turns out, he did a terrible job, and the legal descriptions of the properties didn't match the stakes for a number of properties. Luckily, my mom's was correct, but one of her next door neighbors was not. Some of the properties already had built houses crossing legal lot lines when the error was found by someone getting their lot surveyed by a different surveyor, perhaps just to get the building set properly. It was a giant disaster, and the surveyor did not have the courage to face the lawsuits, and took another way out. Sometimes you want more than just a survey update from the prior surveyor.
good video, but that sound track between segments or pauses..
I cannot stress the importance of getting the property boundary surveyed and marked. People have a funny way of misinterpreting boundaries to their advantage and assuming they own more than they do. Paying a surveyor can save you a lot of money over time as well as stopping disputes escalating.
I completely agree! I live in a residential subdivision and a neighbor of mine surveyed their lot when they purchased about 3 years ago, but the stakes were removed at some point. Fast forward to this past summer when they installed a pool and a fence without re-staking the lot and pulling a line. A month later the vacant lot next to them sold, the new owner had it surveyed and turns out the brand new fence is 3 ft onto the neighboring lot. It's an unfortunate (and expensive) mistake to make.
Stop putting that sudden, intrusively loud noise - music in the videos. It is invasive, jarring to the listeners especially as its at a significantly louder volume than the rest of your video, and serves no useful purpose. Otherwise, the video is helpful
Lol, i dont mind that at all.
@@jeremiahbond2810 Yeah, its a subjective option for sure. Not meaning to be rude, just find it annoying and videos that have talking in them are far more watchable when there is just the person talking without background noise - music, imo.
@@harmoniousembodiment7203 yeah. You can tell a book by its cover? Perhaps. Everyone is a media acolyte these days.
Much of the land in the Eastern states has never been surveyed so a survey can be super expensive. Had a r. e. transaction years ago where the nearest true point was 3 towns away. Again most deeds are descriptive not metes & bounds and the description on this property "from the rusted gun stock barrel in the old oak tree next to the Mather property" I traced back to the 1700s!!
Also in states that use grantor/ grantee registries (again most Eastern states) make sure you have a top title company and that tbey go way back. As noted in another comment sometimes things are accidently left out in a deed wh can mean a land court battle ( costly) AND this kind of registry also often involves searching probate registries, land ct records etc because land can be transferred thru inheritance as well as by deed.
I bought the empty lot next to my house to keep people from building next to me.
And?
@@bobabooey7088 nobody has built next to me, what do you think?
It’s actually a big beautiful garden now. Should have to buy much food for a year
How is that relevant to the video?
Great tips. Transition music is WAY too loud tho. :(
Make sure it’s not “landlocked”. I found a beautiful 9 acre plot in South Carolina with a gorgeous lake on it for cheap. I visited the property and discovered the lake fronted on the road and there was no way to access the land behind so unless you were willing to build an expensive bridge, you could not put a house on this property. Glad I dodged that bullet! Also, adding power can cost a pretty penny too if there are no poles.
Good information 🇦🇶! Looking to buy property in Western PA; any good Realtors?
When you go up to a neighbors house to ask them a question about the land and they shoot you for trespassing, you know that's probably not good land to buy.
In Canada most people use a real estate lawyer who checks for legal issues and works with the sellers lawyer. With raw land you need to know your zoning, do you own the trees or does the province, do you have mineral rights? You might be taken aback to find a company putting in gas wells or digging for gold one day. Is there power by the lot. Some places do not permit building on landlocked land. You usually need to be on a city maintained road to build.
Yeah, as a percentage of the total purchase, an appraisal and a survey are well worth it. When I bought a commercial property, I was sure to use an appraiser who did work on income returning properties. A residential appraiser would not give the right figures (there are a number of financial projections they can run to determine property value).
I lucked out .. bought 10 acres .. just around the time Covid hit (2020) and a few months later the property prices jumped up by a factor of 4! It' was crazy! My only regret was buying only 1 parcel .. I should have bought 2 of them .. sold one .. and had enough money to build (cash) the other one 🤣🤣
Ive bought and sold a bit of real estate over the years, i always use a conveyancing solicitor
Good information here. Thanks!
Ive been outside for over a decade. Raw land is my only realistic option. Almost got a good deal 25 years ago but had hidden municipal restrictions for sewage and the property had been split smaller. Glad i didnt but need to get on track now.
Thanks for these videos.
I ALWAYS PU IN OPTIONS IN CONTACT TO COVER ME ... AS MOST TIMES I AM BUYING TO DEVELOPE TI ..... SO I HAVE LONG ENOUGH TIME TO COVER GETTING THE PERMITS .... I ONCE EVEN HAD IN A CONTACT MY PRESELL OF UNITS TO COVER MY COSTS WHICH WAS LAND AND BUILDING AND SALES COSTS ... WHICH WAS BACK THEN 70 PERCET EBITDA