Maybe you have always dreamed of building your own home. Perhaps you cannot find a suitable home in the area where you want to live. In these situations, you might want to start looking at land for sale in DeRidder LA. However, according to the experts at EXIT Real Estate Consultants, you cannot simply buy a plot of vacant land and start building.
Unless you do your research (and work with a good agent), you could find that the price of the land is “too good to be true”. Some of these plots of land will not be suitable for residential construction while others will have zoning restrictions that prevent you from doing so. To that end, below are some of the dos and don’ts of buying vacant land.
Do Hire a Good Real Estate Agent
If you want to buy land for a specific purpose, such as building your dream home, you should work with a good agent who will be able to find the perfect plot for you. Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to work with the first agent you come across, particularly if that real estate agent does not have any experience when it comes to negotiating land deals. It is best to look for an agent who has previously represented buyers and sellers in land transactions.
Do Make Sure You Don’t Buy Land with Restrictions
Hopefully your agent will steer you in the right direction here, but it is important that you do your research too and make sure that there are no restrictions on any land that you intend to make an offer on. You can speak to someone in the local planning department to find out what the land can and cannot be used for. If a piece of land you want currently has restrictions in terms of construction, you can ask if there are likely to be changes in the future that could allow you to build a residential property.
Do Make Sure Utility Access is Available
Another important thing to check is whether you will have easy access to utilities should you build a house on the plot of land you are interested in. It is vital that you can connect to the local water supply and have access to gas or electricity. If you cannot access the mains water supply from the property, check if there is the potential for digging a well.
Don’t Rely on a Loan
In many cases, you will find it difficult to get a loan for a plot of land. If there is no building on the plot, a lender will probably lend less than fifty percent of the cost. If you have the cash for the plot of land, you can then apply for a construction loan to cover the cost of the build once you get planning permission.
Don’t Take the Promise of Rezoning as a Guarantee
You might have been told by someone in the planning department that a plot of land could be rezoned in the future but there is absolutely no guarantee that this will happen. Buying land that is not zoned for residential development is a risk and you could be left with land that is suitable for agricultural use only.
Conclusion
Buying land on which to build a home can be a great way to get the house of your dreams – but only if the land you buy is suitable for residential construction. It is important therefore that you get advice from an experienced real estate agent and that you do your research before you buy any land.
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