What You Need to Know Before Purchasing That Land
Sarah achen
Planning to buy land is everyone’s dream; it may be today or next year. Buying land is a dream investment especially in some countries. Buying land for investment or living is considered as a major move both financially and emotionally. Before you invest your savings watch out for these steps.
Survey the property yourself
This is very important especially if you are not a resident of that area in which you intend to buy. Whether a million miles away, don’t make an excuse, visit in person. It is not enough to trust a relative or friend as they may not give you’re the real picture. Ensure to walk around the area and check out the surrounding like access to roads, water, and the kind of neighborhood for purposes of security.
The location matters and you will need to know the boundary lines, landmarks not to mention the history of the property or family disputes.
Verify deed boundaries
You might want to check for any possible restrictions that could affect what you and don’t want to do on your property. Find out more about the binding limitations are. If you have a realtor, you don’t need to worry a lot as he may have the information. You also have to be intelligent and check the official property action with the clerk. Otherwise, you may face rules against outbuildings or auxiliary structures, limits on building styles and materials you can use, etc.
Patience Nandudu a mother of two and a lawyer in town says in her experience, truly rural properties avoid unnecessary deed restrictions, but you may always encounter an exception. For example, the previous owner of the property wanted to make it into a subdivision but it never materialized. As a result, there was a restriction on our deed that any house must be over 1200 square feet. When we asked him about it and he was happy to remove it for us. Even so, enforcement of a deed restriction isn’t hard.
Check on mineral, timber, water, and access rights
The other thing is to know whether your property comes with water, timber, access rights, etc or if it was sold off by the first owner. You may buy the property without these but still, you need to be aware of the risks. Jesica Wazemba a businesswoman in Seeta says she and her husband had a mineral rights issue that could have ruined their plans to purchase their property; fortunately they were able to sort it within the timeframe of their offer to buy without jumping on other legal hurdles. Checking with your lawyer first who has experience with property rights and disputes will save the stress. Whatever you do, ensure you don’t jeopardize your dreams over legal procedures.
Confirm zoning and decrees
You may want to construct a house on your land, you need to make your property zoning type and what other ordinances dictate about what you can or can’t construct. The same is typical if you want to add auxiliary structures like sheds, small houses, solar panels among others. There may be square footage requirements for permits, types of structures that are now allowed, and many others. Every country is different, to be on the safe side check with your local government office so that you don’t endanger your future dream.
Know how you will be paying for insuring your land prior to constructing on it. if you intend to pay in form of cash, make sure the money is secure and can be accessed so your transaction can go well without any problem. Make sure you have signed any appropriate documents and have reviewed them with a lawyer or someone who is well-versed in these transactions in your area. The last thing you want is to lose the opportunity to buy your land because of lost money or shady business practices. But remember that the things mentioned are probably not the only ones to consider.
